Kelly Thompson

Kelly Thompson is a senior partner in the trade mark attorney, with over 25 years of experience in intellectual property, advising multinational clients on trade mark and copyright protection and enforcement in Africa, as well as advertising law. Kelly was the Chair of Adams & Adams from March 2021 to February 2026 and also previously chaired the firm’s trade mark litigation department. She has led landmark Supreme Court of Appeal cases, including Oilwell v Protec and Pepsico v Atlantic Industries. Kelly holds a BA (1996) and LLB (1998) from the University of Stellenbosch,  is a member of the Legal Practice Council, and a fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) , and a Senior Domain Name Adjudicator. Kelly represents the firm in the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance and serves on INTA’s Unfair Competition Committee. She also served as chairperson of INTA’s Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee for the 2024–2025 firm. Kelly has contributed to numerous publications, lectured undergraduate and LLM students, and regularly provides media commentary on intellectual property matters.