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Sara-Jane Pluke

Partner
Managing Partner (Exco), Head of Intellectual Property

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Languages: English, Afrikaans

Sara-Jane heads up our Intellectual Property (IP) department and is a member of our firm’s managing executive committee.

Having run her own boutique IP law firm from 2010, she is a specialist in the field. Prior to opening her own law firm, Sara-Jane trained at one of South Africa’s top IP law firms and served as senior corporate counsel at two multi-national, blue-chip companies from 2004 - 2009, during which time she was a member of both companies’ executive committees being responsible for wide-ranging global IP, commercial, regulatory, and strategic projects.

Whilst she represents a diverse spectrum of local and international clients on wide-ranging IP matters and manages significant trade mark portfolios, some of Sara-Jane’s successes include:

  • Representing a major telecommunications client, Neotel (now Liquid Telecom), in successfully defending a competitor complaint brought by iBurst in the Advertising Standards Authority tribunal (now the Advertising Regulatory Board), against Neotel’s use of the colour Orange as its brand face.
  • Representing a local manufacturer (Bliss Brands) of cleaning and laundry products against a large multinational competitor (Colgate-Palmolive) and the ARB, where the matter started out in the ARB, progressed to the High Court of South Africa, proceeded to the Supreme Court of Appeal and landed in the Constitutional Court. The matter involves trade marks, packaging, labelling and passing-off elements that have culminated in a novel constitutionality argument in so far as the ARB’s authority over non-members is concerned.
  • Representing a leading motor vehicle replacement parts organisation, Grandmark International, against a trade mark and design infringement action instituted against it by BMW, where certain declaratory, interdictory and ancillary relief was brought by BMW. The court’s ruling in this matter had the effect of changing the legal interpretation of Section 35 of the Designs Act, 195/1993, as amended. As a result of this judgment, Sara-Jane advises various international intellectual property forums in discussions around trade mark and design protection and enforcement.
  • For three consecutive years, Sara-Jane was recognized by Chambers and Partners for her work in Intellectual Property Law. 
  • Sara-Jane Pluke was recognised by her peers for her outstanding work in Intellectual Property in the 15th edition of The Best Lawyers. 

Sara-Jane Pluke obtained her LLB and BA degree from the University of Natal. She also completed a post graduate diploma in company law at the University of Stellenbosch. 

Sara-Jane Pluke

Partner

Managing Partner (Exco), Head of Intellectual Property

Sara-Jane Pluke

Partner

Managing Partner (Exco), Head of Intellectual Property

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