Carol Kat

Carol Kat

Head: Copyright; Trade Marks & Short Courses

Carol started her intellectual property career in 1999 as the copyright officer for a publisher and course content supplier in the Naspers Group. Since embarking on her career at Stellenbosch University in 2003, Carol has progressed to where she is now: Head of Stellenbosch University’s Copyright, Trademarks and Short Courses Division. She holds a BRad degree from the University of the Free State and pursued the World Intellectual Property Organization-University of South Africa Specialisation Programme in Intellectual Property from 2007 to 2009. 
 
She has expanded the role of the Stellenbosch University Copyright Office to include institutional copyright guidelines to ensure consistent implementation of and compliance with an institutional blanket licence agreement as well as the management and administration of the protection of Stellenbosch University’s own content created by staff and students. While Innovus is custodian of both the institutional short courses and trademark policies, Carol further expanded these divisions within Innovus. This includes establishing a framework with specific operational and administrative services for the overall coordination and regulation of Stellenbosch University short courses to ensure compliance with Council on Higher Education regulatory requirements as well as establishing a unified strategy for the protection, usage and licensing of Stellenbosch University’s trademarks. 
 
Over the last 18 years, Carol has set about extensively increasing her knowledge and experience regarding copyright, trademark and short course environments against the background of an educational context and has presented nationally and internationally at various conferences and forums on both copyright and short course aspects.