our people

Rowan Forster is an Executive at ENS in the Intellectual Property (“IP”) practice and divides his time largely between advising on patent and design filing and prosecution strategies and delivering strategic trade mark advice to clients across a wide spectrum of industries. Patent and design litigation also fall within his areas of expertise. A qualified patent attorney, Rowan was responsible for starting the firm’s patents practice, which he heads.  He successfully manages the patent portfolios of numerous domestic and foreign companies, and ensures high-quality drafting and prosecution of domestic, international and foreign national patent applications.

On the trade mark front, Rowan conducts critical evaluations of the trade mark portfolios of small clients through to listed and multinational companies. Rowan’s background lies in chemistry and, being an experienced patent attorney who has more than 2 decades of trade mark experience, he is ideally placed to offer practical commercial advice on the overall IP portfolios of clients and is often the critical link between the client and the commercial IP team at ENS.

Rowan is best known for his practical advice, always with a focus on clients’ business needs.

Rowan is recognised as a leading/recommended lawyer by:

• The Legal 500 EMEA 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 – Intellectual Property (South Africa)
• Managing IP: IP Stars Handbook 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2016 – Patents (South Africa)
• World Trademark Review (WTR) 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 – Prosecution and Strategy (South Africa)
• IAM Patent 1000 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2016 – Prosecution (South Africa)
• IAM Strategy 300 2023 – IP management consultancy (South Africa)
• IAM Global Leaders – 2024, 2023,  2022, 2021 (South Africa)
• Best Lawyers® 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 – Intellectual Property Law (South Africa)

Rowan is a member of the following IP associations:

• LES – Licensing Executives Society
• INTA – International Trade Marks Association
• AIPPI – International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property
• SAIIPL – South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (fellow)
• PTMG – The Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group