Ursula is a Patent Attorney, Director, and Head of the Patent Department at KISCH IP. She holds an Honours degree in Chemistry (cum laude) and an LLB degree (cum laude), and brings over 20 years of experience in intellectual property law.

Ursula has extensive expertise in the drafting and prosecution of local and international patent applications, particularly in the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, microbiological, and biochemical fields. Her practice includes preparing patentability, validity, and infringement opinions, as well as advising on the validity and enforcement of design registrations. She is frequently consulted on patent claim amendment strategies.

She is also involved in assessing intellectual property portfolios for major due diligence exercises, mergers, and acquisitions. In addition, Ursula conducts technology landscaping assessments and competitor analysis studies, with a focus on patented technologies in her technical areas of expertise.

Ursula has substantial experience with method of treatment claims, Swiss-type claims, and second medical use claims, especially regarding their allowability in South Africa. She has written and presented extensively on the subject, including webinars delivered to Technology Transfer Offices at South African universities and to leaders in local industry. She has authored and co-authored various articles for both local and international IP publications.

She is a Fellow and Council Member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL), and a member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), where she currently serves as Secretary of the AIPPI South African Group.

Ursula has been consistently recognized in IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals and was named Practitioner of the Year for 2025 by Managing IP.