Andrew Rens

Andrew Rens, obtained BA and LLB degrees from the  University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,  before working as a lawyer in private practise, and then teaching human rights litigation as an attorney at the Wits Law Clinic while he completed his Master of Laws, focusing on Intellectual Property Issues on the Internet at Wits Law School . Andrew then taught  Intellectual Property, Telecommunications, Broadcasting, Space and Satellite, and Media Law and pioneered a course in Information Technology Law. From 2003 to 2005 Andrew lived in San Francisco, before returning to South Africa to help found the African Commons Project, and Freedom to Innovate South Africa, both non profit organisations, the first dedicated to the copyright commons, and the second to patent and standards reform. After working with the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, and at the LINK Centre, both at the University of the Witwatersrand, Andrew moved to Cape Town to work at the Shuttleworth Foundation as Intellectual Property Fellow. He is still  the Legal Lead for  Creative Commons South Africa.