Speaker details

Biography

Partner - Bird & Bird Head of Intellectual Property Middle East (Focus on Commercial IP, Franchising, Hospitality & Intellectual Property Law). Melissa is the head of the Intellectual Property Group for the Middle East offices and a partner in the International Commercial Group. She practiced in the UAE since 2006 and she ranked in IP Stars, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Who's Who Legal for her commercial and intellectual property experience. Melissa advises clients on intellectual property, commercial, corporate and general litigation matters relating to their operations in the UAE and the wider Middle East region. This covers matters such as IT, IP, trademark protection, franchising, and commercial licensing of intellectual property, media, healthcare, consumer protection and regulatory issues. She particularly specializes in franchising, distribution and supply agreements having acted for some of the world largest brands when licensing their intellectual property in the Middle East. Melissa 's professional memberships include INTA, the American Bar Association as well as a number of UAE, UK, USA, and Australian business associations. She is also a member the Franchising Committee of the International Bar Association. She also regularly writes chapters for legal text books such as the Franchise Law Review, the Life Sciences Reviews, the Franchise Law Journal, the IBA's newsletters and Middle East journals and she is regularly invited to speak at events throughout the GCC. Franchise Leader of the Year Award – Arab Franchise Awards 2023 (Dubai) Woman Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm), ALB Middle East Law Awards 2022, 2023 and 2024 Lawyer of the Year - Intellectual Property, Legal Era Middle East Law Awards 2021-22 and 2023-24 World’s Top 250 Women in IP by Managing IP (IP Stars) 2023 WIPR Leader 2023 WIPR Diversity 'Shining Light' 2023 - Influential Women in IP