Mr John Foster > Spoor & Fisher > Pretoria, South Africa > Lawyer Profile
Spoor & Fisher Offices
11 BYLS BRIDGE BOULEVARD, BUILDING NO.14
HIGHVELD EXT 73, CENTURION
PRETORIA, 0157
South Africa
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Mr John Foster
Work Department
Trade Mark Enforcement
Position
John Foster is a Trade Mark Attorney with BCom (Law) and LLB degrees. He is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
John specialises in domestic and foreign trade mark prosecution and trade mark, copyright and unlawful competition litigation. This includes trade mark oppositions, trade mark and copyright infringement claims, domain name disputes and company name objections.
John has a keen interest in advertising law and has been involved in numerous litigious matters before various advertising regulatory bodies, in South Africa and various African countries. He regularly provides advertising pre-clearance advice to a number of multinational companies. John also deals with commercial IP transactions, licensing arrangements and due diligence investigations.
Career
John completed his Bachelor in Commerce (BCom) at the University of Stellenbosch in 2008 before going on to study his LLB, which he completed in 2010, winning a prize for the top student in the subject of Intellectual Property. John was admitted as an attorney of the High Court in 2013, after having served articles at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc. and Spoor & Fisher as an Associate, John qualified as a Trade Mark Practitioner and, in 2015, was appointed to the position of Senior Associate. John was appointed as a Partner of Spoor & Fisher in March 2017.
Professional activities
- Co-author of the Unlawful Competition chapter in Dean & Dyer: Introduction to Intellectual Property Law (Oxford University Press), 2014
- Co-author of the Sponsorship and Marketing Agreements chapter in International Business Transactions (Kluwer Law), 2016, 2018
Market Recognition
- Listed – WTR1000: Trade Mark Enforcement and Litigation, 2019-present
- Rising Star to Watch – Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars, 2017, 2020-2021
Languages
English, Afrikaans
Memberships
- Fellow – South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL)
- Member – Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA)
- Member – International Trade Mark Association (INTA)
- Chair – INTA Famous & Well-Known Trademarks Social Media Subcommittee
- Member – INTA Global Advisory Council: Africa
- Member – Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA)
- Associate Member – Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCASA)
Education
BCom Law, LLB. (University of Stellenbosch). Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
Leisure
John is a keen archer and avid hiker.
Lawyer Rankings
South Africa > Intellectual property
(Next Generation Partners)Spoor & Fisher is well known for its specialist expertise in intellectual property law. The firm fields experience across all areas of IP, advising on patents, copyright, trade marks, commercial IP, litigation, domain names and registered designs, to name a few areas. Dirk Hanekom oversees the patents team, Mohamed Khader leads the anti-counterfeiting team, and Marco van der Merwe heads the trade marks team. IP litigation expert Eben van Wyk is well versed in handling trade mark disputes, and Dina Biagio is very experienced in advising on patent work. Tyron Grant specialises in biotech patent matters, while John Foster advises on copyright and unlawful competition claims. Charles Webster
and Carl van Rooyen are highly regarded practitioners in the IP space. Zama Buthelezi, Chyreene Truluck and Merlene Engelbrecht are also singled out for their contributions. Hugh Moubray has retired from practice.