FICPI is deeply saddened to report the passing, at the age of 81, of David Merrylees, former President of the Deontology Committee, ExCo Delegate for Brazil, Member of Honour, and Emeritus member of FICPI, as well as former Senior Partner of the renowned Brazilian IP firm, Dannemann Siemsen. He passed away on September 12, 2024,
David was a popular, highly regarded, active participant in debates during FICPI’s ExCo meetings; always eager to contribute.
He was a highly intelligent, charming man, with an incisive, analytical mind of the kind that characterises the very best of the patent profession. He had a gentle, refined sense of humour, and he was also a very good friend to many within the FICPI community.
As a longstanding member of FICPI, many of us were fortunate to share special moments with him. David had a unique personality, and while being generally quick-witted, on occasion he could also be charmingly absent-minded. Once, this led to a memorable incident at the Versailles Palace during FICPI’s centennial World Congress in 2006 when, as he was exiting the Orangerie, he inadvertently walked into a small pond. Realising his mistake, he calmly exited the pond with wet shoes without missing a beat, displaying his characteristic British composure.
David held an engineering degree from Oxford University, was accredited by the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, and trained at Abel & Imray in London, before moving to Brazil in 1969 to join Dannemann Siemsen. He said he was tired of the British weather and the Northern Line. He became the first patent attorney in Brazil with a formal education in the IP field and, as a bright and extremely competent patent attorney, he played a key role in the professional development of future generations of attorneys in the firm.
David is survived by his children, Soraya and Tarik. He will be greatly missed.