Victor Williams
Victor is a director of Hahn & Hahn Inc and Board member of CWB Limited and has been at the firm for 28 years Victor has mechanical engineering and law degrees, is an admitted attorney and registered patent attorney. He is a past president of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law. Victor moved to Hahn & Hahn Inc from Adams & Adams and is the head of our Trade Marks department. He is also involved in litigation and valuations in all areas of intellectual property. Victor is a senior adjudicator of the Institutes' alternate dispute resolution provider for settling domain name disputes. Lastly, Victor serves as a moderator, lecturer and examiner for the Patent Examination Board and is the Financial Director of Hahn & Hahn Inc.
Janusz Luterek
Janusz is a director of Hahn & Hahn Inc and heads up the Africa and Middle East patent practice areas (in association with CWB Limited) and has been at the firm for 27 years. Janusz's qualifications include a B.Eng (Chemical) and a B.Proc. He is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa, a patent attorney and a registered professional engineer (Pr.Eng) and Chartered Engineer (C.Eng). Janusz is also a member of several professional, industrial and legal societies in South Africa, the USA and the UK. Before joining the profession, Janusz worked in the chemical, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical industries for a number of years.
Janusz's current activities include intellectual property focussing on the drafting, prosecution and litigation of patents. Janusz is a senior adjudicator of the Institute of Intellectual Property Law's alternate dispute resolution provider for settling domain name disputes. Janusz’s technical fields of specialization include petrochemical engineering, food and beverage science and engineering, pharmaceuticals, agro chemicals, and catalysis.
Claudia Berndt
Claudia joined Hahn & Hahn Inc at the beginning of 1999 after completing a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Pretoria and is a qualified attorney and patent attorney. Claudia's current activities include filing and prosecuting PCT national phase and Paris Convention patent applications in South Africa as well as overseeing a large portion of the administrative functions of Hahn & Hahn's patent and design departments.
Claudia also heads our local Design filing department and our Plant Breeders' Rights filing department. She is fluent in English, Afrikaans and German and is the current president of FICPI South Africa, a position she will hold until the next World Congress in Naples in October of 2025. Over the last three years, Claudia has been involved in the prosecution of patent and design applications in the MENA region and is currently the head of the patent department of a Middle Eastern IP firm.
Janet Tomkow-Coetzer
Janet is a director of Hahn & Hahn and holds degrees in B.Sc. (Biotechnology) and LLB (Law), is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa and a patent attorney. Janet successfully completed a patent drafting course held by FICPI (The International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys) Academy at Cambridge University (U.K.) and has experience in the drafting, prosecution and litigation of patents.
With more than 13 years’ experience in intellectual property law, Janet now heads our Africa IP Department and handles the filing and prosecution of patent applications, utility models and registered designs throughout Sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa as well as OAPI. Janet also manages the ARIPO patent and design practice at Galloway & Co.
Vanessa Lawrance
Vanessa holds B.Comm and LLB degrees; the final semester of the latter degree was completed at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. She also holds diplomas in Corporate Law and Drafting and Interpretation of Contracts.
Vanessa moved from Adams & Adams to join Hahn & Hahn Inc in 2002. Vanessa is a Trade Mark Practitioner and is primarily involved with Trade Mark litigation, Copyright and Internet matters. She is a qualified Notary and also an accredited Assessor and Mediator.
Michiel Grobler
Michiel holds B.Pharm, M.Sc Pharm and LLB degrees. He is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa, a registered patent attorney and a registered pharmacist. Before joining Hahn & Hahn Inc in 2012, Michiel worked as a Research and Development pharmacist for a large multi-national pharmaceutical company where he gained experience in oral dosage formulation and pharmaceutical process design. Michiel specialises in all aspects of intellectual property law and is particularly involved in patent litigation, and the drafting and prosecution of patent applications in foreign jurisdictions.
Rachel Sekotlong
Rachel joined Hahn & Hahn Inc in June 1990 and holds degrees in BA (H.E.D.), LLB (Law) as well as a BTh (Hons). Rachel heads up our local South African Patents Department and is involved in all aspects of patent administration, including renewals. She is fluent in English, Tswana, Zulu and Afrikaans.
Keenan-Jay Barnard
Keenan-Jay joined Hahn & Hahn in 2016 after obtaining a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pretoria. He qualified as an Attorney of the High Court and registered as a Patent Attorney in 2020.
He specializes in drafting patent specifications, amendments and managing the filing and prosecution of patent applications in South Africa and abroad. His areas of expertise include mechanics, aeronautics, robotics, biomechanics, fluid mechanics, electronics, information technology, energy generation, mining, industrial manufacturing and CAD modelling.
Keenan is a fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) and a member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI).
Stellar Frisby
Since joining Hahn & Hahn Inc. in early 2020, Stellar has been an integral part of the National Phase Filing Department, contributing significantly to the day-to-day operations, with a particular emphasis on preparing and filing amendments. From 2022 to 2024, she focused on the management of South African national phase application amendments. Currently, her focus is on drafting patent specifications and prosecuting PCT national phase applications in South Africa.
Stellar has completed her patent board exams, with the view of becoming an admitted attorney and patent attorney in the near future. She holds a BSc in Agriculture (Food Science and Technology) from the University of Pretoria and an LLB from the University of South Africa. Her prior experience includes a series of internships across various segments of the food industry, including roles including in manufacturing, laboratory testing, product development, culinary operations, and food production management. She is a professional member of the South African Association of Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST) and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). Additionally, she is currently studying Portuguese and Spanish at CEFR level A.
Bianca Mynhardt
Bianca holds a BA Law, LLB, and LLM in Intellectual Property Law and is an admitted attorney and trade mark practitioner. Specialising in both prosecution and litigation within the Trade mark department, Bianca's responsibilities include overseeing our South African Recordal department.
She manages trade mark portfolios, dealing with availability and registrability searches, filings, prosecution and bulk renewals. Bianca also handles enforcement matters, including trade mark infringement, opposition proceedings, passing off and copyright issues. Additionally, Bianca is involved in drafting and reviewing IP-related agreements.
Willie Collen
Willie joined Hahn & Hahn during 2023 and currently holds the position of Accounts Manager. He obtained degrees in Accounting and completed his SAICA articles during 2019. He has experience in compliance from being an Audit Manager as well as substantial experience running finance departments as a Financial Manager.
Taryn Degenaar
Taryn joined Hahn & Hahn in 2005 and currently holds the position Foreign Trade Marks Manager. She specialises in trade mark prosecution across Africa and internationally, servicing clients across diverse industry sectors. Her expertise includes trade mark registration, portfolio management, filings, searches and renewals, both locally and internationally. Taryn is also a member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law.
Dorothy Imrie
Dorothy joined Hahn & Hahn in 2002 and holds the position of Local Trade Marks Manager. She specialises in trade mark prosecution in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini, servicing clients across diverse industry sectors. Her expertise includes trade mark registration, portfolio management, filings, searches and renewals. Dorothy is also a member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law.
Yolande Anderson
Yolande holds a BA Law (Cum Laude) and holds the position of IP Administration Manager in our Patent Department. In particular, Yolande has experience in patent and design renewals as well as Litigation and is now involved in all aspects of administration relating to South African designs and foreign patents. She is currently completing her LLB Degree.
Michelle Cazalet
Michelle is a trainee patent attorney at Hahn & Hahn, holding a BEng degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pretoria. She is currently pursuing an LLB degree and working towards completing her patent board exams. Michelle’s training encompasses the drafting, filing, and prosecution of patent applications, both in South Africa and abroad, with a focus on the field of electronics.
Her engineering background drives her passion for optimizing systems and finding innovative solutions, embodying the true spirit of an engineer. As a member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL), Michelle is dedicated to developing her expertise in the intellectual property field while continuously expanding her knowledge and skills.
Nokuthula Mabena
Nokuthula is a trainee patent attorney at Hahn & Hahn, holding a MSc in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of the Witwatersrand. Since joining the firm in May 2024, she has played an integral role in South African national phase applications and supports the daily functions of the National Phase Department.
She focuses on preparing and filing amendments for PCT applications in the national phase. As she continues her LLB studies at the University of South Africa and patent board exams, Nokuthula is keen to deepen her understanding of the legal landscape surrounding innovation.
With a strong scientific background and a passion for intellectual property, Nokuthula aims to contribute significantly to the field and bridge the gap between science and law.
Gladys Tlaka
Gladys is a candidate patent attorney at Hahn & Hahn, holding a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry (cum laude) from University of Limpopo and LLB (cum laude) from UNISA. She is part of the National Phase Filing Team and deals primarily with preparing and filing amendments for foreign patent applications. Gladys is also receiving training in drafting of patent specifications, filing, and prosecution of patent applications, both in South Africa and abroad.
Before joining Hahn & Hahn, Gladys worked for 16 years in the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a forensic analyst, stationed at DNA Analysis Department. In 2023, Gladys was selected as one of 38 candidates worldwide from a pool of 923 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to participate in the 14th Advanced International Certificate Course on IP Asset Management for Business Success in Seoul, South Korea. This experience deepened her expertise in the IP rights and strategic IP asset management.
Chris Elsenbroek
Chris holds a BA Law and an LLB degree from the University of Pretoria and is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa. Chris joined Hahn & Hahn in September 2024 and holds the position as a Patent Administrator in the South African National Phase Filing Department.
Chris is a student member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) and he is also currently in the process of completing the Group 1 subjects of the Trade Mark Attorney Qualification course.
Chris is fluent in Afrikaans, English and studied French up to third year level at the University of Pretoria.
Marina Brewis
Marina is fluent in German, English, French and Afrikaans and was admitted to the High Court of South Africa in September 1996 as a sworn translator for English/German, German/English, French/English and English/French. Marina joined Hahn & Hahn Inc. in 1989 as a technical translator and provides translation services to both local and international clients.
Wilandie Green
Wilandie has been in the legal field since 2016 and is currently obtaining her LLB Degree. Wilandie is part of the South African National Phase Team and she deals primarily with the intake and filing of PCT National Phase patent applications in South Africa. Further, she also assists with the day-to-day operations within the National Phase Department. Her interests include Human Rights and Patent Law.
Natasha Botha
Natasha joined the firm in 2008 and holds the position of Africa IP Paralegal. With over 16 years’ experience, Natasha has extensive knowledge and is involved in all aspects of patent administration in African countries outside of South Africa.
Rina Nel
Rina holds a Law degree and is an admitted attorney with right of appearance in the High Court of South Africa. Rina was introduced to Intellectual Property Law in 2001 and through the years gained experience in several Intellectual Property Law firms in South African Patent and Design prosecution, as well as Trade Mark Renewals and Anti-Counterfeiting before joining Hahn & Hahn in 2015.
Rina has completed the Group I South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) exams. More recently she obtained certificates for completing a Debt Collection course; a Medico-Legal course through UNISA; as well as a Medico-Legal course through The South African Medico-Legal Association (SAMLA).
Rina's current activities at Hahn & Hahn entails being part of Claudia Berndt's team where she mainly deals with the bulk National Phase Patent filings and as part of Pieter Venter's team she mostly deals with South African and Foreign Patents; South African and Foreign Designs; as well as PCT Patent applications.
Erika Oliver
Erika joined Hahn & Hahn in 2020. Erika deals primarily with all aspects relating to trade mark renewals in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini. She also assists with trade mark applications, trade mark prosecution and recordals in these countries. Erika has more than 20 years’ experience in trade mark prosecution, recordals and renewals.
Liesl Pretorius
Liesl joined Hahn & Hahn in 2023 and deals primarily with all aspects of trade mark filings as well as assisting with trade mark prosecution in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and eSwatini. Liesl has more than 14 years’ experience in various aspects of trade mark prosecution.
