Mr Dirk Hanekom > Spoor & Fisher > Pretoria, South Africa > Lawyer Profile
Spoor & Fisher Offices
11 BYLS BRIDGE BOULEVARD, BUILDING NO.14
HIGHVELD EXT 73, CENTURION
PRETORIA, 0157
South Africa
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Mr Dirk Hanekom
Work Department
Patent Chemical
Position
Dirk is a partner at Spoor & Fisher and is the Head of Patents. He deals with domestic and international patent matters, including the preparation and prosecution of patent applications relating to pharmaceutical inventions, including novel compounds, formulations and manufacturing techniques; and other general chemical technologies including petrochemicals, catalysts, polymer chemistry, pesticides, rubber and general consumer goods. Dirk also advises clients on regulatory issues relating to these technology areas. He has extensive experience in conducting freedom to operate investigations in South Africa and the rest of the African continent.
Career
Dirk obtained a Master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Stellenbosch in 2006, and started working in R&D for a leading complementary health product company in the same year. Studying law part-time, Dirk joined Spoor & Fisher as an article clerk in 2009, and obtained his LLB (cum laude) from the University of South African in 2011. He was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in September 2011, and was admitted as a Patent Attorney in December 2013. Dirk was made a partner of Spoor & Fisher in March 2016.
Professional activities
Contributor of Patents and Designs for the Thomson Reuters IP Global Guide: South Africa, 2018.
Guest lecturer of IP short course: Stellenbosch University, 2015-present.
Guest lecturer on IP Law: Nelson Mandela University, 2019.
Speaker at World IP Day Conference Shanghai, 2019.
Speaker at SARIMA Conference, 2015-2016
Languages
English, Afrikaans
Memberships
Associate member of the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCASA).
Fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL).
Member of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA).
Member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI).
Member – Legal Practice Council (LPC)
Education
MSc (Chemistry), LLB (cum laude). Patent Attorney, Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
Leisure
Long distance running, deep sea fishing, visiting wine farms in the Cape wine region, and spending time with his young family
Lawyer Rankings
South Africa > Intellectual property
Spoor & Fisher is well known for its specialist expertise in intellectual property law. The firm fields experience across all areas of IP, advising on patents, copyright, trade marks, commercial IP, litigation, domain names and registered designs, to name a few areas. Dirk Hanekom oversees the patents team, Mohamed Khader leads the anti-counterfeiting team, and Marco van der Merwe heads the trade marks team. IP litigation expert Eben van Wyk is well versed in handling trade mark disputes, and Dina Biagio is very experienced in advising on patent work. Tyron Grant specialises in biotech patent matters, while John Foster advises on copyright and unlawful competition claims. Charles Webster
and Carl van Rooyen are highly regarded practitioners in the IP space. Zama Buthelezi, Chyreene Truluck and Merlene Engelbrecht are also singled out for their contributions. Hugh Moubray has retired from practice.