Intellectual property advice is being reshaped by generative AI, new forms of imitation, increasingly complex transactions and growing pressure to turn intangible assets into commercial value. Examine the developments changing how intellectual property is protected, commercialised and enforced. Explore trade mark strategy, product dupes and lookalike packaging, copyright and generative AI, trade secrets and confidential information, IP commercialisation, transactional due diligence and the ethical risks of urgent enforcement. Hear from leading intellectual property practitioners, patent and trade mark attorneys, litigators, commercial advisers and academic specialists as they translate emerging legal and commercial risks into practical guidance. Leave with stronger frameworks for identifying risk earlier, protecting valuable assets and advising rights holders, innovators, investors and in-house teams with greater commercial confidence.

Presenters

Keith Robinson, Partner, Johnson Winter Slattery
Keith is a highly experienced technology and communications lawyer. He has specialised in providing legal and commercial advice on large transformation programs, outsourcing arrangements and sourcing and supply relationships for nearly 30 years. He spent 17 years at Minter Ellison (including 12 as a partner), 4 years as the head of the TMT practice at Herbert Smith Freehills and ran his own boutique legal and consulting firm before joining Johnson Winter Slattery in 2024. His experience spans a diverse range of industries, including telecommunications, financial services, technology, aviation, energy, waste management, transport and logistics sectors. Keith is valued by clients for his ability to analyse complex factual scenarios and issues and provide simple, clear and concise advice and recommendations that can be easily understood and acted upon.

Natalie Shoolman, Principal, Head of Litigation and 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.

Andrew Fox SC, 5 Wentworth Chambers
Andrew Fox came to the Bar in 2006 and specialises in intellectual property and commercial litigation. Prior to commencing at the Bar, Andrew practiced as a solicitor for 10 years including at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, and later as a partner at the specialist IP firm, Griffith Hack. Andrew appears regularly in intellectual property and commercial matters, principally in the Federal Court of Australia and in proceedings before IP Australia. He has also lectured in contract law and litigation in the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney. Between 2002 and 2011 Andrew was the lecturer and examiner for the Intellectual Property Law course in the Diploma of Law conducted by the Legal Profession Board of NSW. Andrew is a member of the NSW Bar Association's Professional Conduct Committee No.3.


Susan Gatford, Barrister, Trade Mark Attorney and Nationally Accredited Mediator, Foley’s List
Susan Gatford is an intellectual property barrister at the Victorian Bar. She has appeared in a wide range of patent, trade mark, trade practices, copyright and designs trials and appeals, as well as in numerous interlocutory hearings. She also appears in corporate, contractual, franchising and general commercial trials. Her practice is principally in the Federal Court but she also appears in the Supreme Court and represents parties in IP Australia hearings. Recommended in Doyle's Guide to leading intellectual property barristers, she has extensive experience acting for Australian and multinational corporations in the fashion, design, consumer, manufacturing, construction, entertainment, electronics, software, franchising, agricultural and biotechnology sectors. Susan is a member of the Victorian IPSANZ committee and the Deputy Chair of the Victorian Bar’s Alternative Dispute Resolution committee. She holds an LLB, a Master of Laws, and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) majoring in genetics and botany. She is also a Registered Trade Mark Attorney and an accredited mediator.

Judith Miller, Principal & National Practice Group Leader - Commercial, Wrays
Judith Miller specialises in commercial and intellectual property law. She has more than 25 years' experience in advising on all aspects of the management and commercialisation of IP and is the firm's Commercial National Practice Leader. Judith has worked with a range of clients across a variety of industries (with a particular focus on the research and development sector), predominantly for IP and content owners, frequently advising those clients on the management, exploitation and protection of their rights in old and new media. She advises clients on the full range of commercial transactions. These include joint ventures, strategic alliances, collaboration and partnering arrangements, supply chain and logistics agreements, reward schemes and acquisition and supply terms. She also advises local and international businesses on the establishment of regional and national franchise systems, and provides strategic advice to established operations. Judith has also worked on a broad range of technology and sourcing matters, including procurement, development agreements, hosting and outsourcing arrangements, software maintenance and hardware supply and support agreements.

Dr Mark Summerfield, Registered Australian Patent Attorney, Patentology
Dr Mark Summerfield is a registered Trans-Tasman Patent Attorney, specialising in patent law and practice in the fields of digital and computer systems, information and communications technologies, and computer software. Mark provides consultancy services on patents (including drafting and prosecution), IP strategy, and related matters in his specialist technology fields. He is also currently a PhD candidate at the Melbourne Law School where he is investigating applications of natural language processing technologies to the analysis of patent claims with application to patent law and policy. He worked for over a decade with one of Australia’s leading boutique IP firms advising individuals, companies and research institutions on management and protection of their intellectual assets. Since 2010 Mark has maintained a blog (patentology.com.au), where he writes regularly on local and international issues relating to innovation, patents, law, policy and the IP profession. He speaks regularly on topics related to patents, IP and digital technology, and lectures on Australian patent practice at the University of Melbourne.


Donna Short, Partner, Addisons
Donna Short is a Partner in the intellectual property group at Addisons, guiding clients through the entire IP lifecycle from innovation to enforcement. Her practice spans contentious and non-contentious matters, with expertise in trade marks, copyright, IP commercialisation, advertising compliance as well as privacy and data protection. Donna advises clients on trade mark prosecution as well as portfolio management and she regularly acts in proceedings before IP Australia and the Federal Court. Donna is ranked in the Chambers Global and Asia Pacific Guides 2026 for her work in IP and was recognised as a Leading Partner in the area of Intellectual Property by The Legal 500 in 2026.

Helen MacPherson, Executive Lawyer, 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’s 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 has extensive experience advising clients on consumer law issues and disputes, specifically in the context of misleading and deceptive conduct disputes between competitors and with regulators and industry bodies regarding promotional campaigns. These consumer law issues include assisting clients in relation to compliance with the Food Standards Code Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), such as labelling and packaging requirements. 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.

Suvina Wong, Senior Associate, Johnson Winter Slattery
Suvina Wong is an Intellectual Property Senior Associate at Johnson Winter Slattery, with prior experience practicing in the UK at a leading specialist IP firm. She holds a Master of Laws in IP and Information Law from King’s College London. Her practice spans transactional IP work, trade mark prosecution and enforcement, copyright advice and dispute resolution, and the development of robust IP strategies across diverse industries, including fashion, cosmetics, and FMCG. Suvina regularly drafts and advises on IP aspects of licensing, collaboration, brand protection, and IP transfer agreements, as well as supporting IP-rich corporate transactions. She has particular expertise in advising FMCG and cosmetics clients on trade mark portfolio management, brand enforcement, and the protection of creative assets, working with clients ranging from emerging brands to established global houses.


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 2026. 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.

A/Prof Rita Matulionyte, Associate Professor, Director of Research Training, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University
Rita is an international expert in technology and intellectual property law, with a recent focus on legal regulation and governance of Artificial Intelligence technologies. She acquired her PhD degree from Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg/Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law (Germany, suma cum lauda) in 2010. Since then she researched and lectured in universities in Japan, Germany, Lithuania, and Australia. To date, she published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, as well as a monograph on Applicable Law to Copyright Infringement: A Comparison of ALI and CLIP Principles. Rita is regularly invited to present in conferences in Europe, South and North America, and Asia, and has prepared reports for the European Commission, European Patent Office, and the governments of Australia, South Korea and Lithuania.