New Zealand Intellectual
Property 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.


Elena Szentivanyi

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

Vice President, 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.

Stephanie Grant

COUNCIL, NZIPA

Wellington UniVentures

email stephanie.grant@wellingtonuniventures.nz

Stephanie started her IP career in 2011 at Baldwins Intellectual Property before moving to an in-house position Victoria Link Limited (now Wellington UniVentures), the commercialisation office of Victoria University of Wellington in 2018. Stephanie is responsible for the management of intellectual property that arises out of academic research.

Stephanie has a PhD in Chemistry and is a registered trans Tasman Patent Attorney, and represents in-house attorneys at NZIPA.

Hazell Fernandez

COUNCIL, NZIPA

james & wells, Auckland OFFICE

email hazell.fernandez@jamesandwells.com

Hazell joined James & Well’s Auckland Patents Team in2017. She registered as a Patent Attorney in 2021 and has a degree in Biomedical Engineering as well as a Master of Laws. Hazell’s work focuses on patent prosecution, drafting patent specifications and patent research. 

Hazell provides advice in relation to a range of mechanical and electrical technologies, particularly medical technology.

Matt Adams
Immediate Past President
FB Rice, Wellington Office

email madams@fbrice.com.au


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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