Gerda Bouwer

Gerda serves as attorney and head of the Intellectual Property Department of OAK LAW. She has extensive practical experience in the field of intellectual property law in South Africa, Africa and foreign countries.

Qualifications

Gerda obtained her BCom:Law and LLB degrees from the University of Pretoria and an LLM degree in International Trade Law from the University of Stellenbosch.  Gerda is an admitted attorney and a qualified Trade Marks Practitioner. She is a Member of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces and a Fellow of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property (SAIIPL). In 2015, Gerda successfully completed the Advanced Short Court in Intellectual Property Management and Innovation through UNISA and was honoured with the SIEMENS Prize for being the top NIPMO-UNISA IP Management student. Amongst Gerda’s academic achievements are obtaining Academic Honorary Colours for both her BCom:Law and LLB degrees, receiving merit certificates for Criminal Law, Law of Damages, Third Party Compensation Law and Intellectual Property Law as well as being a member of the Golden Key International Honour’s Society and was listed on the Dean’s Merit Roll.

Experience

After completing her studies in 2007, Gerda accepted articles of clerkship with a well-known IP law firm based in Pretoria where she remained until 2014. Gerda was gained vast experience both in Trade Mark litigation and prosecution not only in South Africa, but in Africa and foreign countries. During the course of 2015 and 2016, Gerda did IP consultation work for various law firms and also dipped her fingers into the academics working as a Lecturer at the IIE: Varsity College, Pretoria.

Gerda has been married for 9 years to Willem Bouwer’s eldest son, Adv. Riaan Bouwer. She is a true foody and enjoys baking and cooking and experiencing new tastes at up and coming eateries. She also enjoys spending time in the outdoors and with her family and friends. Gerda is the proud mother of a lovely daughter.