Bernadette Versfeld

Bernadette Versfeld is a Partner based in Johannesburg and an Intellectual Property specialist with over 20 years of experience. Her primary practice area is Intellectual Property Law.

She has extensive experience advising some of the world's top multinational organisations in relation to the protection, management, enforcement and exploitation of Intellectual Property in Africa. She provides clients with all services associated with trade marks, including prosecution, litigation and commercial transactional work.

She is renowned for her litigation skills and knowledge in the field of IP (trade marks, copyright, designs, patents, trade secrets, know-how, confidential information and goodwill), dealing with high-profile IP litigious matters internationally and across Africa, and is recognised for her negotiation skills and strategic and commercially focused advice in relation to contentious matters.

She also has extensive experience advising on high-profile and complex corporate transactions relating to the exploitation of IP rights, commercialisation and structuring of IP rights (such as through cross-border licensing, assignments, research and development, global joint ventures, technology transfer and collaboration agreements); IP issues flowing from international acquisitions and disposals; public offerings and corporate reorganisations; international structures and exchange control issues; and IP due diligence investigations across multiple jurisdictions in Africa and internationally.

Her recognition includes being named by Chambers Global 2015–2026 as a ranked lawyer; by Best Lawyers 2019–2026 as a leading individual; by Legal 500 2012–2025 as a leading individual; by Managing Intellectual Property's IP STARS as a Trade Mark Star (2023–2024); by World Trademark Review 2012–2023 as a leading individual for enforcement and litigation, prosecution and strategy, and transactions; by IAM Patent 1000 (2015–2023) as one of the world's leading patent professionals and (2021–2023) as one of the world's leading transaction professionals; by World IP Review 2021–2023 as a Trademark Leader (South Africa); and by Managing Intellectual Property's IP STARS directory 2018 as one of the top 250 women in IP globally.

She was appointed to the International Trademark Association's Copyright Committee for the 2018–2019 term and its Commercialisation of Brands Committee for the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 terms. She is a member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (2002 to date), its Anti-Counterfeiting Committee (2006 to date) and the International Trademark Association (2006 to date).

She is a Fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law and a qualified trade mark practitioner (2002). She holds an LLB from the University of Johannesburg (1999) and a BA Law from the University of Johannesburg (1997), and is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa.