24 Influential women
WIPR Influential Women in IP 2019
www.worldipreview.com
Laura de Achával
PARTNER, FERRER REYES
TELLECHEA & BOUCHÉ, ARGENTINA
Laura de Achával joined Ferrer Reyes Tellechea &
Bouché in 1999. She is now the partner in charge
of the litigation department and has experience in
consumer protection and unfair competition. De
Achával’s notable cases include Philips v Remington,
where she acted for Philips concerning the validity
of 3D trademark registrations used in its shavers.
She has retrieved trademarks for H&M and
won a case at the Supreme Court for the science
fiction comic “El Eternauta”. She is a member
of Marques, LES, AIPPI and the Argentinian
Industrial Property Agents Association.
Ann De Clercq
PARTNER, DE CLERCQ & PARTNERS,
BELGIUM
Ann De Clercq founded patent practice Ann
De Clercq & Co in 1998. From there, De Clercq
Brants & Partners was founded, and since 2010
the firm has been known as De Clercq & Partners.
Before starting her own practice, De Clercq
led the patent department at biotech company
Innogenetics. Prior to Innogenetics, she worked
as a substantive examiner at the European Patent
Office. With a PhD in plant molecular biology,
De Clercq has extensive experience in all fields
of biotechnology and related life sciences, as well
as mechanical engineering. She has also given
lectures on intellectual property at conferences
and educational institutions.
Lara Dorigo
COUNSEL, LENZ & STAEHELIN,
SWITZERLAND
Lara Dorigo of Lenz & Staehelin represents
clients in intellectual property disputes at Swiss
courts and before arbitral tribunals. While she
has particularly vast experience in dealing with
biotech and pharmaceutical patent disputes, she
also handles trademark and unfair competition
litigation and advises on licensing and research
and development agreements, branding strategies
and life sciences regulatory matters. She has been
at the firm since 2003 and graduated from the
University of St. Gallen and New York University
School of Law. Dorigo is also a non-permanent
judge of the Swiss Federal Patent Court. She has
authored numerous publications in the fields of
patents, trademarks, licensing and life sciences
and is a frequent speaker at conferences.
Jayne Durden
SVP STRATEGY, LAW FIRMS, CPA
GLOBAL, US
Jayne Durden works for CPA Global in the US,
having initially been admitted to practise law in
Australia in 1996. Durden has extensive experience
in trademark clearance and prosecution and, since
moving to the US in 2002, has focused her work
on trademark and patent portfolio management,
and technology and process management for
IP groups. At CPA Global, Durden set up an IP
solutions group which provides IP departments
with assistance on how to develop and apply
technology to transform their business. She is
now head of law firm strategy and also pioneered
the company’s Women in IP initiative.
Eldora Ellison
DIRECTOR, STERNE KESSLER, US
Eldora Ellison is a director at Sterne Kessler
Goldstein & Fox in the biotechnology and
chemical and trial and appellate practice groups.
She has more than 25 years of experience and has
represented clients in over 75 inter partes review
proceedings, more than 15 patent interferences,
and in various patent reexaminations and district
court litigations. Ellison represents a variety of
types of clients, including large multinational
corporations, startup companies, and not-forprofit
organisations. She also co-chairs the firm’s
patent office litigation practice.
Maria Fernanda Castellanos
PARTNER, BRIGARD & CASTRO,
COLOMBIA
Maria Fernanda Castellanos is a partner at Brigard
& Castro and has experience in strategic consulting,
intellectual property litigation, transactional IP,
copyright and domain names. She joined the firm
in 1996 as a member of the telecoms, mergers
and corporate teams. In 2002, she studied at
the New York University School of Law where
she focused on IP and competition law. In 2005,
she became part of the litigation and strategic
advisory practice, which she currently leads.
She advises national and international clients
on the use, monitoring and protection of their
IP assets, with a focus on the life sciences and
healthcare industries.