Protect your inventions
Registered Designs
Protect your designs
Chantal Hoffelner is a patent attorney at Smit & van Wyk, with qualifications in biotechnology and law. Before joining Smit & van Wyk in 2009, she worked as a researcher in the Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology Department at the University of the Free State. She specialises in patent specification drafting, local and international patent searches and legal opinions.
✓ B.Sc Biochemistry and Microbiology
✓ B.Sc (Hons) Microbiology (Cum Laude)
✓ M.Sc Microbiology (Cum Laude)
✓ LLB
Patents
Biotechnology, medical, life sciences and pharmaceutical inventions.
Registered Designs
Industrial designs, product designs, patterns and packaging.
Litigation
Patent and design disputes.
✩ Listed as a Recommended Individual – IAM Patent 1000 (2024–2025).
✩ Recognised in The Best Lawyers in South Africa (2024 & 2025 Editions) – Intellectual Property Law.
✩ Listed as a Notable Practitioner – Managing Intellectual Property (MIP).
✩ IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals – Ranked individual for patent services in South Africa from 2020 – 2022.
Fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL).
Member of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA).
Member of the International Trade Mark Association (INTA).
