Karen Abraham is the Head of the Intellectual Property department of Messrs Shearn Delamore & Co. Her practice covers all aspects of Intellectual Property, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Data Protection and Competition Law. She has more than 30 years of litigation experience in Intellectual Property matters, appearing in the Apex Courts in Malaysia. The Malaysian law journals bear testimony of how she has been instrumental in setting precedent in IP jurisprudence thereby establishing and evolving IP infrastructure in Malaysia over 3 decades. Abraham regularly provides legal counsel on all allied IP rights and advises on compliance and regulatory matters relating to food and drugs, domain name disputes, licensing, franchising, merchandising, commercial sales contracts, sponsorship, advertising and entertainment, and media broadcasting laws. Abraham is also experienced in all aspects of Information Technology (IT), e-commerce, and telecommunications related matters and cyber laws.
Abraham also works very closely with the Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) who are vested with the powers of enforcing IP rights under the existing IP legal regime including under Trademarks and Copyright, Consumer Protection and Trade Description legislations. Her enforcement practice focuses on crafting anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting programmes for leading companies in the global market, as well as crafting innovative strategies and brand management schemes for global and local IP brands.
Abraham is the first woman in Malaysia to hold a position as Board Member of the International Trademark Association (INTA). Abraham was the Assistant Secretary General of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) and was the first Malaysian to sit on the Bureau of AIPPI. She also sits as Council member of ASEAN IP Association (AIPA) and in 2021, she was appointed the Asia Pacific Regional Forum Liaison Officer, IBA Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee. Karen is an active committee member of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association, AIPPI and Marques.
Abraham is a Panellist on the Domain Name Dispute panel of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) and a Panel member of the Malaysian Mediation Centre. She is also serves the IP Committee and the Disciplinary Board of the Malaysian Bar Council.
Qualifications
LL. B (Hons), University of Adelaide, South Australia
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, South Australia Institute of Technology
Barrister & Solicitor, South Australia Supreme Court
Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya
Industrial Design and Trademark Agent
Accredited Mediator of the Malaysian Mediation Centre
Admissions
South Australia (1988)
Malaysia (1989)
