Personnel at IP Gateway

IP Gateway is based in Brisbane, Australia and also has an associated firm, P L Berry & Associates, based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Members of IP Gateway in Brisbane:

WAYNE SLATER

Wayne is a principal of IP Gateway and is a patent and trademark attorney with 20 years experience in intellectual property law.

Wayne has a background in chemical engineering and practiced as a chemical engineer before entering the field of intellectual property law. He trained as a patent attorney with a well known IP firm in South Africa before moving to Australia in 1992.

Wayne is also an intellectual property lawyer and is admitted registered to practice as a barrister and solicitor before the Supreme Courts of Queensland and Victoria as well the Federal Court of Australia.

He has extensive experience in the following areas:

• identifying intellectual property and advising clients on strategies to protect it
• preparing and filing patent and design applications including international patent applications
• prosecuting patent and design applications in Australia
• conducting patent oppositions in Australia
• advising clients on validity and enforcement of patents and designs through the Courts in Australia

Wayne also has considerable experience in prosecuting patent and design applications in overseas countries including: the USA, Europe, UK, Japan, Korea, China and Canada.

He travels regularly to the USA and Europe to give seminars to patent attorneys on developments in Australian patent law. He has also written a number of articles that have been published in prominent IP journals.

Wayne is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys and the International Trade Mark Association.

ELISA McCUTCHEON

Elisa is a principal of IP Gateway and is a Patent and Trade Mark Attorney with over 15 years experience in the intellectual property field.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Genetics and Chemistry from Melbourne University. Elisa also has a law degree from Melbourne University and has been admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor before the Supreme Courts of Queensland and Victoria, and the Federal Court of Australia.

Elisa advises on validity and enforcement of IP rights. She has an extensive trade mark practice and is particularly well known for her work in contested trade mark matters such as trade mark oppositions before the Trade Marks Office and also trade mark cases before the courts.

She is an expert in the filing and prosecution of trade mark applications throughout the world including international applications under the Madrid Protocol, and European Community trade mark applications, and in the associated practice and procedure of foreign intellectual property offices. She is also experienced in the protection of well known trade marks and in anti-counterfeiting actions.

Elisa works for Australian corporate clients in a wide range of fields, including the fashion industry, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, and also companies in the life sciences area.

Elisa is a Fellow of the Institute of Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia and a member of the Queensland Law Society. She regularly gives talks to industry groups and corporate lawyers on intellectual property law. She has also written articles and given seminars on various aspects of intellectual property and trade practices law.

She is a member of the International Trade Mark Association and travels overseas to the annual IPTA Conference where she meets with overseas clients and associates.

Elisa is a member of the International Trade Mark Association and also travels overseas to the annual INTA Conference where she meets with overseas clients and associates.

HENNIE LIEBENBERG

Hennie is an electrical and electronics engineer who has practiced across a diverse range of electrical engineering areas from power systems to control systems, in particular in the primary sector.

An appreciation of technological advances and lateral thinking has driven Hennie into the intellectual property industry. He joined a leading South African IP firm, where he trained to become a patent attorney and obtained certification under the SA Institute of Intellectual Property.

In 2006, Hennie moved to Australia where he joined IP Gateway. These days Hennie concentrates on the areas of preparation and prosecution of patent applications, particularly in the mechanical, electrical, electronic, and computer software fields, and the preparation and prosecution of registered design applications.

In addition to patent and design prosecution, Hennie finds interest in devising best practice principles for clients to align their intellectual property practices strategically with their business goals.

SERENA THOMPSON

Serena is the Office Manager who provides a senior administrative role to the principals of IP Gateway and the team of support staff in accounting and secretarial duties. She is also a senior paralegal who manages all incoming and outgoing filings in the patent department of IP Gateway.

Serena has over 10 years experience in intellectual property law and has previously worked at two large IP firms in Brisbane where she has gained experience in all aspects of patent and trade mark prosecution. During her employment with IP Gateway, she has been responsible for the design, implementation and maintenance of the firm’s state of the art practice management system.

WENDY RECKIN

Wendy is a senior paralegal at IP Gateway who works primarily in the fields of patent and trade mark filing and prosecution. She has previously worked for a reputable legal firm in Sydney specialising in intellectual property law. Prior to joining IP Gateway, she worked with a large Brisbane IP firm in their Gold Coast Office.

 

MICHELLE CONOMOS

Michelle is a senior paralegal at IP Gateway who works primarily in the fields of patent and trade mark filing and prosecution. Michelle has over 10 years experience in intellectual property law and has previously worked at a large reputable IP firm in Brisbane. She has recently returned to Australia after spending 5 years in Japan.

 

KATE HOUGH

Kate is responsible for the daily management of IP Gateway’s accounts department. This involves data entry, liaising with our local clients and overseas associates and producing internal management reports. Kate has more than 5 years bookkeeping experience and is skilled in various accounting packages. She also assists with secretarial duties.

 

DARRYL LANYON

Darryl Lanyon is responsible for preparing patent drawings for IP Gateway. His firm, Lanyon Design Company Pty Ltd, has specialised in technical drawings for patent and design applications for over 20 years.

Darryl uses his excellent engineering knowledge to help prepare comprehensive and detailed drawings for patent specifications. His work has been pivotal in one court case where his drawings were commended by a Danish judge.

TONY JENNINGS

Tony Jennings is the principal of an independent search agency, Intellectual Technology Services based in the Brisbane area. Tony specialises in carrying out state of the art searches, international novelty searches and also patent and design infringement searches in Australia.

His agency provides specialised search services to venture capitalists, corporate clients and patent attorney firms both in Australia and overseas.

Tony assists IP Gateway to provide their intellectual property law services by carrying out novelty searches, state of the art searches and infringement investigations.

IP GATEWAY’S ASSOCIATED NEW ZEALAND FIRM

IP Gateway works closely with its associated New Zealand firm, P L Berry and Associates in Christchurch. This enables the combined resources of both firms to be placed at the disposal of clients of IP Gateway.

This relationship works to the advantages of clients in two ways.

• Firstly when filing applications in New Zealand they have the benefit of using an attorney who has genuine experience with patent and trade mark law and practice in New Zealand.

• Further both Australian and overseas clients enjoy the benefit of the combined attorney resources of both firms. The attorneys of both firms have expertise across all the major technology areas including life sciences, chemistry, chemical engineering, process engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, software, business methods, and consumer products.

ELSPETH BUCHANAN

Elspeth studied metallurgy at Sheffield University in the UK and subsequently became a chartered engineer. Elspeth then trained as a patent attorney in the UK with the well known firm of Marks and Clerk.

In 1975, Elspeth joined P L Berry and Associates which was owned by Peter Berry where she qualified as a Registered Patent Attorney in New Zealand and also became a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys.

Elspeth became the proprietor of the practice in 1977 and has built the firm up to be a major patent and trade mark firm on New Zealand's South Island.

ALAN CHADWICK

Alan has attained a Bachelor degree of Chemical and Process Engineering from Canterbury University. Working closely with Elspeth, he practices over the full area of patent attorney expertise.

VIRGINIA NICHOLS

Virginia has attained a Bachelor degree with honours in Physics, a Master's degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and a Bachelor of Laws, all from Canterbury University. Working closely with Elspeth, she practices over the full area of patent attorney expertise.