Professional experience

Samantha Bancroft has over 20 years of experience in Intellectual Property (IP) law. Samantha has developed expertise and legal training in this specialized field, with a focus on IP litigation and technology/digital disputes before Brazilian courts, covering trademarks, patents, trade dress, domain names, copyright, unfair competition and other intangible assets. Samantha has extensive experience in strategic IP advisory and procedural law aimed at securing rights before authorities, supported by a strong civil procedure background, coordinating investigations, and ensuring effective marketplace enforcement, particularly in the digital environment. She also has experience in transactional matters, conducting negotiations focused on the prevention and efficient resolution of disputes.

Practice includes advertising law and disputes related to marketing initiatives, combining IP and advertising advisory work. Samantha has experience designing strategies concerning the validity of IP rights and clearance of trademarks and other IP assets, as well as advising on the use of claims in marketing initiatives and advertising campaigns. With a strong focus on implementing both defensive and offensive litigation strategies in digital content infringement matters involving social media and e-commerce platforms, her experience includes advising clients in dynamic industries such as entertainment and fashion, as well as regulated sectors such as tobacco.

 

Education

• B., Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)
• Master’s Degree in Intellectual Property and Innovation, Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) Academy
• Invited attorney by the Japan Patent Office (JPO), with the Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation (JIPII) and the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS), to attend a trademark training program in Tokyo, Japan, fostering discussions on the functioning of trademark protection and enforcement systems in multiple jurisdictions

 

Publications

• Author of the book “Abuse in the Exercise of Trademark Rights and Its Repercussions on Competition”. Rio de Janeiro: Lumen Juris, 2022.
• Author of the article “A Historical Overview of the Expansion of Trademark Rights: Dilution, Trade Dress and Merchandising”. Journal of the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI Review), Rio de Janeiro, No. 144, 2016.
• Author of the article “Notes on the Abuse of Intellectual Property Rights and the Patent Misuse Doctrine”. PIDCC, Aracaju, Year III, Issue No. 06/2014, pp. 236–272, June 2014

 

Additional Activities

• General Counsel at Associação dos Agentes da Propriedade Industrial – ABAPI
• Director at Associação Paulista da Propriedade Intelectual – ASPI
• Member of International Trademark Association – INTA, at the ROI of Enforcement Subcommittee within the IP Commercialization Committee with a focus on how to apply techniques to, quantitively, measure the ROI of enforcement actions (and cost of not enforcing your IP rights) and, qualitatively, how to communicate the value of protecting IP assets.
• Lecturer and speaker at institutions such as Centro de Estudos e Debates of TJRJ (CEDES), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Universidade Candido Mendes and Escola da Magistratura Federal (EMARF). Speaker at events organized by leading Intellectual Property associations, including Associação Brasileira da Propriedade Intelectual (ABPI), Associação Paulista da Propriedade Intelectual (ASPI), and Associação Brasileira dos Agentes da Propriedade Industrial (ABAPI) from 2022 to 2026.