Claire Smedley

Claire Smedley is a qualified South African trade mark practitioner with extensive experience in intellectual property law. As a Partner at Von Seidels since December 2011, Claire specializes in trade mark searches, application filing, prosecution, maintenance, and portfolio management across Africa, managing substantial trade mark portfolios for global clients. Prior roles include Trade Mark Manager at Von Seidels Intellectual Property Attorneys from March 2007 to December 2011 and an attorney in the Trade Marks Department at Rouse Africa from October 2015 to December 2017. Claire's early career included positions as a Trademark Assistant at Bowman Gilfillan and completion of an LLB degree from the University of South Africa, alongside becoming a Qualified Trade Mark Practitioner through the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law in 2015.