Nicky Garnett > Adams & Adams > Pretoria, South Africa > Lawyer Profile
Adams & Adams Offices
LYNNWOOD BRIDGE, 4 DAVENTRY STREET,
LYNNWOOD MANOR,
PRETORIA
South Africa
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Nicky Garnett
Work Department
Patents Africa
Position
Partner – Head of Patents Africa
Career
Nicky Garnett is the Head of the Africa Patents Section of the Patent Department, a position she has held since 2008. Nicky is originally from Zimbabwe and moved to South Africa in 2008. She obtained her law degree from the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg) in 1997 and in 1998 she began working with a leading law firm in Zimbabwe specialising in Intellectual Property.
In the 10 years that she worked in Zimbabwe, Nicky established excellent working relations with the Zimbabwe and ARIPO IP Offices and gained a good working knowledge of their IP systems. The bulk of her practice, whilst still in Zimbabwe, was the filing and prosecution of trademarks, patents and designs but she was also involved in trade mark and copyright litigation matters. In 2007 Nicky decided to move from Zimbabwe to South Africa and at the beginning of January 2008, she took up the position of Head of the Africa Patents in the Patent Department. She now runs a team of 19 people who deal with all incoming patent or design instructions from Adams & Adams foreign clients for filing in any African countries outside of South Africa.
Nicky is integrally involved in the operation of Adams & Adams Africa offices and travels regularly throughout the continent. In 2012 Nicky co-authored a book on Intellectual Property in Africa which was a joint effort of the Adams & Adams Africa Team.
Languages
English
Memberships
- Legal Practice Council (LPC) – Member
- South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) – Fellow
- Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Institute – Council Member
Accolades:
- Finance Monthly Law Awards – Shortlisted for Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year: South Africa | 2018
- IAM Patent 1000 – Individuals: Prosecution | 2019 – 2022
- MIP – Global IP Stars: Top 250 Women in IP | 2020; 2023
- MIP – IP Star: Patent Star | 2020 – 2023
- Legal 500 – Recommended Lawyers: Intellectual Property |2023
Education
- Admitted Attorney | 1999
- LLB – University of Natal | 1997
- BA – University of Natal | 1995
Lawyer Rankings
South Africa > Intellectual property
At Adams & Adams, the ‘outstanding‘ trade marks and patents team ‘provides thorough and pragmatic advice on all trade mark prosecution and enforcement matters‘. Firm chairperson Kelly Thompson ‘provides phenomenal support in relation to trade mark opposition and infringement matters across the African continent‘, and Janice Galvad oversees patents and designs matters. Dario Tanziani leads the patents and designs renewals and recordals side of the practice, and Nicky Garnett is the key contact for the firm’s African patents and designs work. Nolwazi Gcaba heads up the trade mark renewals section; Godfrey Budeli fronts anti-counterfeiting; and Nishan Singh and Steven Yeates are key names for trade mark litigation and prosecution respectively. Consultant Mariëtte du Plessis
, Darren Olivier, Dale Healy, Alexis Apostolidis, Russell Bagnall, Sophia Smallbones and Darshan Moodley are star names in the department.