Adams & Adams

Trade Marks

Partner | Trade Mark Attorney

Gérard du Plessis is a senior partner of the firm and served as the Chairman of Adams & Adams from 2013 to 2021. Prior to that he also served for a number of years as Trade Mark Department Co-Chairman (litigation). He specialises in litigation relating to trade marks, copyright, unlawful competition, domain names and advertising law. He is responsible for the trade mark portfolios of many multi-nationals and South African companies in Africa and throughout the world. He is regularly quoted in local publications and interviewed on radio regarding IP developments, both in South Africa and throughout Africa. He is a sought-after speaker both in South Africa and at international IP conferences, most recently the BRICS IP Forum in London, UK in 2016 and at the University of Johannesburg’s annual IP conference.  He regularly attends INTA and Marques conferences. Gérard has published numerous articles on IP and is a co-author of the Lexis Nexis publication Practitioner’s Guide to Intellectual Property Law. He lectures on IP to LLM students at the Adams & Adams IP Centre at the University of Pretoria. He has been practising in the field of intellectual property law since 1995.

Gérard is consistently recognised in the world's leading international industry publications. He is also a member of the Legal Practice Council, a fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) and past chairman of the Trade Mark Law Committee of SAIIPL. He also served as a Council Member of the SAIIPL Board.

English; Afrikaans

Memberships Legal Practice Council (LPC) – Member Pretoria Attorneys Association (PAA) – Member The Association of European Trade Mark Owners (MARQUES) – Member The International Trade Mark Association (INTA) – Members The South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) – Fellow SAIIPL: Copyright Law Committee Member

Accolades:

Best Lawyers® – Intellectual Property Law: South Africa | 2015 – 2023 Best Lawyers® – Lawyer of the Year for IP in South Africa | 2018 – 2019 Chambers Global: Intellectual Property | 2016 – 2021, 2023 Lawyer Monthly – Legal Awards Winners: Intellectual Property and IT (South Africa) | 2019 Legal 500 – Leading Individuals: Intellectual Property | 2020 – 2021 Legal 500 – Recommended Lawyers: Intellectual Property | 2018 – 2021, 2023 MIP – IP Stars: Trade Marks | 2017 – 2023 Who’s Who Legal – Trade Marks | 2017 – 2022 WIPR – WIPR Leaders: Trade Marks | 2018 – 2022 WTR 1000 – Enforcement & Litigation | 2018 – 2023

Qualified Trade Marks Practitioner | 1998 Admitted Attorney | 1995 LLB (Cum Laude) – University of Pretoria | 1994 BLC (Cum Laude) – University of Pretoria | 1992