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  • Elaine Bergenthuin

Elaine Bergenthuin

managing partner at De Beer Attorneys.

Elaine Bergenthuin is managing partner at De Beer Attorneys. She has a wealth of experience in both prosecution and litigation of all forms of intellectual property. Bergenthuin is a qualified electronic engineer, a registered South African patent attorney and an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa. She has over 10 years of experience in the legal industry, both locally and abroad. Bergenthuin spent a number of years working at a firm of chartered, European patent attorneys in London, specialising in obtaining patent protection for software, business methods and related technologies. Here she was instrumental in securing patent protection for the technology developments of large multinational companies such as Samsung, Hewlett-Packard and Good Technology (patent portfolio sold to Apple). During this time, she also assisted in securing a US$68 million win for Good Technology in the European leg of its multinational patent litigation dispute with Research in Motion (maker of the BlackBerry). She has also acted on behalf of industry leaders in the ICT and telecommunication sectors in SA with regard to their intellectual property requirements, including successfully representing clients in patent and trademark related matters before the High Court of South Africa. Bergenthuin also has a detailed commercial acumen, having applied her skills in the commercial sphere as an in-house legal advisor for a large multinational company for a number of years. She has the unique ability to combine her in-depth, international skills and experience in intellectual property to the commercial considerations of local companies.

Articles

3:30
Software patentsJun 15, 2017

Why register or patent?

The ramifications of not protecting software and technology developments can be costly.

5:00
PrivacyJan 19, 2017

Is privacy becoming pass'e?

In a world of shares, likes and selfies, is it unfashionable to ask for more discretion?

3:40
SoftwareNov 9, 2016

Patent pending

What the developer needs to know before applying for patent protection.