Presenters

Paul Whenman, Consulting Partner, FB Rice
Paul Whenman is a consulting partner in our Sydney chemistry team. As a qualified patent attorney, Paul has had a distinguished career with the firm as managing partner for 10 years. Throughout his 40 years’ practice in FB Rice, he has gained significant experience in chemically related patents, including pharmaceuticals, animal health products, food technology, personal care products and alloys. Indeed, a significant component of Paul’s practice relates to the interplay between the regulation of pharmaceuticals and animal health products and patent systems. Of particular relevance is the patent term extension regime in Australia and foreign jurisdictions. Commensurate with his deep understanding of patent law and chemical technologies, Paul regularly publishes articles offering opinions and insights into a variety of topics. With a significant international reputation, Paul has been recognized as an IP Star/Notable Practitioner for patent prosecution in Managing Intellectual Property for many years, most recently in 2025. He is also listed by IAM as a Strategy 300 IP strategist 2022. As the importance of South East Asian markets have grown, Paul maintains a strong focus on IP developments in those countries as means of providing the best experience for clients. Within FB Rice, Paul has trained and mentored many attorneys. An important component of this training has been a focus on the ethical considerations relevant for attorneys and the conduct of an attorneys practice. The experience gained as managing partner and subsequently as life sciences practice group leader combined with the technical and legal foundations as a practicing attorney, have provided Paul with a significant depth of knowledge of relevance to all patent and trade mark attorneys.

Helen Macpherson, Executive Lawyer (Head of Litigation – Australia), Pearce IP
Helen has over 25 years’ experience as an intellectual property specialist and is recognised as an industry leader. Helen advises on all forms of intellectual property including patents, plant breeder’s rights, trade marks, copyright and confidential information. Throughout her career, Helen has maintained a strong focus on high-value patent mandates involving complex technologies. In these mandates, Helen has been able to draw upon her technical training in biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as her ability to up-skill swiftly in relation to diverse technologies. Helen regularly advises on the preparation and execution of patent infringement, revocation and amendment strategies, including in the context of multijurisdictional patent disputes, as well as on the impact of relevant regulatory frameworks on these strategies and on freedom to operate and patentability issues. Her patent work has encompassed the technical fields of inorganic, organic, physical and process chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology (including genetics, molecular biology and virology) and physics. Helen is a member of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Law Council of Australia, as well as a member of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand.