Robynne Zevenster

Work Experience

October 2021-

Current

Owner/Virtual Intellectual Property Specialists

Woodstock, Western Cape

Registered Patent Attorney

I realised that IP law firms mostly target the overseas market. I started Virtual Intellectual Property Specialists, an IP consultancy company, to make intellectual property law more accessible to South African entrepreneurs and small businesses. 

Key Responsibilities:

Attending to day to day running of the company, giving legal advice vis-à-vis intellectual property related matters and filing and prosecution of applications for intellectual property rights including patent, designs and trade marks

Von Seidels 

Century City, Western Cape

Registered Patent Attorney

I was employed as a patent attorney at Von Seidels (Africa department). The department handled filings for foreign and local clients in ARIPO, OAPI and Nigeria. The department was also responsible for liaising with agents from other African countries regarding filings done in these countries.

Key Responsibilities:

Guide clients regarding formal and substantive requirements for patent applications according to the laws of the relevant country or regional system.

Ensured that patent claims accompanying a patent application complied with the patentability requirements of the relevant country or regional system.

Attend to ancillary administrative work in a timeous manner.

After eight months at Von Seidels, I felt I would be more suited to a less administratively intensive position that allows me to utilise my strategic strengths. 

McCallum Rademeyer & Freimond 

Johannesburg, Gauteng

Candidate Patent Attorney and Registered Patent Attorney 

I started at McCallum Rademeyer & Freimond as a candidate patent attorney. This boutique intellectual property law firm has a strong local client base, including Mintek, AECI, Cochrane Steel Products, MNI, BHP, to name a few. Thus, I was exposed to all matters relating to intellectual property, particularly in fields such as mining, biomining, metallurgy, electronic and wireless communication, and pharmaceuticals.

As a candidate, I conducted prior art searches and prepared search reports, validity opinions, and infringement searches for clients in all technical fields.

Later, as a patent attorney, I also dealt with foreign and local patent prosecutions, intellectual property right enforcement and transactional matters relating to intellectual property.

After 12 years of service, I left the firm on good terms, grateful for the opportunity and the experience, but ready to move on to new challenges in the Western Cape.

I completed my LLB part-time through UNISA while working as a candidate patent attorney at a boutique IP Law Firm in Johannesburg. 

My final year elective subjects centred around intellectual property law, with the aim to qualify as a patent attorney. 

After completing my LLB degree, Attorney board exams, and Patent board exams concurrently, I was admitted as an attorney in November 2012 shortly after graduating. I was subsequently registered as a patent attorney.

BSc (Hon) Biochemistry

My honours year was divided between coursework and a supervised project. 

The coursework consisted of theory and practical work, subject to examination and report drafting, respectively.

My knowledge contribution was in the field of human genetics, focussing on observing changes in the mRNA expression of the vitamin D receptor gene in a human cell line under controlled conditions. The experimental procedure included cell-culturing (in control and test conditions), mRNA extraction, reverse transcribing the mRNA into DNA, primer design for the target gene, amplifying the resulting DNA using PCR, separating the DNA mixture using gel electrophoresis and analysing the results. An article based on the findings during repeat experiments, under varying conditions, was drafted and presented to determine a final mark. 

BSc Biotechnology