Group director for the IP department at the alcoholic beverage company Pernod-Ricard, Audrey-Yayon Dauvet, received the “Intellectual Property Team of the Year” and “Intellectual Property Director of the Year” award at the World Trademark Review (WTR) Industry of 2010 in May.

The annual WTR Awards were created to recognize the work of in-house trademark counsel “performing their functions to the highest possible standards.”

Plucked from more than 1,600 nominations, Yayon-Dauvet met WTR qualifications that include the active prosecution and enforcement of trademarks, portfolio exploitation and rationalization, industry/regional expertise, determination and diligence to ensure efficient cooperation with outside counsel, global attitude towards brand expansion and protection, and quality of internal organization and in-house processes.

“Winning this award was a great honor for my team and for me. Above all, Pernod Ricard is a brand company,” she says.

Under the leadership of Yayon-Dauvet, Pernod Ricard successfully reorganized its approach to managing, drawing on regional IP hubs in major jurisdictions. The team has also fastidiously protected and enforced its global IP assets for counterfeiting and infringements. They have expanded the registration of key trademarks to cover more goods and services as well. She currently is involved in building an Internet policy on the IP side.

Yayon-Dauvet credits her success strategy to Pernod Ricard's value statement, which she describes as sharing, openness and direct, simple relationships among employees to empower teams and foster cooperation among subsidiaries. “To me, that means a friendly and collaborative style of work – teamwork makes us successful,” she says.