Annual Update for Senior Trade Mark & Design Administrators Training Course

Juan Rodriguez is a Senior Legal Officer for the Legal Division of the Madrid Registry at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) in Geneva. He is an attorney with a law degree from the Universidad de Lima (Peru) and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from the University of Notre Dame (USA). Before joining WIPO he worked as the Head of Promotion at the Intellectual Property Office of Peru. 

Ms. DAI joined Madrid Operations Division of WIPO in 2018. In her role as an examiner, she has focused on the examination of international applications, renewals, modifications, corrections, and other related tasks. Additionally, she is dedicated to delivering exceptional customer services to Madrid clients, offering precise and prompt responses tailored to their specific inquiries with her comprehensive knowledge of the Madrid system. Furthermore, she actively contributes as a member of an internal board, collaborating to establish consistent resolutions on examination practice issues. 

Prior to joining WIPO, Ms. DAI served as a senior trademark examiner at China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), specializing in Madrid System. Throughout her tenure, she acquired extensive experience and expertise in conducting trademark examinations under Madrid System. She spearheaded the successful development of the Madrid e-Filing service of CNIPA and facilitated Madrid e-Communication between CNIPA and WIPO, along with the development of an internal examination system tailored for Madrid filings. 

She has been invited as speaker to several webinars conducted in both English and Chinese languages, where she shares her expertise and insights on topics related to international applications under Madrid system. 

Catherine Dupenloup joined WIPO in 1996 and presently works as a Senior Applications Support Assistant in the Madrid Information and Promotion Division, Madrid Registry, Brands and Designs Sector. Since 2012, she has been the focal point for user Support in relation with Madrid System Online Services. Before 2012, she worked at the WIPO IT helpdesk as a user support for IT matters.

Silke Weiss is a fully qualified lawyer with a Master's degree in Intellectual Property from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. She has worked at WIPO since 2008, initially in WIPO's PCT

Legal Division before moving to the Hague System Legal Division. Prior to that, she worked in a law firm in Germany and at the University of Economics in Vienna, Austria.

JoAnna Emery, CLAS, F.Inst.Pa, is Project Manager, Intellectual Property at atai Life Sciences.
Previously, JoAnna was Senior Intellectual Property Paralegal for Cambridge Mechatronics Limited
where she was responsible for aiding in the management and growth of the patent portfolio.
Prior to that she was the Head of and Director for Pure Ideas Limited where she managed the
strategy, P&L, KPIs and intellectual property operations of the firm.

JoAnna has over 27 years experience in intellectual property in both the US and England. She holds an Associate and Bachelor’s degree in Paralegal Studies from Rivier College.

Rowena Tolley, a trade mark partner with Kilburn & Strode. She has almost 20 years of experience helping businesses protect and build value in their brands.  She specialises in helping UK-based businesses in their international growth, as well as US and EU multinationals for whom the UK market is key. There are very few countries where Rowena hasn’t filed trade marks, making her an expert in the local nuances of international brand protection. Her work includes everything from multi-jurisdictional clearance work, prosecution, oppositions and cancellations, through to portfolio reviews and management, infringement, dispute resolution and due diligence.  Rowena works with clients of all sizes and across a wide range of sectors, including in particular food & drink, pharma, fintech, sports and music. 

Rowena is well-known and respected in the industry, having sat on various intellectual property committees including FICPI, TIPLO and INTA.  She has been ranked by MIP as one of their “Top 250 Women in IP” and by World Trademark Review as a “Gold Individual” in their WTR1000.

Nora Fowler, trade mark attorney and counsel with Kilburn & Strode, has over a decade of experience in advising clients and assisting them with the protection of their trade marks and designs. Nora has a particular focus on contentious matters and dispute resolution, as well as  helping clients manage their worldwide trade mark and design portfolios. Throughout her career Nora has assisted clients with complex strategic international trade mark and design filing projects, working with clients from a broad range of sectors including the travel, sports, automotive, fashion, food and beverage, and beauty industries. She advises in relation to matters at the IPO, IPEC and EU General Court. She regularly represents clients at hearings before the UKIPO including in trade mark opposition and cancellation matters and trade mark and design registrability/absolute grounds hearings. Nora has an international background; she has worked in the UK and Germany and often assists clients in multijurisdictional matters and projects.

Yvonne Stone, Partner, D Young & Co, advises international and domestic clients in all contentious and non-contentious aspects of national and international trade mark, design, copyright and unfair competition law. Her non-contentious experience covers inter alia advice on trade mark and design filings as well as clearance searches/registrability advice. Yvonne’s contentious work includes extensive experience in handling national and multi-jurisdictional disputes ranging from opposition and cancellation proceedings to civil infringement proceedings. The latter comprises assisting clients with their anti-counterfeiting strategies as well as trade fair enforcement activities in Germany.

Yvonne handles proceedings before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the Federal German Patent Court, all German civil courts, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the General Court in Luxemburg. Before joining D Young & Co in 2019, Yvonne worked in the IP department of an international law firm. 

Yvonne speaks German and English fluently.