Presenters

Natalie Shoolman, Principal & Head of Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Wrays
Natalie Shoolman is an experienced commercial litigator who specialises in intellectual property and technology litigation and the intersection between intellectual property and competition and consumer law. Natalie has been voted by her peers as one of Australia's Best Lawyers in Intellectual Property Law (Best Lawyers Australia 2019 - 2022), ranked by IAM Patent 1000 – Patent Litigation - Bronze (2021), recommended for patent litigation (2018) and recognised as a Rising Star (2020-2021) in Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars. She is considered to be one of Australia's leading "next generation" Intellectual Property lawyers (The Legal Asia-Pacific 500: 2017- 2019). With a First Class Honours degree in Science and a passion for innovation, Natalie has significant experience acting for and advising clients on all aspects of intellectual property law across a broad range of industries including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, software, telecommunications, government, clean energy, mining and FMCG. Natalie's practice includes patent infringement and revocation proceedings, patent oppositions, copyright, trade mark and design infringement, breach of confidence and consumer law disputes. Natalie has particular expertise in managing complex, multi-jurisdictional patent infringement and revocation proceedings and advising clients on ways to maximise the life of their patent portfolios.


Morris Ark, Policy Officer, Trade Agreements and Indigenous Knowledge, IP Australia
Morris is a Policy Officer in the Trade Agreements and Indigenous Knowledge team at IP Australia. The team is responsible for leading IP Australia’s policy development for select issues such as Indigenous Knowledge. This includes considering how the IP system can better support Australia’s First Nations Peoples to benefit from their Indigenous knowledge and culture. Morris supported the Australian delegation at the Diplomatic Conference to conclude the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge in May 2024. Morris also works on international and trade-related IP topics. Morris was a patent examiner in the Medical Devices section at IP Australia and has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Sydney.