South Africa

Firm overview

Werksmans is a pre-eminent corporate and commercial law firm in South Africa, a status it strives to maintain each and every day.

We deliver a unique client experience, going far beyond the application of law by partnering with each client and delivering highly specialised attention, focused solutions and the best possible outcome. This disciplined approach has resulted in Werksmans being regarded as one of the most innovative firms in Africa, and beyond.

Ever aware of changing dynamics in the corporate and commercial sphere, we remain at the cutting edge of legal developments across a broad range of industries, through insightful, pragmatic, solution-driven thinking. The above-and-beyond approach we adopt in every matter ensures optimal outcome that position our clients for success.

Our unwavering commitment remains to provide elegant, simple solutions to the most complex of legal matters, and to do it with our clients’ interests at heart. A firm like ours boasts far more than just 100-years of experience and expertise. We have refined success in the corporate and commercial legal environment underpinned by the versatility of the multi-faceted and leading specialists who constitute our team.

A strong supporter of the national transformation agenda, Werksmans is fully committed to transformation and the principles of equal opportunity, inclusivity and diversity; all fundamental to our ongoing success.

This is not just a place where matters are resolved and answers are found. It is a place where new ways of thinking lead to outcomes that raise the bar for excellence. The way we work and the passion which underpins everything we do, sets the standard for legal excellence in the South African Market.

Our culture is the framework around which we have built our coveted reputation as one of the oldest, most prestigious law firms in Africa. This reputation speaks to the calibre of corporate and commercial lawyers who make up the firm; many of whom are recognised as experts in their fields by their peers both locally and abroad.

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Explore the Werksmans Practice Areas.

Firm overview

Spoor & Fisher handles the filing, registration, prosecution and enforcement of trade marks, patents, designs and copyright. Clients also choose us to draft agreements for their commercial intellectual property (IP) transactions and to negotiate the best terms. Our intricate knowledge of over 80 different IP laws and practices across our core geographical regions - Africa and the Caribbean - means that we create and implement robust protection strategies. Where we do not have offices and where we cannot file directly, we work with carefully selected local associates.

Consistency in quality and record-keeping comes with having Spoor & Fisher as a single point of contact to manage entire IP portfolios. We work directly with corporates - global companies to small businesses - their main legal advisors as well as inventors. Clients from across the globe, including Africa-based businesses, have asked us to help protect and enforce their IP assets in their chosen markets.

Sector expertise:

Spoor & Fisher is responsible for the African and/or Caribbean intellectual property portfolios for some of the largest global brand owners across all main industry sectors.

We are pioneers for IP in Africa in particular - our lawyers have written the leading text books - including Dean & Dyer: Introduction to Intellectual Property Law - drafted laws and been involved in several of the most important cases in Africa.

History

1920 saw the creation of Spoor & Fisher in South Africa by founding members, Alfred Leonard Spoor and Len Fisher. With a growing business across Africa and limited local communications to support our business needs, the firm expanded in 1977 with the opening of an office in Jersey, Channel Islands. Jersey was chosen because of its excellent telecommunications and infrastructure. Jersey, being so close to Europe, gave us easy access to many clients, as well as straightforward travel links to Africa, the US and Asia. Although the historic issues that existed in South Africa have disappeared, our Jersey office is now well-established.

Trade Marks

Validity and enforceability of international registrations in African countries through to long response times from local registries are examples of the concerns and challenges that international brand owners face when looking to protect their trade marks across such a vast continent with numerous laws and practices. Similar issues exist in the Caribbean. We work with companies to ensure that, as a minimum, their house trade marks are protected in African countries that are known as counterfeiting hotspots, those with strong economic markets where their goods and services are available, and countries where their brands are being manufactured. Our trade mark search, formalities and prosecution teams manage trade mark portfolios at all stages.

Patents

Similar issues exist for patentees who wish to protect their inventions across such vast regions with numerous laws and practices. Our team of registered patent attorneys and professionals handles not only the drafting and analysis of patent and utility model specifications but also the filing, prosecution and renewal of applications across Africa and the Caribbean. We also work with local South African-based patent owners to assist with their patent portfolios in other countries. Clients rely on our multi-disciplinary expertise and experience to handle their patent matters across all technical disciplines. We have six main patent teams including biotechnology and life sciences, chemistry, chemical engineering and pharmaceuticals, electrical, electronics and software engineering, mechanical, civil and mining engineering, patent agency filings and patent enforcement. Our specialists also form part of our multi-disciplinary teams covering various industry sectors including clean technology, gas, oil and energy, food beverage and FMCG, healthcare, therapeutics and medical technologies, mining and resources, and nanotechnology.

Registered Designs

Designs involve substantial investment. Registering designs prevents the blatant copying of a design and should often be used with other forms of IP protection such as patents and trade marks. Although a registered design only safeguards the appearance of an article and offers a limited form of protection, it is beneficial to register. A product may be the subject of both patent and design protection - patents and registered designs should not be viewed as mutually exclusive. Our designs team has the necessary technical and legal qualifications as well as experience in the preparation, filing, prosecution and renewal of design applications across Africa and the Caribbean.

Firm overview

CWB emerged as an unrivalled super-regional firm in 2023 following the merger of leading regional IP specialists Cedar White Bradley, PETOŠEVIĆ Group and Hahn & Hahn with 29 offices, 150 practitioners, and 250 employees, CWB now services and manages the portfolios of some of the world's leading IP owners across 100+ jurisdictions in Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Through an unrivalled footprint of offices and affiliated offices, we offer centrally managed IP solutions and dedicated client-specific, cross-jurisdiction teams. We blend the best advanced IP practices and the local know-how to deliver consistent quality service across a large geographical area, despite all the challenges posed by the countries we operate in.

CWB provides a full spectrum of IP services related to virtually all IP rights, as well as brand management and brand enforcement services. Our teams protect thousands of IP rights for market leading clients across a large section of industries. We also have a Media & Entertainment team, which provides highly specialized support to clients navigating local regulatory landscapes in fields such as film production, content streaming, crypto, advertising, data protection, social media, software licensing and music usage.

CWB is thinking beyond the technology available today to transform the IP services industry. We are implementing the most innovative technologies and leveraging automation and AI to enhance the client and employee experience and to achieve industry-leading efficiencies.

CWB Office Locations

Africa: Egypt, South Africa (Pretoria and Western Cape), Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Central Asia: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
Central & Eastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo (UNSCR 1244), Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine
Middle East: Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai)

IP Practice Specialisms

CWB provides a full spectrum of intellectual property services related to trademarks, patents, utility models, industrial designs, copyright; domain names, trade secrets and other IP rights, as well as brand management and brand enforcement services. CWB teams file, prosecute, register, and enforce thousands of IP rights for market leading and globally renowned clients across a large section of industries, including consumer electronics, automotive, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, confectionery, FMCG, property development, luxury brands, fashion and cosmetics.

Firm overview

In conjunction with our team in the Middle East, Rouse has more than two decades of IP experience in Sub-Saharan Africa. With our office in South Africa, Rouse consultants on the ground in Nigeria and Kenya and a comprehensive network of IP associates in every jurisdiction, we have extensive experience of working in Africa and understanding the different IP complexities in individual African countries. We advise international businesses coming into or wanting to take advantage of everything the burgeoning African continent can offer while also providing access to the Rouse global network to domestic businesses in the region wanting a seamless entry into overseas markets.