GRIFFITH HACK - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director / Sydney
Aaron LePoidevin is a dynamic and energetic leader, passionate about strategically supporting innovation in Australia and abroad.
As Griffith Hack's Managing Director, Aaron works with the firm's board, principals and senior management team, overseeing the effective running of the business. He is also responsible for ensuring Griffith Hack meets its shareholders' expectations, continues to provide excellent client service, remains a great place to work and contributes to the communities in which it operates.
It's a role Aaron is well-placed to fill. He joined the firm in 2020, having held a number of leadership positions in professional services and technology.
Aaron enjoys working at the intersection of science, technology and commercialisation as it allows him to leverage his entrepreneurial approach and unique combination of professional services, technology and start-up experience.
Through working with some of the most innovative listed, privately held and venture backed companies, he has developed a passion for helping organisations grow the assets that give them their competitive advantage.
Qualifications
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice - College of Law
Bachelor of Law (Hons) - Adelaide University
Bachelor of Commerce - Adelaide University
Solicitor (New South Wales)
Aaron LePoidevin is Managing Director of Griffith Hack.
Job Titles:
- Practice Group Leader, ChemLife
- Practice Group Leader, ChemLife / Melbourne
Amanda is one of the leading patent practitioners in the Australian biotechnology space. She is also a key member of Griffith Hack's leadership team, heading up the ChemLife practice group and leading the International Business Development and Foreign Associate Relationship program.
Amanda provides a range of patent services for clients including advising on global patent strategy, efficient portfolio management, and patent drafting and prosecution. She works closely with clients to obtain patent rights in major jurisdictions, as well as assisting overseas clients to obtain patent rights in Australia and New Zealand.
Amanda has a reputation for grasping complex legal and technical issues and developing creative solutions to achieve targeted results. Known in the industry for her tenacity and lateral thinking, clients transfer their work to Amanda when issues arise that most attorneys cannot resolve. She has significant experience in patent oppositions and collaborating with Griffith Hack lawyers in matters before the Federal Court of Australia.
A key strength of Amanda's is IP strategy formulation. She is often called upon to develop IP strategies for companies looking for investment, and provides due diligence for investors wanting to know the value of their potential investments.
In recognition of her client-centred approach, Amanda received Lexology's Client Choice Award for IP Patent Agents and Attorneys in 2021. She has also been recognised as a Patent Star and named one of the Top 250 Women in IP by Managing Intellectual Property.
Before joining Griffith Hack in 2003, Amanda worked as a patent attorney in house and in private practice in the UK for 10 years. She is a qualified UK and European patent attorney and requalified as an Australian patent attorney in 2003.
Amanda demonstrates a critical commercial perspective. Her outstanding advice has greatly increased our value.
Amanda is practice group leader of our ChemLife team.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal / Sydney
Christian Schieber is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Sydney.
With over 30 years in IP in Europe and Australia, Christian has the know-how and experience to provide clients tailored IP strategy advice and guidance on the ins and outs of patent, trade mark and design law. Christian makes it his business to truly understand his clients and the environment in which they operate.
Christian advises local and international companies in various technology fields and industries including manufacturing, telecommunications, consumer goods, mining, food, building and construction and transport. Christian specialises in patenting strategy and portfolio management across multiple jurisdictions, including the drafting and successful prosecution of patents before IPAU, EPO and USPTO.
As part of a holistic approach to IP management, Christian provides local and international clients freedom to operate (FTO) and competitor product infringement assessments. He also regularly assesses patent infringement allegations brought against clients, and has assisted international clients in defending Federal Court infringement proceedings.
Christian is a member of the European Patent Institute (EPI) and a registered representative to act before the European Patent Office (EPO) as well as a TM and Designs attorney in front of the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Qualifications
Masters of Aeronautical and Space Technology Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Germany
Registered Patent and Trade Mark Attorney (Australia and New Zealand)
Registered Trade Mark Attorney (Germany)
Professional Representative before EPO (EP Attorney)
Professional Representative before EUIPO (EU Trade Mark and Designs Attorney)
Christian is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Sydney.
Job Titles:
- Patent Attorney
- Patent Attorney / Melbourne
Daniel Hsieh is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Daniel is interested in working with clean technology and has helped prosecute inventions related to solar energy systems, electrochromic windows, fuel cells/batteries, and improved mining resource detection/modelling.
Daniel has an interest in watching how the patentable subject matter case law develops with respect to software inventions across different jurisdictions and has written a paper about the state of the field after the US Supreme Court handed down the Alice decision.
Daniel enjoys helping clients obtain the most comprehensive protection for their IP and having the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of interesting technology.
Qualifications
Masters of Intellectual Property Law (The University of Melbourne)
Juris Doctor (Santa Clara University, USA)
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (UCLA, USA)
Awards
Publication: "Current Issues with Patenting Software" IEEE Potentials, 2014 (regarding the US patentable subject matter landmark case Alice Corp v. CLS Bank International (2014)).
Daniel is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal / Sydney
Derek Baigent is a lawyer specialising in intellectual property and technology.
Derek has over 25 years' experience representing companies across a broad range of industry sectors from electronics and telecommunications through to heavy industry and resources.
Derek has considerable experience in contentious intellectual property matters in both the Australian Federal Court and the UK Patents Court. He acts for domestic and multinational clients in patent, trade mark, copyright and confidential information disputes, often advising on complex cross-border strategic issues in the context of multi-jurisdictional IP disputes. Derek is recognised as a leading practitioner in relation to IP disputes across the preeminent legal directories including Legal 500 and Chambers.
Derek advises clients on anti-counterfeiting programmes and strategies designed to efficiently and comprehensively resolve infringement issues in the on-line space by drawing on his experience in enforcement, dealing with platforms, domain names, trade marks, copyright and misleading and deceptive conduct.
Derek has extensive experience of advising clients in relation to commercial aspects of intellectual property and technology. He delivers concise and pragmatic advice on licensing and commercialisation of intellectual property and technology and provides deep insight in relation to issues of IP policy and strategy.
Derek has an exceptionally strong technical background and a passion for science, technology and innovation. This enables him to engage with his clients on a technological level as much as on a legal and commercial level.
Qualifications
Diploma in Law, College of Law, UK
Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice, Bristol University, UK
Doctor of Philosophy (Physics), University of Cambridge, UK
Bachelor of Natural Sciences (Honours), University of Cambridge, UK
Company Directors Course, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Dr Arun Nagasubramanian is a registered patent and trade marks attorney in our Engineering and ICT team based in Sydney.
Arun is an engineer turned researcher with a background in metallurgical and materials engineering. He recently completed a Masters in Intellectual Property Law to become a registered patent and trade mark attorney.
Arun has amounted a repertoire of professional experience in both industry and academic research. He has worked in quality control and contributed to research divisions of different metallic component fabrication companies in India. His research has focused on the investigation of materials at a fundamental level for lithium/sodium ion batteries.He has specialised in developing synthesis techniques and using a suite of characterization techniques to investigate electrochemical performance as well as understand degradation mechanisms for materials at a fundamental level in lithium/sodium ion batteries.
Having researched in Singapore, Arun managed a chemical laboratory for performing materials and after a number of successful multidisciplinary collaborations, his work has been published in several peer reviewed journals.
Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy (Material Science and Engineering) - Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Masters of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering - Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
Bachelor of Metallurgical Engineering - PSG College of Technology, India
Masters of Intellectual Property Law - University of Melbourne
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal / Melbourne
Dr James-Robert Cram is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
James-Robert focuses on the identification, extraction and protection of innovation in its various forms, to suit the desired commercial outcomes of individual clients. Specialising in patents, he gives strategic advice - whether in preparing patent specifications, implementing domestic and international filing strategies, developing patent freedom-to-operate pathways or patent enforcement and defence.
James-Robert has acted in many patent opposition matters in Australia, New Zealand and Europe, and has experience with other contentious matters including patent revocation in the High Court of New Zealand. He has worked with many esteemed scientific experts, and identifies the preparation of scientific evidence as a key skill.
James-Robert's technical expertise lies broadly in chemistry and biotechnology. He completed his Bachelor degree studies with a double-major in chemistry and biochemistry, and went on to complete PhD studies in medicinal chemistry with research in natural product synthesis for pharmaceutical and agricultural applications. While undertaking research, he was a private tutor and delivered workshops on chemistry principles.
Before joining the profession as a patent attorney, James-Robert worked as a Patent Examiner with the Australian Patent Office and brings this unique insight to the fore when prosecuting matters before the intellectual property offices in Australia, New Zealand, and around the world.
Qualifications
Master of Intellectual Property Law, University of Melbourne
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Chemistry, La Trobe University
Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours), La Trobe University
Registered Trans-Tasman Patent Attorney (Australia and New Zealand)
Registered Australian Trade Mark Attorney
Principal
Dr James-Robert Cram
James is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Senior Associate
Dr Jenny Park
Jenny is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Sydney.
Jing is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Karen is a trainee patent attorney based in Melbourne.
Leon is a registered patent attorney based in Melbourne.
Malcolm is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Dr Radhika Moore provides an up-to-date overview on designs rights in Australia and the protection available to product designers.
Radhika is a trainee patent attorney based in Sydney.
Tim is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal / Melbourne
- Strategist
Edith Hamilton is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Edith is committed to spending time with clients to understand their objectives. She works with her clients to develop pragmatic and creative approaches to IP matters in order to identify and reach strategic goals.
Edith's technical expertise embraces mechanical engineering, materials science and chemistry, and her experience extends into in the areas of fast moving consumer goods, including food packaging; food technology; advanced materials production and processing; fibre and textile technology; process engineering; oil and gas; clean technology; and mining technology, including explosives and blasting technology. Edith also has a keen interest in designs.
She has considerable experience in patent opposition matters - she has experience in handling multiple inter-related matters in order to secure freedom-to-operate, while maintaining the client's own IP position. The skills and perspectives gained through defending and challenging patent cases benefits all her clients, whether she is providing IP advice or conducting patent drafting and prosecution work.
During her Master of Philosophy studies, Edith examined the use of electrospinning for manufacturing ultra-fine polymer fibres, while her engineering honours project related to the characterisation of thermoplastic toughened resin systems for use in fibre-based composites. She gained further fibre and textile technology experience when investigating polyurethane nanocomposite fibre production with the University of Queensland as part of a collaborative project with the CSIRO. Prior to commencing her patent attorney career, Edith worked as an English Document Reviewer at a Japanese patent law firm.
Edith is a past President and the current Secretary of the Victorian Branch of Materials Australia.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), Australian National University
Bachelor of Science, Australian National University
Master of Philosophy (Engineering), Australian National University
Master Intellectual Property Law, University of Melbourne
Registered Patent Attorney (Australia and New Zealand)
Registered Trade Marks Attorney (Australia)
Edith Hamilton named leading IP strategist in 2023 edition of IAM Strategy 300
Principal
Edith Hamilton
Edith is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Ellen Baker is a lawyer based in Brisbane.
Ellen works with local and international clients to manage, prosecute and leverage their trade marks in Australia and foreign jurisdictions. She has particular experience working with online businesses, software providers, universities, fashion brands and food & beverage providers seeking to protect and enforce their valuable trade marks.
Ellen's expertise extends to privacy law and general commercial law. She also assists with contentious intellectual property matters, specifically in the area of trade mark law.
Above all, Ellen is a people person. She loves working with creative people and businesses to protect and commercialise their ideas to achieve a competitive edge.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Laws, Griffith University
Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, College of Law
Admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal / Melbourne
Gavin Adkins is a lawyer and registered patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Gavin's practice centres around IP litigation and commercial legal advice building on his previous experience as a prosecuting patent attorney and technical background in chemistry. Gavin's aim is to come to grips with the technology, commercial landscape and legal challenges quickly and move on to providing pragmatic and candid advice.
In his previous roles and during his time at Griffith Hack, he has assisted clients with litigation raising issues in patents, registered designs, trade marks, the Australian Consumer Law, contractual disputes and copyright infringement.
Gavin has been published in leading industry journals, written chapters in IP reference texts and received university prizes for his academic performance. Additionally, he is often asked for his insights by leading publications such as IAM Magazine and Managing IP.
Qualifications
Master of Industrial Property - University of Technology Sydney
Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) - La Trobe University
Admitted to the Courts of Victoria
Solicitor of the High Court and Federal Court of Australia
Registered Patent and Trade Mark Attorney (Australia and New Zealand)
Gavin is a lawyer, patent attorney and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Practice Group Leader, Engineering & ICT
- Practice Group Leader, Engineering & ICT / Sydney
Georgina Higinbotham is a patent attorney and practice group leader of our Engineering and ICT team.
A former US patent agent, Georgina brings her international experience to Australian clients. Georgina's practice focuses on drafting and prosecuting patent applications for local innovative companies and overseas businesses, along with providing overall strategic advice to small to medium size businesses, larger international concerns, Australian universities and spin off companies. With over a decade at Griffith Hack she rarely finds herself doing the same work twice. Georgina puts this down to her collaborative approach with clients to assess their commercial needs before determining what she can bring to them.
Georgina's technical focus is mechanical systems and devices generally, with particular experience in devices for the medical and pharmaceutical delivery industry, chemical and physical processing plants, manufacturing, and mining and building technologies. Her work with universities such as ANU and UNSW has extended her experience to nanotechnology systems and devices, conductive and transparent films, electrodes, and micro-actuators. Georgina also has experience working with innovators and manufacturers of large machinery such as mining equipment and rail and road transportation equipment as well as building systems, building products and packaging.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Science, University of Wollongong
Bachelor of Laws, University of Wollongong
Registered Patent Attorney (Australia and New Zealand)
Georgina is practice group leader of our Engineering and ICT team.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant / Melbourne
Greg Munt is a registered patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
From small start-ups to some of Australia's biggest players in the engineering space, across mining, minerals processing, steelmaking and fabrication, solar, and packaging, Greg has extensive experience working with clients to develop and implement IP strategies to support their commercial objectives.
Early in his career Greg worked as an in-house patent attorney for BHP, which he credits for giving him insight into the complex and changing needs of his clients.
Greg's practice is focussed on assisting local clients obtaining patents and commercialising their IP in Australia and overseas - in particular in China and throughout Asia.
Greg has a long-standing involvement in the Asian Patent Attorneys Association.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Materials Engineering, Monash University
Registered Patent and Trade Mark Attorney (Australia and New Zealand)
Consultant
Greg Munt
Greg is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Overseas Qualified Patent Attorney
- Overseas Qualified Patent Attorney / Melbourne
James Dalrymple is an overseas (UK and European) qualified patent attorney based in Melbourne.
James has a background in Physics and, having previously worked in private practice in the UK, is experienced in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in a wide range of physics-related fields. His particular technical expertise includes mechanical engineering, subsea oil and gas equipment, medical devices, automotive technology, consumer electronics, and waste treatment systems and processes.
In addition to his prosecution experience, James has also been involved in complex inter partes proceedings in Europe and the UK.
James enjoys working closely with clients to understand the needs of their business and to develop commercially-focused strategies that can maximise the potential of their IP. His understanding of the UK and European patent landscape can provide valuable insight to applicants looking for strong protection for their IP internationally
Qualifications
Bachelor of Science (Honours), Physics with Astrophysics - University of Manchester, UK
Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law - Queen Mary University of London, UK
UK Qualified Patent Attorney
European Qualified Patent Attorney
James is an overseas qualified patent attorney based in Melbourne.
Senior Associate
Jessica Lee
Jessica is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Sydney.
John is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Sydney.
Principal
Karen Sinclair
Karen is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Katy Perry v Katie Perry: A tale of two women, two teenage dreams and one name
Singer Katy Perry has lost her protracted trade mark dispute with an Australian fashion designer.
Job Titles:
- Practice Group Leader, Law & Trade Marks
Kellie is practice group leader of our Law & Trade Marks team.
Kerry is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Leanne is a lawyer, patent attorney and trade marks attorney based in Perth.
Mitchell is a trainee patent attorney based in Sydney.
Job Titles:
- Intelligence Manager
- IP Intelligence Manager
Noam Amitay is our IP intelligence manager based in Melbourne.
Principal
Ray Tettman
Ray is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Robyn is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Perth.
Special Counsel
Sally Shrimpton
Sally is a lawyer and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Sara is a lawyer and trade marks attorney based in Perth.
Sarah is a patent and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Shannon is a trade marks attorney based in Brisbane.
Senior Associate
Simon Gapes
Simon is a lawyer and trade marks attorney based in Melbourne.
Tom is a trainee patent attorney based in Melbourne.
Victor is a trainee patent attorney based in Melbourne.
Yasra is a trainee patent attorney based in Melbourne.