The New Zealand Institute
of Patent Attorneys, Inc

Council

The Council, under the rules, manage the affairs of the Institute. The Council comprises a President, a Vice-President and 7 other Fellows. Council is elected each year (generally in November) at the Annual General Meeting, with all councillors being eligible for re-election except the President after a two-year term as such.

Council meets monthly in either Wellington or Auckland throughout the year.

The current council of NZIPA is detailed below.

Matt Adams

President, NZIPA
A J Park, Wellington Office
Email matt.adams@ajpark.com

Matt has been with A J Park in the engineering and information communication technology team since 2000. He qualified as a Patent Attorney in 1997 and became a partner of the firm in April 2002.

Matt has a Masters in Computer Science, a law degree and is also a Barrister and Solicitor.

Matt specialises in the protection, registration and licensing of patents in the computer and information technology fields. Matt is also a copyright specialist.

Matt is a member of the Wellington District Law Society, the Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia as well as a member of several special interest groups in the software field. Matt is also a committee member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.


Elena Szentivanyi

Vice President, NZIPA
Henry Hughes, Wellington Office

Elena has been with Henry Hughes since 1992 and became a principal in 2002. She specialises in trade marks and domain names.

As well as being registered as both a New Zealand and an Australian Patent Attorney, Elena completed her graduate certificate in Trade Mark law and is a registered Trade Mark Attorney in Australia.

Elena’s practice covers the development, establishment, management, exploitation and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Elena belongs to the New Zealand Law Society, and has membership of several other overseas related organisations including INTA, IPSANZ and APAA.

Tom Robertson

Council, NZIPA
Pipers, Lower Hutt Office
Email trobertson@piperpat.com

Tom joined Pipers in 2002 and qualified as a Patent Attorney in 2003. Tom has been working in the Intellectual Property field since 1986 and is experienced in all Intellectual Property matters. Tom works in all areas of patent, trademark & designs law including due diligence, Patent searching, drafting and Intellectual Property legal opinion work.

Along with Tom’s substantial New Zealand IP experience Tom has also worked in Brisbane Australia where he developed and gained an extensive and first hand knowledge of Australian Intellectual Property. Tom is also a registered Patent Attorney in Australia

Tom is a member IPSANZ, APAA & BNI.

Britta Fromow

Council, NZIPA
James & Wells, Wellington Office
Email britta.fromow@jamesandwells.com

Britta is a consultant at James & Wells, having worked in the intellectual property field since 2001. She qualified as a Patent Attorney in 2004 and specialises in helping her clients to protect and commercialise their intellectual property rights, particularly in the fields of mechanical and electronic engineering. Britta is also an expert in copyright and registered designs.

Britta is also a member of the New Zealand Law Society, IPSANZ, LESI and FICPI.

Damon Butler

Council, NZIPA
AJ Park, Auckland Office
Email damon.butler@ajpark.com

Damon is a principal at AJ Park and has worked in the intellectual property field since 1998. Damon is a Barrister and Solicitor and Registered Patent Attorney. Damon specialises in advising a broad range of New Zealand and overseas clients on all aspects of trade mark law and practice.

Andrew Scott

Council, NZIPA

James & Wells, Christchurch Office

email andrews@jaws.co.nz

Andrew worked for Davies Collison Cave (Australia) for 8 years before commencing with James & Wells in Christchurch, where he has lived for the past 6 years. He is passionate about providing solid, commercially relevant intellectual property strategies to reduce environmental impact, improve human and animal health, develop high-tech devices and build infrastructure for the future.

Andrew has a PhD in Organic Chemistry and a Masters in Intellectual Property Law.

Duncan de Geest

Council, NZIPA

AJ Park, Wellington Office

email duncan.degeest@ajpark.com

Duncan joined AJ Park’s Wellington office in 2001. He registered as a Patent Attorney in 2004 and is also a Barrister and Solicitor.

A patent law specialist with particular expertise in the area of chemical innovations, Duncan advises a wide range of New Zealand and international clients. He has a BSc (Hons) and PhD in chemistry.

Duncan is a member of the Wellington District Law Society, the New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. He regularly attends meetings of other intellectual property focussed organisations, including IPSANZ and IPO.

Thomas Huthwaite

Council, NZIPA

AJ Park, Wellington Office

email   thomas.huthwaite@ajpark.com

Thomas is a Barrister and Solicitor, a registered Patent Attorney, and an Australian Patent & Trade Mark Attorney. He started his career in 2010, specialising in dispute resolution, litigation, and commercialisation of intellectual property generally. He is a member of the New Zealand Law Society, and the IPSANZ local and trans-Tasman committees. Thomas represents a wide range of local and overseas clients across various industries; he is particularly passionate about local business, the Wellington hospitality industry, and the arts.



NZIPA representatives on IPONZ Technical Focus Groups


Trade marks TFG Representative

Tom Robertson

Pipers, Lower Hutt Office
Email trobertson@piperpat.com
Hearings TFG Representative

Elena Szentivanyi

Henry Hughes, Wellington

Email elena@henryhughes.co.nz

Patents TFG Reporter

Duncan de Geest

AJ Park, Wellington

Email duncan.degeest@ajpark.com

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