PATENT, DESIGN & TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS

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 is a director of Hahn & Hahn and has been at the firm for 25 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. 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 both intellectual property focussing on the drafting, prosecution and litigation of patents, and regulatory compliance focusing on food and consumer products. 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 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 drafting and prosecuting local and foreign patent applications, as well as filing and prosecuting PCT national phase patent applications in South Africa. Claudia heads our local Paris Convention patent filing department as well as our local Design filing department and our Plant Breeders' Rights filing department. She is fluent in English, Afrikaans and German and will be the president of FICPI South Africa as of the World Congress in Cannes in September 2022.

Pieter holds B.Sc., B.Sc.(Hons), M.Sc. degrees in chemistry and an LLB degree. He is a qualified attorney and patent attorney. He moved from Adams & Adams to join Hahn & Hahn Inc in 2001. Pieter deals with all aspects of intellectual property law and is involved in patent litigation, the drafting and prosecution of local and foreign patent applications. Pieter also handles commercial aspects regarding intellectual property such as licensing agreements and is a past president of the South African Chapter of The Licensing Executives Society.

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 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 and 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.

Keenan-Jay joined Hahn & Hahn in 2016 after obtaining a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Pretoria. He was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court and registered as a Patent Attorney in 2020. Keenan-Jay deals primarily with the drafting of patent specifications as well as filing and prosecution of patent applications in South Africa and abroad.

Rachel joined Hahn & Hahn Inc in June 1990 and holds a BA (H.E.D.) as well as LLB. Rachel heads up our local patent department and is involved in all aspects of patent administration, including renewals. She is fluent in English, Tswana, Zulu and Afrikaans and is currently enrolled to write the first year exams offered by the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law.

Bianca holds a BA (Law), LLB, and LLM (Intellectual Property Law). Bianca was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2019 and is primarily involved with Trade Mark prosecution and litigation.

Elke Harck is the Patent Administration Manager for Hahn & Hahn Inc, which position Elke has held for 34 years, dealing mostly with foreign filings, designs and local patent administration. Elke lived in Germany and the USA before coming to South Africa and is fluent in both German and English.

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.

Dirk joined Hahn & Hahn Inc during 2011 and currently holds the position of Accounts Manager. He obtained diplomas in Accounting and Project Management and has 26 years experience in the financial sphere.

Taryn joined Hahn & Hahn in 2005 and holds the position of Foreign Trade Marks Manager. In particular, Taryn oversees African and International trade mark filings, searches and prosecution. She is a member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law.

Dorothy joined Hahn & Hahn in 2002 and holds the position of Local Trade Marks Manager. In particular, Dorothy oversees trade mark filings, searches and prosecution in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini. She is a member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law.

Yolande joined Hahn & Hahn Inc in 2016 and holds the position of Patents Paralegal in our Patent Department. In particular, Yolande is primarily involved in Litigation and in all aspects of patent administration. She is also currently a student member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law.

Natasha joined the firm in 2008 and holds the position of Africa IP Paralegal. In particular, Natasha is primarily involved in all aspects of patent administration in African countries outside of South Africa.