Council election

I am the senior partner of Beck Greener. I have been a partner in the firm since 1995. I have worked in the profession since 1986 having previously qualified as a barrister.

As well as being a Registered Trade Mark Agent, I am a Higher Courts IP Litigator.

I have been a member of CITMA, and before that ITMA, for more than 25 years. I am chair of CITMA’s Law & Practice Committee.

I took on that role in August 2022. I previously had been sitting on the committee which I joined in 2018 as lead of its Litigation Working Group.

I have frequently given talks over the years at CITMA conferences and evening meetings and have written articles mostly on legal developments, for the CITMA Review.

For some years now I have organised the annual CITMA Trade Mark Attorney Litigator’s seminar, setting the topics, finding and lining up suitable speakers and chairing and moderating the sessions.

As part of my duties for the Law & Practice committee, I represent CITMA at regular policy meetings with IPO executives and I coordinate responses on behalf of CITMA to the IPO’s frequent requests for input and advice regarding its proposed policy and legislative changes and updates.

I also attend on behalf of CITMA, alongside other stakeholders, the six monthly judge-led meetings of the Intellectual Property Courts Users’ Committee and the corresponding meetings of the IPEC Users Committee.

I have a particular interest in encouraging and supporting members of the profession to gain experience in running and presenting cases orally before the IPO and the courts and gaining confidence in running litigation and contentious matters.

I have given papers to CITMA meetings in this area and, for many years, I have also helped teach the tribunal practice and advocacy modules on the Trade Mark Attorney qualification course at Nottingham Trent University.

When I became chair of the CITMA Law & Practice Committee last summer, I was coopted on to CITMA’s Council and I hope that my wide experience in the profession will continue to be of benefit to the Council.

My trade mark career started in 2005 when I joined Adams & Adams in South Africa after obtaining my law degree.

For the next two years, I completed my education and training to become an Admitted Attorney to the High Court of South Africa.

At the same time, I started my education and training to qualify as a South African Trade Mark Attorney, becoming part qualified before moving to the UK.

As I was eager to continue working in the IP profession, I enrolled with ITMA as a student member and started my exams to become a UK Trade Mark Attorney, funded by myself.

In 2011, I joined Marks & Clerk LLP where I continued my training and education to become a fully qualified Trade Mark Attorney and ordinary member of ITMA in 2013.

In 2017, I was very privileged to attain the “Chartered” status with CITMA. During my time at Marks & Clerk LLP, I headed up our Domain Names Team.

I also became a member of MARQUES and joined their Cyberspace Team, attending their annual and Spring conferences every year.

When I joined Appleyard Lees LLP in 2015, I joined INTA and attended their annual conferences as well. In addition, I joined the CITMA Northern Events Committee and assisted with the arrangement of social and CPD events in the North of England.

In September 2019, I joined Meissner Bolte UK Ltd to head up their UK trade mark practice and develop their UK office. I continued with my involvement with MARQUES and INTA.

Since my entry into the profession, I wrote numerous articles for various publications, including the CITMA Review; I attended the CITMA Spring and Autumn conferences, the Design conferences as well as the local CPD seminars and social events, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I am very grateful for the support and the oppportunities the profession has offered me throughout my career, including lobbying the government on important issues affecting the profession and I would welcome the opportunity to give something back by joining the CITMA Council.

CITMA is important as it supports the profession with its educational and training programs, and networking opportunities.

Our continued fight for UK representation alone, confirms how crucial CITMA's voice is. I would be delighted to be re-elected to Council.

A brief overview of my career and experience is as follows: I joined CITMA (then ITMA) in 2004 as a Student and became an Ordinary Member in 2008.

My route to qualification was via examination. I have worked in the profession since 2002 and highlights are as follows:

• worked in a firm in Australia;
• manage worldwide trade mark and design portfolios;
• success regarding contentious matters at UKIPO, EUIPO and globally;
• acted head of legal, in-house, for a large retail client.

Over the years, I have been involved in CITMA’s activities in various ways, including:

• member of Diversity and Inclusion, CITMA Newsletter and Paralegal Working Groups;
• written articles for the CITMA Review;
• attended CITMA conferences/lectures/seminars, or send a representative from my firm;
• attended social events e.g. CITMA Christmas Dinner and Summer Reception.

In addition to my work, I have also been involved in the following activities which I believe are useful as a member of Council:

• Committee member for IP Out (the only trade mark professional of the Committee) and Women in IP;
• attend INTA;
• member of the LGBT+ Network, Future Families network at Pinsent Masons.

I have contributed to CITMA and my position on Council in the following ways:

• provided an in-depth interview for the CITMA Newsletter, spoke positively about CITMA Council in The Lawyer and been a panelist for CITMA webinars and for IP Inclusive, on coming out and as a gay mother; 
• contributed to the working Groups mentioned above;
• For the last 3 years I have lectured on the paralegal course and hosted Paralegal lectures and the conference, actively ensuring my firm (Pinsent Masons) support CITMA; and
• urgently obtained a speaker (Tom Nener) on short notice for the 2022 CITMA Autumn Conference;
• currently setting up a working group with two other members of the EQS Committee. The Group will, hopefully, link students, Universities and UKIPOto streamline positive and negative experiences.

As an openly gay mother, I believe that I would be an asset to the Council, providing a different perspective in dealing with diversity issues. In addition, if I am successful in the re-election, I would like to continue with my work on EQS and D&I.

I have been a CITMA member for over 20 years. During that time, I have worked within the UK IP industry both in Private Practice and in-house.

In recent years, (six years now) I have incorporated a boutique IP practice as a sole practitioner, which has been operating successfully.

I believe that with my diverse background, I will have something to offer, by way of service, to this great organisation, CITMA, which forms part of my career’s journey.

As you know also, the world has evolved greatly, environmentally, socially, economically and politically all of which affect the way business is done, in these our 21st Century and beyond times.

As brands have voice, CITMA, as a brand, has a voice in what it stands for, its actions and how it responds to change.

Businesses are increasingly embracing diversity of talents from small business suppliers, like my own, and bringing in fresh ideas and added dynamism of value.

In this regard also, I believe that my involvement with CITMA could be utilised in a great way to add value to the image of CITMA in our present socio-economic climate. I hope that my application is successful.

Thank You!

I joined CITMA (formally ITMA) in 2010 while I was a Student and became an Ordinary/Fellow Member in 2012. I joined CITMA council in 2019.

I was in the first year to qualify through the new exam system, studying for a year at Queen Mary University and then another year at Nottingham Trent University.

I also completed the litigation course in 2022. I have worked in the profession since April 2010 experiencing both in house and private practice, training at Marks & Clerk then moving to Rolls-Royce and now working at Serjeants LLP.

The variety in these places has allowed me to gain both practical and legal experience from both an attorney and client perspective.

Over the years since I joined, I have been involved in the activities of CITMA in various ways, including: • lecturing/speaking at the CITMA Autumn conference in 2015 on managing a famous brand, 2018 on the changes in the EU directive and how it is being implemented into the UK and 2019 chairing an in-house panel.

• representing CITMA at careers events at Nottingham Trent University
• attending conferences, seminars and Webinars on various different subjects
• I am vice chair of the EQS committee, and also a member of CITMA online events and lectures committee and am also involved in various working groups, most recently working on exemptions for trade mark attorneys for the SQE exams.

I have previously been involved in the Autumn Conference working group and the CMC working group drafting the documents for the webinar in conjunction with NLS In addition to my work, I am also part of the Alumni Fellowship at Nottingham Trent University, which involves advising law students on their future careers.

I have previously had mentees who I had regular meetings with and provided advice on a career in law and more specifically Intellectual Property.

I have also attended careers events on behalf of Serjeants to inform secondary school pupils in Derby about a career in trade marks and patents and been asked to give guest lectures at both Derby university and NLS. More recently I have spoken at career events at my son’s primary school, giving pupils an early and very basic introduction into IP.

I have enjoyed my time on council for the last four years and would like to continue to represent smaller firms outside of London on CITMA council.

I have been a CITMA council member since 2019. During my time on Council I have sat on a number of committees and working groups and am particularly proud of the work we have achieved in improving social mobility and accessibility to the profession.

I am standing for re-election to Council in part to build on this work, to driving forward the diversity of our members and supporting those who choose a non-traditional route to qualification.

I have worked in the IP profession since 2007 following a career change, joining CITMA in 2008 as a Student member and became an Ordinary member in 2010.

I have worked in private practice and in house and bring with me a wealth of experience from having been both the client and the advisor.

Over the years since I joined, I have been an active member of CITMA and advocate for the trade mark attorney profession.

I first became involved with CITMA as a student representative on the Education and Training Committee, helping the profession to develop and transition to the new qualification route.

I continue to actively support CITMA and the profession, including:

• being a member of the Law and Practice Committee, Education and Qualification Committee and the Events Steering Committee;
• sitting on the Designs and Copyright working group and the Diversity working group;
• speaking at CITMA Spring Conferences, presenting and hosting webinars and evening lectures and organising various Design seminars;
• contributing to the CITMA Review;
• co-authoring the chapter on the Hague in the CITMA & CIPA Community Designs Handbook;
• representing CITMA at the EUIPO quality reviews of designs invalidity decisions;
• attending conferences, seminars and the evening lectures.

I am deeply committed to the success of our profession and believe that CITMA is critical in advancing the role of trade mark attorneys and would be grateful for the opportunity to continue to help shape the future of our organisation on profession.

I joined CITMA (then ITMA) in 2006 as a Student member and became an Ordinary member in 2013.

My route to qualification as a member was via examination. I have worked in the profession since 2001 – my career started off at Pepsico in Dallas, until I moved to the UK in 2003 and I have worked in private practice ever since.

Over the years since I joined, I have been involved in the activities of the CITMA in various ways, including:

• Being a member of Council from 2021 to present
• Writing articles for the CITMA Review
• Being a member of CITMA Review Working Group, CITMA Publications and Communications Committee, CITMA Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and the CITMA Paralegals Committee.
• Regularly attend and contribute to conferences and seminars.
• Being actively involved in providing content and presentations for the CITMA Paralegal Course
• Assisting in the review of the CITMA introductory course materials before launch

It would be a privilege to serve for a second term on Council as I admire the work Council does to shape and steer direction of our profession.

I would also be able to continue taking an active role in setting of policies that shape our profession, in particular in relation to rights of representation and equality, diversity and inclusion matters.

In addition to my CITMA activities, I have also had the privilege to have been involved in the following groups/organisations which I believe would be useful as a member of Council:

• IP Inclusive – I am member of the Careers In Ideas Taskforce
• Founded and lead the Careers in Ideas mentoring programme for people wanting to enter the IP profession 
• Member of the IP Inclusive Management Advisory Board • Volunteer for Vital Africa – provide mentoring for diaspora-based startups in relation to IP issues 
• Trustee of PORA UK (Board Secretary) – a fundraising and advocacy charity supporting the Zimbabwe arm of ARC which supports survivors of sexual violence
• Zimbabwe International Women’s Award committee member

I have a particular interest in: • Governance issues

• Diversity and inclusion issues, particularly ensuring that the profession is more accessible to those from disadvantage backgrounds
• Professional rights of representation 
• Education
• Promotion of CITMA and the profession via existing and emerging social media outlets in order to ensure that it remains relevant.

I graduated from the University of Glasgow with a Master of Arts (Hons) before joining the IP profession in a support role at Kennedys Patent Agency in 2003.

I progressed to the role of Trainee Trade Mark Attorney in 2004, qualifying in 2010 during my five years at Murgitroyd (with two maternity leaves along the way).

I have been a CITMA member throughout my career, first as a Student then an Ordinary member and attended many events, including webinars, lectures and conferences over the years.

I delivered a CITMA lecture in 2018 and wrote a corresponding cover piece for CITMA Review on the interaction of company values with IP.

I joined Lawrie IP in 2013 as the first trade mark attorney with a view to building a trade mark practice. Since then, we have built a successful team, supporting a range of clients and have achieved gold ranking with WTR.

I have also been heavily involved in all aspects of running an IP firm since I took on the role of Director in 2017.

This includes involvement in operational, compliance and regulatory matters, which I believe give me a good understanding of the issues facing many firms.

The work I have been involved in in relation to recruitment and HR also enables me to understand employment matters and progression routes for IP practitioners at different levels.

During my first term on Council, I have been actively involved in two committees.

With the Law & Practice committee, I have become more aware of broader practice issues affecting our industry and how these can be addressed in collaboration with various stakeholders.

Since August 2022, I have been compiling a new monthly feature published by CITMA, “Law & Practice Snippets” which has been well received. I plan to continue with this writing work.

As part of the EQS committee, I have assisted with various projects including preparing a feature piece for CITMA review on a comparison of the first post-graduate course providers.

I am now part of two working groups – one of which will be responsible for creating CITMA review material for trainees and one of which is responsible for reviewing how feedback from students and course providers can be collated as effectively as possible.

I am very interested in the development of talent within the IP industry and ensuring that paralegals, trainees and attorneys have the opportunity to continue to develop their skills and also ensuring that the standard expected of practitioners is clear at every stage.

During a second term on Council, I would hope to build on the experience and knowledge I have obtained during my first term to support the development of talent within the industry, to impact and share updates on changes to law and practice and to represent the Scottish IP community.

I joined CITMA in 2008 as a Student member and became an Ordinary member in 2013.

My route to qualification as a member was via the JEB Foundation and Advanced examinations. I have worked in the profession since 2008 and the highlights have been:

• winning the Adrian Spencer Memorial Award for the highest mark in 2012
• heading up the trade mark practice at Kemp Little (acquired by Deloitte) and subsequently creating and heading up the trade mark practice, and achieving partner position, at Wedlake Bell
• obtaining bronze recognition in WTR1000 for Wedlake Bell LLP after 1 year I am a member of the CITMA P&C Committee and CITMA Review Working Group, working closely with members of the CITMA Council and profession in general.
• Over the years since I joined, I have been involved in the activities of the CITMA in various ways, including: lecturing/speaking at the CITMA Paralegal course
• regularly writing articles for the CITMA Review
• providing pro bono support
• attending conferences and seminars
• attending webinars
• attending evening lectures
• attending quiz nights 
• speaking at the CITMA Spring Conference 2022

In addition to my work, I have also been involved in the following activities which I believe would be useful as a member of Council:

• involvement in the activities of other IP organisations - I have been a member of the Young Practitioners Committee with INTA since 2019
• editorial board member of The Trademark Lawyer since 2022
• mentor with Careers in Ideas since launch
• mentor with Future Frontiers – a scheme that works with young school children to understand their options after GCSEs
• attending INTA, TMAP and PTMG
• regularly attending IP Inclusive events

I have a particular interest in:

• education
• pro bono

I joined the profession as a trainee Trade Mark attorney in January 1995 and was elected a student member of ITMA in June 1995.

I became an Ordinary member in July 1997 and stood for Council and was elected in 2004.

I was elected Treasurer in the spring of 2006, Second Vice President in 2008, Fellow in June 2008, First Vice President in 2010, President 2012-14, Immediate Past President 2014-2016, Past President since 2016, and Vice-Chair of the Law & Practice Committee since 2018.

I have been a partner at Boult Wade Tennant (now Boult Wade Tennant LLP) since 2009; and in 2020 I was made an Honorary Professor by Queen Mary, University of London.

During my time on Council I have served on the committees of PR & Communications, Education & Training, Trade Mark Administrators (as it then was), Law & Practice, and the Executive Committee (which I chaired when Immediate Past President).

I have met numerous attorneys and professional representatives from many countries during my time as an officer of the Institute. Because I took Oriental Studies (Chinese) at university, I have been involved with the outreach to China; I have worked with the UKIPO's outreach team, including the Beijing based teams - first Tom Duke and Shi Hui, Conor Murray, and Samuel Stone.

At the recent video recording to promote the British attorney profession, instigated by the Beijing team, I was asked to be part of the Trade Mark group because I am thought to be the person most familiar to the target audience.

At every opportunity I have encouraged the Chinese Trade Mark examiners to adopt a counterstatement system in their inter partes proceedings, and to be more flexible in their sub-class policies.

I had some involvement in the push in China on bad faith matters at the Chinese Trade Mark Office.

In February 2023 in my capacity as Chair of Chinadesk I assembled a group of volunteers to prepare comments on China’s draft fifth amendment to the Trademark law, and liaised with the UKIPO on this.

I am putting myself forward for Council for 2023-2025 because I believe that my being on Council would help in relation to certain regulatory issues, including the last stages of ITMA, of which company I am now one of only three directors, whilst we await the update of related legislation.

It would also help in my capacity as Vice-Chair of the L&P Committee, in reporting to, and being directed by, Council in the continued lobbying of the Chinese government, the UKIPO and the EUIPO on behalf of CITMA in relation to Trade Mark policies, most especially during this transitional post-Brexit time.

I wish to extend my membership of CITMA Council for a further two years.

Council, like the profession in my opinion, continues to show low numbers with regard to diversity insofar as race is concerned.

I would like to continue to bring my experiences in life and in my career - as a member of the Black community - to the table.

Separately, but in addition to the above, I believe that I will continue to contribute as a member of Council by presenting an alternative to the status quo when the status quo might - in my opinion - threaten to stagnate the industry.

Further, as one of the numbers of in-house Chartered TM Attorneys sitting on Council, I believe that thus far I provide a unique insight from within the industry I am employed to the trade mark profession.

Hence, I am able to provide another form of diversity and a particular contribution to the conversation wherever that becomes necessary; simply, I would like to be able to continue to add value.

It is safe to say that I am settling into my role as a CITMA Council member and I enjoy a certain professional satisfaction that my qualification is being put to good use outside of my day-to-day.

It is also personally satisfying to be in a healthily challenging environment where decisions are made that positively affect others. I hope that Council supports my application.