Rising up the ranks

Baldwins Intellectual Property is delighted to announce three promotions for 2015.  Ben Halberg has been promoted to Senior Associate and Dr John Foulkes and Lucy Hopman are now Associates.  This internal growth ensures Baldwins remains a force of excellence and expertise in intellectual property throughout New Zealand, Australia and internationally. 

Ben Halberg has been a patent specialist in Baldwins’ mechanical & electrical patents team since 2006. He is a registered patent attorney in both New Zealand and Australia.  Ben has a degree in computer systems and electronics engineering and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).  He has extensive experience advising clients on all aspects of intellectual property across a diverse range of technologies including electrical/mechanical transducers, solar power systems, agritech, consumer electronics, and medical devices.  Ben’s work is predominantly patent based, including novelty and freedom-to-operate searching, drafting patent specifications, prosecuting applications through examination to grant, challenging competitor’s patent applications, and advising on patentability, infringement, and validity matters.  Ben also advises on registered design rights and copyright.

John Foulkes is a member of the mechanical & electrical patents team in Baldwins’ Auckland office.  Specialising in patents and registered designs, John has worked on drafting patent specifications and prosecuting applications for inventions covering rocket engines, wireless power transfer and computer systems.  John’s technical background is in electrical engineering, having completed a PhD at the University of Canterbury which focused on the ability of a novel lithography technique to fabricate small features of microchips.  He is interested in new products and ideas in a broad range of electrical and computer projects. John won the NZIPA’s Council Prize for overall outstanding performance in the patent attorney examinations in 2014.

Lucy Hopman joined Baldwins in 2012 after graduating with an LLB and BSc from Victoria University of Wellington.  As a trade mark and brand protection specialist, Lucy advises local and international clients on all aspects of trade mark and related intellectual property law.  This includes advising on availability, prosecution, opposition and infringement matters, as well as copyright, passing off and the Fair Trading Act.  Lucy has written a number of articles concerning topical trade mark, branding and marketing issues. She has a keen interest in fashion and media and has advised start-ups on how to commercialise and protect their assets.