Silverware for IPLive: Jean Bruneau wins the Chris Job Award!

Each year the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (“SAIIPL“) administers and runs the Trade Mark Practitioner examinations. These are practice-based examinations that, if passed, allow the candidate to formally qualify as a Trade Mark Practitioner and automatically become a Fellow of the Institute.

These examinations are tough, consisting of a series of introductory IP examinations and two advanced papers; one on trade mark prosecution and the other focusing on litigation. This is then followed by an oral adjudicated by three senior practitioners in the industry. It is also only possible to obtain this advanced qualification after a person qualifies as an attorney.

Chris Job, the former Chairman of Adams & Adams has always taken a keen interest in adjudicating, moderating and teaching those that attempt these examinations. He stresses though “My main interest has been and remains, to pass on my knowledge and experience, i.e to teach” and as a result spent much time whilst at Adams & Adams educating. He is now involved in a similar role at The University of Pretoria.

In keeping with that legacy, the Chris Job trophy is awarded each year to the highest achiever at Adams & Adams by the firm.

The IPLive team is delighted to announce that Jean Bruneau, an associate in the Sandton based office in Johannesburg, recently received the coveted trophy. His achievement is all the more noteworthy because most of his experience in IP was achieved whilst working in industry, illustrating that the Trade Mark Practitioners qualification and excellence is not just the domain of lawyers from private practice:

Former winners of the award are:

2013    –           Kareema Shaik

2014    –           Jeanette Visagie

2015    –           Lize-Mari van Dyk

2016    –           Mohamed Jameel Hamid

(Ed’s note: Have you read Jean Bruneau’s post ‘Colours and branding in the South African telecommunications industry‘?)