Iva Gobac

Solicitor, Bristows

Iva trained at Bristows before qualifying as an Associate in 2023. She advises clients on all aspects of competition law, including merger control, investigations, litigation and competition law aspects arising out of commercial agreements. Iva also advises on the application of the National Security and Investment regime. She has experience of litigation before the High Court as well as the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Prior to joining the Competition team in October 2024, Iva worked in Bristows’ Brands, Designs and Copyright team and has a keen interest in the intersection between competition and IP law.

Iva has written for publications such as The Licensing Journal, Entertainment Law Review, the Journal of World Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Forum Journal (IPSANZ) and Thomson Reuters Practical Law.

Prior to joining Bristows as a trainee solicitor, Iva worked as a consultant at the World Intellectual Property Organization with a focus on the international IP enforcement framework under WTO law. Iva’s experience at the international level has given her insights into comparative law and policymaking.

Contributed to

3

Character merchandising—IP and competition law issues for EU businesses

Practice Notes

This Practice Note sets out the intellectual property and competition law issues which may arise in connection with character merchandising (ie the practice of licensing the name or likeness of a character for use in the marketing of goods or services, which will usually require the licensing of trade marks and/or copyright) in the EU. It considers issues which may arise pursuant to Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as well as possible block exemptions or individual exemptions that might apply.

EU Law

Character merchandising—IP and competition law issues for UK businesses

Practice Notes

This Practice Note sets out the intellectual property and competition law issues which may arise in connection with character merchandising (ie the practice of licensing the name or likeness of a character for use in the marketing of goods or services, which will usually require the licensing of trade marks and/or copyright) in the UK. It considers issues which may arise pursuant to Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998. It covers possible block exemptions or individual exemptions that might apply. It also considers the interaction between competition law and the tort of passing off.

Standard essential patents and FRAND licensing

Practice Notes

This Practice Note addresses the role played by standard essential patents (SEPs) and fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing in patent litigation before the Courts of England and Wales (the English Courts). In particular, this Practice Note considers the legal landscape following the UK Supreme Court decision handed down on 26 August 2020 in the conjoined Unwired Planet and Conversant appeals and the practical implications of this decision.

Practice Area

Panel

Contributing Author

Qualified Year

2023

Experience

World Intellectual Property Organization (October 2018 - July 2020)
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (January 2017 - April 2017)

Membership

Competition Law Association
Competition Section of the Law Society

Qualifications

BA LLB (Law, International Relations, English Literature) (2014)
Bachelor of Arts (2015)
Bachelor of Laws (2017)
International Trade Law Advanced Certificate (2015)
LLM (Intellectual Property Law) (2018)
Graduate Diploma in Law (2020)
Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (2021)

Education

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (2012)
Mandela Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (2015)
University of Edinburgh (2017 – 2018 )
BPP Professional Education (2019 – 2020)

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