Nuno is a partner at the IP firm J. Pereira da Cruz and a founding partner of the related law firm Pereira da Cruz e Associados. He focuses his professional activity on IP contentious matters and, as a lawyer, on consultancy and litigation in the field of various IP rights, including anti-counterfeiting and border measures.

As well as practicing in Portugal, Nuno also has experience in IP prosecution and litigation in other Portuguese-speaking countries – particularly in Angola.

He serves on the ECTA Anti-Counterfeiting Committee and the INTA Anti-Counterfeiting Committee. He is currently chairman of the IP Commission of ICC Portugal. Nuno works in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.

Mr. John Ndirangu Kabare, a national of the Republic of Kenya, joined ARIPO on 1 March 2002 as a Patent Examiner and was promoted to Senior Patent Examiner in 2011, a post he held until his appointment as Intellectual Property Operations Executive on 1 March 2016.

Mr. Kabare is responsible for providing strategic support to the Director General by overseeing and coordinating the development of appropriate systems, procedures, controls, strategies and work programs for the provision of efficient and effective delivery of IP rights through the Division’s functional areas i.e. Search and Substantive Examination Department as well as the Formalities Examination Department.

Mr. Kabare is a seasoned IP Rights Expert with over 22 years’ experience in the Intellectual Property (IP) rights management field.

He previously worked for the Biotechnology Trust Africa in Kenya as an IP Officer, the Kenya Industrial Property Institute as a Patent Examiner and Frigoken Limited as Quality Control Manager, prior to joining ARIPO.

Mr. Kabare holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Food science from the University of Nairobi and is in the final stages of the Master of Business Administration Degree from Women’s University in Africa. He has attended various regional and international professional courses in IP rights management regionally and has also facilitated various symposiums on IP related matters.

Ms. Amanda Lotheringen joined the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 1993 and is currently Senior Manager, Copyright and IP Enforcement, at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).  In 1999 she took responsibility for the implementation of the Counterfeit Goods Act, No. 37 of 1997, and oversaw the declaration of the first counterfeit goods depot.  She was also involved in the training of law enforcement officials across government departments to implement that Act.  Ms. Lotheringen was nominated as Vice-Chair at the first meeting of WIPO’s Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) held in Geneva in 2003 and also chaired the ACE in 2015 and 2016.  She holds a degree from the Rand Afrikaans University in Development Economics and an Honors degree in Economics.

Nancy is the Managing Partner of Samuriwo Attorneys, a dedicated IP firm that is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. She specializes in IPRs covering Zimbabwe as well as member states of the African Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO).

She is a past Chairperson of the ARIPO Working Group which evaluates the performance of ARIPO’s Harare and Banjul Protocols and suggests ways of improving the performance of the IP registration systems under both Protocols.

She has written papers and presented extensively on IP issues. She sits on several corporate Boards advising on IPRs and is a current member of INTA’s African Global Advisory Council. 

With, multi-sectoral experience Nancy has a fresh take on IPR issues including anti-counterfeiting matters. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law, two Masters degrees in IP and Oil, Gas and Mining law respectively and is currently studying towards an MSc in Climate and Development Law with the University of London to leverage her IP skills.

Vanessa is the founder of FERGUSON ATTORNEYS a South African Intellectual Property and Anti-Counterfeiting specialist law firm. 

For more than two decades, Vanessa has been assisting clients from all industries and areas in respect of both traditional and non-traditional IP protection and enforcement, including anti-counterfeiting measures, both in South Africa as well as key African territories.

Vanessa furthermore holds the position of Immediate President of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property (SAIIPL) – 2019-2020, member of Council, as well as the Anti-Counterfeiting and Education committees.  Vanessa serves as a member of the INTA (International Trade Mark Association) Middle East & Africa Anti-Counterfeiting Committee.

She is the co-author with Marius Schneider of the book “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Africa”, published by Oxford University Press in May 2020. 

With a strong passion and belief in education and capacity building, Vanessa works closely with government bodies and industries in South Africa and is actively involved in the training programs for law enforcement, customs and other role players in anti-counterfeiting and intellectual property enforcement measures. 

Marius is the founder and director of IPvocate Africa, a law firm focusing on the protection, management, and enforcement of IP rights all over Africa. He assists clients, including multinationals from Europe and North America, in setting up and enforcing their IP strategy across Africa.

Marius is the co-author with Vanessa Ferguson of the 2020 Oxford University Press (OUP) publication ‘Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Africa’, the first book discussing intellectual property rights enforcement in all 54 African countries. He is the co-editor of the OUP publication ‘Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights through Border Measures – Law and Practice in the EU’ (third edition in progress) and a Consulting Editor of the OUP Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice.

He is a lawyer at the Brussels bar and is registered as a Legal Adviser in Mauritius. He serves on the INTA Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, the EUIPO Observatory and the ECTA Anti-Counterfeiting Committee. Marius works in English, French, German and Dutch.