By Kathleen Kriel

Intellectual property (IP) law firm Von Seidels has been awarded the South Africa IP Firm of the Year award for 2013 by international IP magazine Managing Intellectual Property (MIP).

Associate publisher of MIP, Ali Jawad said: ‘The awards are presented to the firms behind the most innovative and challenging IP work of the past year. The awards ceremony recognises the leading firms from major jurisdictions around the world.’

According to Bastiaan Koster, managing partner of Von Seidels: ‘While this recognition has come as somewhat of a surprise to us, we are very pleased with the recognition of having established ourselves as one of the leading IP firms in South Africa.’

Mr Koster added that Von Seidels was a specialist patent and trade mark firm established in 2007. ‘Von Seidels has a strong patent team, which includes electronic, chemical, mechatronic and civil engineers, as well as chemists and a pharmacist,’ he said.

Mr Koster told De Rebus that he believed IP would continue to play an important role in the well-being of businesses. ‘It will remain an important asset on the balance sheet of most businesses, but IP must be managed strategically so that companies have appropriate protection for their brands and new innovations,’ he said in this regard.

Five partners of the firm travelled to London for the award ceremony on 17 April. Other companies in the running for the award were Adams & Adams, Bouwers Inc, De Chalains and Spoor & Fisher. In 2011 and 2012 the award was won by Adams & Adams.

Kathleen Kriel, kathleen@derebus.org.za

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2013 (May) DR 13.