Russell Norton is an attorney with the intellectual property law firm Spoor & Fisher. He is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg where he obtained a BA and subsequently an LLB degree. He served his articles of clerkship with Spoor & Fisher and was a partner of the firm from 1990 to 2003, when he left the partnership to pursue a business venture in Cape Town. Currently he operates as Spoor & Fisher´s local trade mark consultant in the Cape.

Russell practices in the field of trade mark matters generally, in particular trade mark searches, trade mark registrations, litigation and anti-counterfeiting. He is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and a qualified Trade Mark Practitioner of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law.

Spoor & Fisher is a boutique firm of patent, trade mark and copyright attorneys, offering a multi-faceted range of services covering the full spectrum of intellectual property law. The service competencies of the firm include commercial exploitation, protection, consulting, brand development and product design, through to ensuring that a client's portfolio of patents and trade marks aligns with its business strategy. Spoor & Fisher also offer IP valuations, as well as IP-related advice on tax and financial structures, commercial transactions, litigation and due diligence.

Spoor & Fisher has offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. They can be contacted on Tel: (021) 674-4499; web:www.spoor.com.