Tumelo (Mary) Mashabela
INFORMATION JUSTICE FELLOW, ARCADIA PROGRAM
Tumelo is a dynamic registered patent attorney in South Africa with extensive skills in various aspects of intellectual property, corporate and commercial law. Tumelo holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and an LLB degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA). With her vast knowledge and experience, Tumelo established her own IP law firm during April 2016, Tshaya Mashabela Attorneys. Tumelo is passionate about creating IP awareness and has done so over the years. To this end, she has nurtured and mentored aspiring young IP legal practitioners, who are from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. Tumelo served 2 terms as an Advisory Board Member for National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO) of South Africa, an agency of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). She served as a non-executive Director for UJInvnt (Pty) Ltd, an IP commercialisation arm of the University of Johannesburg. She was an Independent Contractor contracted to the UNISA to develop content for an IP management post-graduate diploma. She is a moderator for the Patent Examination Board – SA Patent Law and Practice module. Tumelo has been providing lectures at WIPO South Africa Summer School on Intellectual Property and Transfer of Technology hosted by WIPO in collaboration with DSI, NIPMO and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) for almost a decade. Tumelo is a unique patent attorney that is shaping the world of IP Law and is passionate about imparting IP knowledge towards disadvantaged communities and small businesses. She can be reached at tumelom@tm-attorneys.africa.