PROJECTS & INFRASTRUCTURE LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN GHANA Addison Bright Sloane Victoria Bright Managing Partner and Co-founder Tel: +233 30 397 1501 vbright@addisonbrightsloane.com www.addisonbrightsloane.com
Victoria Bright is the Managing Partner and Co-founder of Addison Bright Sloane. She is qualified both in England & Wales and Ghana, and has practised for more than 26 years, primarily in the UK, where she trained at Taylor Wessing, a leading international law firm. She subsequently practised as a Senior Associate and a Partner at DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest law firms (by revenue). Ms Bright is responsible for overall management and international strategy of the firm and works closely with the Senior Partner. She also has responsibility, together with the Senior Partner, for business development and promotion of the firm in general. She is a former legal adviser to former President J A Kufuor, and a former Minister of State. While in the UK, Ms Bright regularly wrote articles and spoke at conferences on technology and corporate issues. She wrote the IT chapter of “The Euro in Law and Practice” and regularly chaired various technology and corporate conferences. She was chair of the legal sub-committee of a ministerial team that reviewed Power Purchase
Agreements in the energy sector of Ghana. Highlights of Ms Bright’s work include advising on a US$547 million Millennium Challenge Account Project, and leading negotiations on various major international projects, including advising on two major telecoms privatisations of Ghana’s (and then two national carriers), advising on the government’s first Sovereign Bond Issue, negotiating with the Kingdom Group (Prince Alwaleed’s company) for the development of the international standard five-star Movenpick Hotel and retail and office complex and residences. In addition, she was a key part of a presidential delegation sent to familiarise itself with the bauxite industry in Jamaica. In the UK, Ms Bright specialised in major technology, telecommunication, data protection and infrastructure endeavours. To this end, she advised on significant projects such as the Mayor of London’s Congestion Charging Scheme with a focus on IT and data protection issues. One of the largest projects she undertook was advising the UK government on its broadband strategy for the country, i.e. the Broadband Aggregation Project. This project, which was worth more than 1 billion pounds sterling, was the largest broadband project in the world at the time.
Ms Bright is responsible for overall management and international strategy of the firm and works closely with the Senior Partner. Education • The University of Sussex (Double Honours Degree in Law and French) • Robert Shuman University, Strasbourg (now Universite de Strasbourg III Robert Schuman) • College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium Practice Areas Victoria is a recognised expert in: • Infrastructure, natural resources & energy projects (power, including renewables; upstream and downstream petroleum & gas) • Private equity • IP, technology & telecommunications • Joint ventures • Finance • Business process outsourcing • Data protection and Freedom of Information • Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN JORDAN Baianat Intellectual Property Ms. Nadia Qadri Senior Lawyer Tel: +962 6 554 1772 n.qadri@baianat-ip.com www.baianat-ip.com
SMAS Intellectual Property Group has launched its new sister company, Baianat Intellectual Property, to extend its work and cover additional IP and technological aspects in light of recent rapid innovations. It is notable that SMAS has extended its long expertise, which goes back more than 50 years in the field of IP in the MENA region, to provide new solutions to clients using technological tools in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kurdistan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen, in addition to other countries around the world, through its large IP network and associates. The main change that Baianat is implementing is its “digitalizing of all processes of work”. Through the analysis undertaken by the firm, it has been recognized that the latest IP infringement method – with little chance of being restrained in the MENA region – is online infringement. This type of infringement takes place through social media platforms or websites offering online sales, including announcements for products under confusingly similar brands.
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GLE Awards 2020
Many individuals, through the aforementioned technological tools, are offering products that constitute trademark infringement; however, because these products are purchased in low quantities and are not subject to inspection by local authorities upon importation, many such products are delivered to consumers via mail or couriers without any restraints or control. Further, some of the applicable laws in the MENA region, such as the Jordanian Customs Law, do not undertake any action if the products are imported or purchased by the passenger or importer for individual use, or if the products were imported via small packages. However, as a new attempt from the local Jordanian Customs authorities to reduce the purchase of these products online, a recent regulation was issued stating the maximum allowed value of the products purchased online is limited to JOD 500 annually, and additional official fees for the importation of the products purchased online were listed: approximately around 10% of the purchased invoice; i.e. JOD 5 for imported products whose invoices do not exceed JOD 50, and JOD 10 for each invoice
whose total amount is more than JOD 50 and less than JOD 100 per invoice. After the implementation of the above new regulation, and upon monitoring the local market, this approach proved effective in reducing the quantities of products purchased by consumers from social media and/or online platforms, and in some manner was a positive attempt to reduce the level of online infringement, as with limited budget for importation and high implied fees on the imported products, local consumers reduced the purchase of the goods, which are copies of the original products. Consequently, trademark infringement was reduced. It should also be mentioned that Baianat has discussed this online infringement approach during a workshop that was organized in Jordan in February, 2020, which saw the attendance of representatives from local authorities – namely, the Jordanian Customs, Trademarks Office, JISM and Police Departments.
The main change that Baianat is implementing is its “digitalizing of all processes of work”.