Stephen Middleton is a partner and patent attorney at Von Seidels and is known for his expertise in protecting complex, computer-implemented inventions, both locally and abroad.

Before joining Von Seidels, Stephen completed a master’s degree in engineering within the University of Cape Town’s Radar Remote Sensing Group, which included spending time in Antarctica as a technical assistant to South Africa’s national space agency.

Stephen honed his skills drafting patent specifications for an international payment organisation which focused on mobile banking and payment technologies. He now practices more broadly and has particular experience in protecting inventions in the fields of blockchain- and cryptocurrency-related technology, digital signal processing, internet-of-things (IoT) and other embedded systems technologies, medical devices and mobile banking security to name a few.

In addition to his patent practice, Stephen assists venture capitalists with IP due diligences and international clients with the formulation of IP strategies. He also has experience in data privacy and copyright matters.