Thapelo is an admitted attorney as well as a registered patent attorney in the Johannesburg office of Adams & Adams. He has a BSc Eng. (Metallurgy & Materials Engineering) degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, and an LLB from UNISA.

Thapelo routinely drafts, files and prosecutes local and international patent applications relating to computer-implemented, mechanical, electro-mechanical, chemical, materials science and metallurgical inventions.

Technical fields in which Thapelo has drafted and prosecuted patent applications include, among others, those of electrochemical cells, supercapacitors, nuclear energy, mining technology (including mining props, valves and pumps), minerals processing, nanomaterials, computer implemented inventions including advanced systems such as block chain, fingerprint processing and verification systems, etc.

Thapelo also handles novelty and infringement searches, provides validity and freedom to operate opinions, and advises clients in all aspects of patent and design law. Thapelo has experience in a wide range of technical fields, including metallurgical engineering, material science, and chemistry.

Prior to joining Adams & Adams, Thapelo worked in an Engineering Design firm where he was involved in designing coal, chrome, and gold metallurgical plants. Thapelo has worked in a railway company where he was involved in developing techniques for welding of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, metallurgical analysis of train components, and failure investigations of derailed trains and failed trained components. Thapelo also spent some time in a synthetic diamonds research institution where he was involved in using mechanical alloying techniques to devise synthetic diamond-based cutters.