Spruson & Ferguson are proud to announce the appointment of eight new Principals across the firm as part of the 2022 promotions.
The appointments were part of a broader group of fifteen promotions made firm-wide in the Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Singapore and Beijing offices. Alongside the eight Principal appointments, one Special Counsel, three Senior Associate and two Associate promotions were announced.
Principals
- Andrew Lowe, Engineering/ICT – Melbourne Australia
Andrew has had over 20 years experience in assisting clients with securing and advising on patent and design protection across a diverse range of technologies in mechanical engineering, physics, electronics and software, including consumer products, mining, mineral processing and separation, valves, pipes, packaging, biomedical devices, building technology, consumer electronic peripherals, leisure products and other consumer goods.
- Brendan Nugent, Chemical/Life Sciences – Brisbane, Australia
Brendan has almost 30 years’ experience as an IP professional. He commenced his career as an Examiner at IP Australia, but soon moved into private practice. He was a partner at a major Australian firm and was active in management of the firm, managing their Brisbane Office and directing professional practice within the firm. With technical qualifications in both chemistry and biotechnology, Brendan assists local and international clients in the drafting and prosecution of patent applications.
- Guy Tucker, Engineering/ICT – Sydney, Australia
Guy Tucker practises predominantly in the fields of electrical/computer engineering. As a patent attorney, Guy has had extensive experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications in Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia for a wide range of clients.
- Dr. Natsuho Yamamoto, Chemical/Life Sciences – Singapore
Natsuho graduated with first class honours with a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) for medicinal bioinorganic chemistry from the University of Sydney, Australia. She then pursued her postgraduate education at the University of Sydney and Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. Prior to joining Spruson & Ferguson (Asia), Natsuho worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA.
- Nigel Pereira, Engineering/ICT – Melbourne, Australia
Nigel is a registered patent attorney in the Engineering & Information Communication Technology team at Spruson & Ferguson. His expertise spans across a broad range of patent and design matters including assessing patentability and freedom-to-operate (infringement risk), preparing patent specifications and design applications, and getting patent and design applications through examination. Nigel has also been involved with patent oppositions before the Australian IP Office and has had success in getting patents granted on computer-implemented inventions.
- Rodney Dabboussy, Engineering/ICT – Sydney Australia
Rodney is a highly experienced patent attorney in the mechanical engineering field. His specialist expertise leverages his engineering background in special purpose machine design, heating ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) and manufacturing process improvement.
- Shaun Griffin, Engineering/ICT – Sydney Australia
Shaun has over 22 years of experience in patent, trade mark and design law, covering creation, registration, and enforcement across many countries. His areas of specialisation include medical devices and methods of medical treatment, electronic control systems, optical and quantum componentry, all aspects of computer implemented inventions and nuclear technologies.
- Dr. SiQi Wang, Chemical/Life Sciences – Beijing, China
Dr. SiQi Wang is the Head of Patents China for Spruson & Ferguson. SiQi joined Spruson &Ferguson’s China exclusive partner PAT SF Beijing Agency from the establishment of the Agency, before transferring to the Spruson & Ferguson Beijing Office in July 2022.
Special Counsel
- Lucy Hartland, Spruson & Ferguson Lawyers – Sydney, Australia
Lucy Hartland is a Special Counsel with Spruson & Ferguson Lawyers in the Litigation group. Her experience includes patent infringement and revocation proceedings (particularly in the pharmaceutical area), appeals from decisions of the Commissioner of Patents, patent oppositions, trade mark infringement and non use proceedings. Lucy has also advised across a range of intellectual property law issues, Australian Consumer Law (including parallel importation) and regulatory issues.
Senior Associates
- Jitchanok Sararuk, Chemical/Life Sciences – Bangkok, Thailand
Jitchanok is a registered Thai Patent Agent, and holds both Bachelor and Master degrees in Agriculture Science from Kasetsart University, Thailand. Her technical background is in chemical and life sciences.
- Dr. Ken Johnstone, Chemical/Life Sceinces – Sydney, Australia
After completing his PhD, Ken held a number of research positions in both industry and academia, and has experience across a variety of interdisciplinary fields, including pharmaceutical, materials, and food research and development. Ken has been involved in the development of pharmaceuticals across the discovery, preclinical and clinical stages through his work in the pharmaceutical industry, and has experience with intellectual property protection from an industry perspective.
- Dr. Matthew Stewart, Chemical/Life Sceinces – Melbourne, Australia
Matthew completed a Bachelor of Science in Medical, Forensic and Analytical Chemistry from Victoria University, graduating with First Class Honours in 2003. In 2009 Matthew was awarded a PhD for his research which focussed on applying a combination of theoretical and analytical chemistry techniques to gain fundamental insights into a range of biomolecular interactions.
Associates
The promotions to Associate this year recognise the growth and development of our junior attorneys, many of whom have recently become qualified.
- Dean Bradley, Engineering/ICT – Sydney, Australia
- Eunice Tai, Trade Marks – Sydney, Australia
Kristian Robinson, Spruson & Ferguson Managing Director of Asia and David Kennedy, Managing Director of Australia acknowledge the great achievement made by all who were promoted in reaching the next stage in their careers, and recognise that Spruson & Ferguson is the true beneficiary of their career growth.
Spruson & Ferguson thanks these individuals for their technical strength and diligence which enabled them to produce such high-quality work and outstanding service to our clients. They are strong and valued contributors to their respective teams and to the firm.