Leaders Directory
WIPR Leaders is a one-stop guide to the leading IP practitioners in the world. The handbook lists over 2,500 lawyers across patent, trademark, and copyright practices. Following an extensive nomination period, our research team vetted the nominated lawyers for suitability by exploring their work. This meant looking at practice history, industry expertise and notable cases, as well as any additional activities, such as writing and teaching responsibilities, which have allowed the lawyers to shape and influence other and future IP practitioners.
Featured Leaders
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Partner Rob Rodrigues manages high-stakes business and intellectual property disputes in Brazil. He assists FORTUNE 500 companies and startups in matters requiring complex technical ability with strategic approach. Rob is managing patent portfolios of the largest life sciences and telecommunications companies in the planet. His understanding of the Brazilian market makes him a “go-to” lawyer when dealing with enforcement measures. Rob is an experienced attorney and acts as lead counsel in several preliminary injunction proceedings and patent trials. In addition, Rob assists clients with the largest transactions involving IP assets. His litigation-oriented mindset adds value when managing cross border risks. His clients praise his technical skills, his ability to perform under pressure and his outstanding leadership in the local community. He has also published articles in technology law journals around the world and is currently an editor of the Kluwer Patent Blog. Licks Attorneys
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Partner Henry Gabathuler is a partner in the Patent and Litigation Practice Group at Leason Ellis, where he counsels clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies on all aspects of patent prosecution, litigation, and intellectual property portfolio development and licensing. Henry is a registered patent attorney and has extensive experience securing patent protection in the U.S. and worldwide. He also handles patent, trademark, copyright, antitrust and general business litigation matters, at both the district court and appellate court levels and often in a leading role. He counsels clients in a variety of industries including computer hardware and software, oil and gas, consumer electronics, telecommunications and medical technologies. Leason Ellis LLP
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Partner/Attorney at Law/Trademark Agent As a partner and director of the international trademark department of Unitalen Attorneys at Law, Lei (Ray) Zhao has accumulated extensive practical experience in trademark prosecution and IP enforcement.
Zhao works as a legal consultant providing IP services for many listed companies, famous domestic companies, public figures and multinational clients in litigation and non-litigation cases regarding patents, trademarks, unfair competition, trade secrets, domain names and network infringements.
He also counsels clients on IP strategy and IP infringement issues. Unitalen Attorneys At Law
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Partner and Patent Attorney In his activity as patent attorney, Jan works in the fields of materials science and basic industry (metallurgy, metal processing, ceramics, glass, building materials, plastics processing, industrial furnace design),as well as the technical sector in General and inorganic chemistry. In legal matters Jan has a special interest in contract law, in particular licensing and legal purchase agreements. He also has extensive dealings in opposition, nullity and infringement proceedings.
As a German Patent attorney and as well as a European Patent Trade mark and Design Attorney of course another field of interest is trade mark and design/model law.
Jan has many years of experience in the field of industrial property protection (since 1996). He completed his training in a patent and legal attorneys’ office, in the German Patent and Trade mark Office and at the German Federal Patent Court. Afterwards Jan worked in a Munich attorneys’ office before becoming a co-founder of a Munich patent and legal attorneys’ office in 2002.
In 2013 Jan became founding Partner of Patronus IP in Munich. From March 1 he's Partner at HGF Europe LLP.
Prior to training as a patent attorney, Jan studied Material Sciences at the Technical University of Clausthal. In the course of the studies he gained experience in the glass industry, the cement and construction materials industry, and the refractory industry. HGF
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Chief International Marketing & Development Officer, Vice President Vice President, Licensing & Litigation Management
Chief International Development and Marketing Officer
Purplevine IP Group
China Purplevine IP Group
Women In IP
Partner Ashley has been practicing Chinese IP law since 2005 and was admitted to the PRC Bar in 2008. She is regularly involved in both contentious and non-contentious IP matters, specialising in trademark, copyright, domain name, Internet law and anti-unfair competition matters. Ashley has extensive experience before the China Trademark Office and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. Her client base includes international corporations from a wide range of industries. Ashley handles intellectual property transactions and licensing, as well as regulatory matters that affect a brand owner’s business operations in mainland China. She provides advice on domain name disputes, IP strategy and IPR enforcement with regards to online take-downs, AIC raid actions and litigation in China. AWA Asia Ltd
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Partner Simon Bradbury is a partner at Appleyard Lees, focusing on patents in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. His broad expertise includes artificial intelligence and machine learning in drug discovery, medical devices, and microbiology. He has advised clients in matters relating to oppositions, appeals, infringement, revocations, and invalidity actions. His clients include large multinationals as well as startup companies. Appleyard Lees
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Partner Christian W. Appelt focuses on the counselling of SMEs in Germany and Europe in all aspects of intellectual property, especially patents and utility models, and on representing and advising large, internationally active companies, especially from Japan, China and the US. He has been a member of the Board of the German chapter of LES since 2010, acting as President from 2018 to 2020, and now being member of the Advisory Board of LES Germany. He represents his clients at the German patent authorities and courts, as well as at the European Patent Office (EPO) and at the UPC. Boehmert & Boehmert
Women In IP
Managing partner Laura Collada has more than 30 years’ experience in IP and is a managing partner at Dumont, where she has worked since 2000. She has taught copyright and industrial property law at various universities in Mexico City. She also worked as a director of the sub-office for the prevention of unfair competition at the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property.
Collada focuses her practice in the areas of fashion, media and telecommunications. She has written for World IP Review and is a member of INTA, Marques, AIPPI and ECTA. Dumont Bergman Bider & Co
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Partner & Trademark Attorney Bilkis is a partner and trademark attorney in the Trademarks Department, holding an LLB degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
A qualified Trademark Practitioner, Fellow of the SA Institute of Intellectual Property Law and a member of the Legal Practice Council, Bilkis specialises in all aspects of trademark formalities and commercialisation throughout Africa and internationally.
She is member of international organisations, including INTA and PTMG, and a co-author of The Practitioner’s Guide to Intellectual Property, published by Lexis Nexis. Adams & Adams
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Partner Michael Davitz, a partner at Leason Ellis, is a registered US patent attorney and physician with over 15 years in biomedical research, and over 20 years providing strategic counseling to clients in all aspects of intellectual property law. He has extensive international experience in Europe and Asia handling intellectual property problems ranging from cross border licensing deals, acquisitions, to patent litigation. Davitz has published over 25 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is a regularly invited speaker of the Commercial Law Development Program of the US Department of Commerce, Practicing Law Institute and American Conference Institute. Leason Ellis LLP
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Partner & Patent Attorney Danie Dohmen is a partner at Adams & Adams in the patent litigation section. He specialises in patent, design, plant breeder’s rights and intellectual property agreement litigation, commercialisation and opinion work. He has for a number of consecutive years been ranked in tier 1 for patent litigation in South Africa. He holds a BSc in physics and chemistry and an LLB. He is admitted and registered as an attorney of the South African High Court, a patent attorney and a notary public. Dohmen is a director and president of the Licensing Executives Society of South Africa, a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association as well as the American Bar Association and a fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law. Adams & Adams
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Partner Edward Ellis co-founded Leason Ellis and co-chairs the patent practice group at the firm. Ellis specialises in domestic and foreign patent procurement, evaluation and related client counseling, with particular emphasis on the mechanical, electro-mechanical, chemical processes arts, as well as in the field of design patents. Ellis also has considerable experience with medical devices and processes, eye care products, optical equipment, sports equipment and games, consumer goods, textiles and related processes, as well as a wide array of automotive devices and systems. Leason Ellis LLP
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Senior Partner - Director of Patents and Technology Octavio is an Electro-Mechanical Engineer and an Attorney at Law. Becerril Coca & Becerril SC