58 Trailblazers
WIPR Influential Women in IP 2019
www.worldipreview.com
Emelie Svensson
ATTORNEY AT LAW, NJORD LAW
FIRM, DENMARK
Emelie Svensson is an attorney and head of
the Swedish team at Njord Law Firm, based in
Denmark. She focuses her practice on IP law,
along with media, sports and entertainment law,
corporate law, dispute resolution and EU and
competition law.
She manages the portfolios of well-known
trademarks, from the field of luxury goods and
motor vehicles, to clients in the entertainment
industry.
Svensson has represented Christian Dior
in proceedings before the Swedish Patent and
Registration Office and succeeded in obtaining
a challenging 3D trademark for the Dior J’Adore
perfume bottle in Sweden.
For International Women’s Day, Svensson
started a network for female attorneys boosting
development and leadership.
In addition to mentoring young lawyers at
the firm, Svensson helps train officials, including
judges, prosecutors, customs and police, on
the protection of IP-rights. She often takes the
opportunity to give seminars on trademark and
copyright practice in Scandinavia.
Carole Theuri
FOUNDER, MUTHONI ADVOCATES,
KENYA
After being called to the bar in 2010, Carole
Theuri began to practise human rights law. She
is a qualified advocate of the High Court of Kenya
and a trained mediator, having attained her law
degree from the University of Kent, UK, in 2007.
In addition to founding her own law firm
Muthoni Advocates, Theuri is a consultant for
Rouse Africa.
Theuri graduated with a master’s in IP from
Stellenbosch University in South Africa, before
joining Rouse Africa in October 2015. She focuses
on handling trademark searches, the filing and
prosecution of trademarks and copyright matters
in Africa with an interest in the East Africa region.
Theuri handles anti-counterfeit matters for
global brands and multinational companies in
Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, and IP enforcement
in Ethiopia. She recently managed phase one of
a continent-wide (17 jurisdictions) change in
portfolio details as a result of a merger, a difficult
task when registry records are filed manually in
almost every African jurisdiction.
Anna Toh
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, AMICA LAW,
SINGAPORE
Anna Toh has served at IP boutique firm Amica
Law since being called to the Singapore Bar in
2012. She focuses her practice on trademark
prosecution and portfolio management,
trademark oppositions, revocations and
invalidations, IP transactions. Toh also provides
advice on data protection and privacy issues.
She has represented NBA Properties, the
licensing arm of the National Basketball
Association, in defending a trademark opposition
brought by Monster Energy Company before the
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and on
appeal in the Singapore High Court.
Toh is currently managing Philip Morris
International’s trademark portfolio in Singapore
and the region. In 2012, she contributed to the
Intellectual Property Society of Australia and
New Zealand’s publication on the proposed
changes to the Singapore Patents Act. She also
actively participates in community legal clinics
for members of the public.
Annsley Merelle Ward
SENIOR ASSOCIATE, BRISTOWS, UK
Annsley Merelle Ward, perhaps better known as
‘AmeriKat’, is a senior associate at Bristows. As the
longest serving member of IP blog IPKat, Merelle
Ward has become a recognisable name and figure
in IP law globally.
In 2016, Merelle Ward joined Bristows where
she acts for innovative companies in the life
sciences and telecoms sectors. Her practice
covers patents, trade secrets and confidential
information.
She trained at a specialist boutique IP and
media litigation firm, before joining Collyer
Bristow in 2010 where she continued to specialise
in IP litigation. In 2012, Merelle Ward was
recruited to the London IP practice of Allen &
Overy.
Merelle Ward has been a member of the ChIPs
(chiefs in IP) network since 2015, and currently
serves as the co-chair of its London chapter.
In line with the ChIPs motto to “pay it
forward”, she is determined to bring aspiring
junior IP lawyers along with her and share her
opportunities. She abides by US politician
Madeleine Albright’s quote that “there is a special
place in hell for women who don’t help each
other”.