PATENT LEADERS
SOUTH AFRICA
Name: Deon Bouwer Position: Director Law firm: Bouwers
Name: Rowan Forster Position: Patent Attorney Law firm: ENSafrica
Name: Stuart Gardiner Position: Special Counsel Law firm: Swart Attorneys
Name: Rowan Joseph Position: Patent Attorney / Partner Law firm: Von Seidels
Name: Nicola Scheepers Position: Principal / Lawyer Law firm: Griffith Hack
Name: Gaelyn Scott Position: Head of Intellectual Property Department Law firm: ENSafrica
Russell Bagnall
Position: Partner / Trademark Attorney
Law firm: Adams & Adams
Phone: +27 12 432 6222
Email: russell.bagnall@adams.africa
Website: www.adams.africa
Russell Bagnall is a partner, patent attorney and head of the patent and design litigation group at Adams & Adams. He served as the patent department’s chair for several years and is highly regarded as an expert in his field. Bagnall specialises in patent litigation and opinion work, mainly in the fields of pharmaceuticals and chemistry, advising clients on a wide range of issues.
Bagnall is also responsible for managing multi-jurisdictional litigation in several African countries.
Danie Dohmen
Position: Partner / Patent Attorney
Law firm: Adams & Adams
Phone: +27 12 432 6201
Email: danie.dohmen@adams.africa
Website: www.adams.africa
Danie Dohmen is an experienced, tier-one ranked partner in the patent litigation section at Adams & Adams. He specialises in patent, design, plant breeders’ rights and intellectual property agreement litigation, commercialisation, and opinion work.
Dohmen is a director and president of the Licensing Executives Society of South Africa, a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association as well as the American Bar Association and a fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law. He is further a lecturer and examiner for the Patent Examination Board of South Africa.
Janice Galvad
Position: Partner / Patent Attorney
Law firm: Adams & Adams
Phone: +27 12 432 6260
Email: janice.galvad@adams.africa
Website: www.adams.africa
Janice Galvad is the chairperson of the patent department at Adams & Adams, a partner and patent attorney, and holds a master’s degree in commercial law.
As head of the department responsible for the largest patent portfolio in South Africa, Galvad promotes best management practices. She has recruited and trained a team, representative of the South African demographic, working for Fortune 500 clients, and counts amongst her achievements the upskilling of previously disadvantaged staff and of secretarial trainees (from the Adams & Adams training school) to occupy vital positions within her team, engendering empowerment and championing diversity.
Name: Erik van der Vyver Position: Founding Partner / Patent Attorney Law firm: Von Seidels
Name: Joanne van Harmelen Position: Patent Attorney Law firm: ENSafrica
Name: Ralph van Niekerk Position: Partner / Patent Attorney Law firm: Von Seidels
Name: At van Rooy Position: Director Law firm: Kisch IP
Name: Ron Wheeldon Position: Founder Law firm: Ron Wheeldon Attorneys
Name: Brian Wimpey Position: Trademark Attorney Law firm: Bredenkamp Intellectual Property Attorneys
Hugh Moubray
Position: Partner
Law firm: Spoor & Fisher
Phone: +27 12 676 1001
Email: h.moubray@spoor.com
Website: www.spoor.com/en/home
Hugh Moubray is a patent attorney and head of the patent litigation department at Spoor & Fisher. He has a BSc (Mech Eng) and BProc, and is an attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
With over three decades of experience, Moubray specialises in patent, design, technical copyright and unlawful competition litigation.
He has extensive litigation experience in sectors including the mechanical, mining, metallurgical, electrical, chemical and pharmaceutical fields.
He is a fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law and a member of the Legal Practice Council and has been recognised for his work in many publications including Chambers Global and IAM’s Global Leaders 2021.
Nthabisheng Phaswana
Position: Partner
Law firm: Adams & Adams
Phone: +27 12 432 6382
Email: nthabi.phaswana@adams.africa
Website: www.adams.africa
Nthabisheng Phaswana is a partner in the Africa patent department at Adams & Adams. She holds an LLB and LLM (Mercantile Law) from the University of Pretoria.
Phaswana is passionate about IP protection in Africa; her practice covers transactional matters in respect of patents and designs, as well as filing and prosecution of patent and design applications throughout African countries outside of South Africa.
Phaswana is a member of the firm’s management committee in her capacity as the chairperson of the diversity and inclusion committee. She is also involved in committees of various international organisations relating to intellectual property and diversity.
