Spoor & Fisher

Patents commercial

Dina is a Patent Attorney with BSc (Physics), BSc (Elec Eng) and LLB degrees. She is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

Qualified in 2002, Dina has two decades of experience, primarily in commercial transactions relating to intellectual property, including licensing, manufacturing, supply and distribution, technology transfer and collaboration agreements, transaction and investment structuring and related agreements, public-private transactions, ventures and collaborations, IP audits, due diligence and valuation. Dina has a special interest in the exhaustion of intellectual property rights and in arrangements involving open source and cloud-based software.

She is also proficient in domestic and international patent and design matters, specifically patent specification drafting and the prosecution of patent applications.

Dina started her career as an electro-optics engineer with De Beers Diamond Research Laboratory while completing her law degree, part time.  She commenced articles with Kisch IP in 1998 and was admitted as an attorney and registered as a patent attorney in 2002.  She joined Spoor & Fisher in 2007 and became a partner of the firm in 2009.

Professional activities

Author of chapter on Commercial Considerations, Dean & Dyer: Intellectual Property Law in South Africa (Oxford University Press), 2014 Contributor to Thomson Reuters IP in Business Transactions Global Guide, 2017-present Author of Patents and Franchising, Getting the Deal Through, 2018-present Lecturer and examiner on International Treaties and Conventions: Patent Examination Board, 2015-present Director of the Licensing Executive Society of South Africa, 2013-2018 Regular speaker on the commercialisation of IP, particularly through licensing, leveraging IP value, and the implications of legislation on publicly-financed IP

Market Recognition

Chambers Global - Intellectual Property: South Africa, 2022 The Legal 500 - Intellectual Property: South Africa, 2023 Best Lawyers – Intellectual Property: South Africa, 2022 and 2023 World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 - Transactions, 2022 and 2023 Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars - Patent, 2015-present IAM Patent 1000, 2012-present DSI/SARIMA Award for Distinguished Contribution to Innovation Management, 2020 Top 250 Women in IP – Managing Intellectual Property, 2017 Ranked- IP stars 2024

English, Afrikaans  

Member – South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) Member – International Trademark Association (INTA) Member – Licensing Executive Society (LES) and a certified trainer for LES South Africa Member – Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) Member – Legal Practice Council (LPC)

BSc (Physics), BSc (Elec Eng), LLB. Patent Attorney, Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.