Hadeer is a Senior IP Lawyer specializing in Patents and Plant Variety Rights at the Egypt office of Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP). Being a part of TAG.Global, one of the largest global groups of law firms, AGIP operates primarily in the Arab region. AGIP works with and advises Arab governments and multilateral organizations in the area of IP protection and has assisted some of these governments in the drafting of IP laws. Hadeer holds a Master of Laws Degree from Cairo University along with her qualifications in public and private law. She is a certified Arab IP practitioner and has graduated from several advanced training courses on IP offered by WIPO, including the advanced courses on copyright, patent drafting and patent information search. Hadeer is currently a PhD candidate.

Tjeerd Overdijk studied Law at Leiden University and has been a lawyer since 1984. With over 25 years of experience, he is an all-rounder in the field of Intellectual Property with a special interest in Plant Variety Rights. He was involved in the world’s first court case on the concept of Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs) and he has gained considerable experience on this subject. He also has experience with litigation before the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office in Angers, France. Tjeerd is a member of various professional associations, including CIOPORA, the Netherlands Copyright Association, the AIPPI, INTA, MARQUES and the European Communities Trademarks Association (ECTA).

Fleur Tuinzing-Westerhuis specializes in the technology-related Intellectual Property matters, with focus on patents and Plant Variety Rights. In her daily practice, Fleur represents a wide variety of domestic and international companies that are active in technology-intensive business sectors, such as agrifood and biotech. Fleur is an experienced patent litigator and is one of a handful of lawyers in the Netherlands with extensive experience in litigation relating to national and Community Plant Variety Rights. Furthermore, Fleur assists clients in implementing customs seizure actions based on the EU Anti-Piracy Regulation. Over the past decade, Fleur has litigated in various cases before the Dutch courts, the Dutch Board of Plant Varieties and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market.

Mr Sim is the Office Lead for Consumer Goods and Retail Industry in the Beijing Office of Baker McKenzie. His practice area includes product recall, consumer complaints, franchise registration, product quality issues, and breaches of advertiser regulations. Mr Sim heads the Food and Beverage (“F&B”) Industry practice group and leads the Plant Variety Rights practice, including investigations, PBR registration and enforcement. Mr Sim also focuses on IP protection and enforcement in China, assisting clients with IPR strategies and licensing as well as directing anti-counterfeit operations. His practice also includes domain names, Internet and technology laws.