Karen Abraham

Karen Abraham is a Partner and Head of the Intellectual Property department at Shearn Delamore & Co., with more than 30 years of litigation experience in intellectual property matters, including patents, trademarks, copyright, industrial designs and geographical indications. Her practice also encompasses Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Data Protection and Competition Law.

She has appeared before the apex courts in Malaysia and has been instrumental in setting precedent in IP jurisprudence, establishing and evolving IP infrastructure in Malaysia over three decades. Notable decisions include Mead Johnson Nutrition (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v Public Prosecutor (establishing a novel point on limitation periods for food-related charges), Tokai Corporation v DKSH Malaysia Sdn Bhd (setting thresholds for survey evidence in trademark cancellation actions), and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of India (APEDA) & Ors v Syarikat Faiza Sdn Bhd (protecting geographical indications). She also represents multinational luxury brands in anti-counterfeiting and enforcement programmes, including facilitating the largest seizure of illicit cigarettes in Malaysia (3.5 million units, value RM31.5 million), and has acted for FIFA on ambush marketing and unfair competition matters during World Cups.

Karen holds an LL.B (Hons) from the University of Adelaide, South Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the South Australia Institute of Technology. She is admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya and is also a Barrister & Solicitor of the South Australia Supreme Court.

She is the first Malaysian woman to serve on the Board of Directors of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and has held leadership roles in the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), including as Assistant Secretary General. She is a Panelist on the Domain Name Dispute panel of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), an accredited mediator of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Malaysian Mediation Centre, and serves on the IP Committee and the Disciplinary Board of the Malaysian Bar Council.