Bio

Bernadette Versfeld is an Intellectual Property (IP) specialist with over 20 years of experience. Bernadette has extensive experience advising some of the world’s top multi-national organisations in relation to the protection, management, enforcement and exploitation of Intellectual Property (IP) in Africa. She provides clients with all services associated with trade marks, including prosecution, litigation and commercial transactional work. She is renowned for her litigation skills and knowledge in the field of IP (trade marks, copyright, designs, patents, trade secrets, know-how, confidential information, and goodwill), dealing with high profile IP litigious matters internationally and across Africa and is recognised for her negotiation skills and strategic and commercially focused advice in relation to contentious matters. She also has extensive experience advising in relation to high-profile and complex corporate transactions relating to the exploitation of IP rights, commercialisation and structuring of IP rights (such as through cross-border licensing, assignments, research and development, global joint ventures, technology transfer and collaboration agreements); IP issues flowing from international acquisitions and disposals; public offerings and corporate reorganisations; international structures and exchange control issues and IP due diligence investigations across multiple jurisdictions in Africa and internationally.​