Design Attorneys Helping You Protect the Visual Features of Your Product

Robin Richardson is a highly experienced trade mark practitioner with a global perspective, holding qualifications and bar admissions across multiple jurisdictions, including England & Wales, Ireland, and South Africa. He specializes in trade mark prosecution, contentious proceedings, and IP portfolio management, providing commercially driven solutions to businesses of all sizes.

With a track record spanning leading firms in the UK, South Africa and Australia, as well as a senior corporate IP counsel role, Robin advises on brand protection strategies, trade mark applications, trade mark clearance searches, oppositions, co-existence agreements, and IP asset transactions. His expertise extends to Madrid Protocol applications, enabling businesses to secure rights in multiple jurisdictions efficiently and in a cost-effective manner.

Robin is passionate about sharing his knowledge, having led numerous IP workshops for technology incubators and business accelerators across the UK and Africa. Clients value his pragmatic, approachable style and his ability to navigate complex IP challenges while driving business growth.
Connect with Robin to safeguard your brand and maximize the value of your intellectual property.

Ali is a senior trans-tasman Patent and Trade Marks attorney, recognised as being the “IP guy” for some of NZ’s most successful and innovative start-ups. His primary focus is in making high-quality IP services more accessible to tech companies and businesses that have global ambitions.

Ali's client base includes high-tech startups and scale-ups, universities, small to medium-sized businesses, and venture capital firms operating across Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. He holds an honours degree in Electrical Engineering and advises on a broad range of intellectual property matters in the tech and engineering fields. His technical expertise includes audio technology, power distribution systems, AI for industrial automation, medical technology, microfluidics, and other general electrical, software, and mechanical devices.

Ali also supports his clients with their global brand protection, and manages in-house IP functions including: invention capture, IP budgeting and cost-forecasting, education, pitch decks, funding applications and aligning strategies with commercialisation plans.

Outside of work, he finds balance by spending time with family and friends, staying active with a game or two of football (“soccer”), and taking time to pursue other personal goals and creative interests.

Matt is a registered trans-Tasman Patent and Trade Marks attorney and is sought after for his experience in intellectual property, business development, and growth. He advises clients on obtaining, asserting, and defending global patent portfolios, particularly in cutting-edge technologies including electronic systems, software and hardware, embedded systems, AI, machine learning, power management, telecommunications, optics and automotive technologies.

With a blend of deep technical knowledge and strategic insight, Matt helps clients navigate complex IP landscapes, ensuring robust protection and commercial success for their innovations. His expertise includes IP registration, strategic IP management, enforcement of IP rights, and litigation strategy.

Matt’s clients are based in New Zealand, Australia, and the USA, and appreciate Matt’s highly regarded technical aptitude and exceptional representation. Drawing on firsthand business experience from founding and exiting a successful technology company, Matt provides commercially-focused, practical IP solutions.

He holds a degree in Optoelectronics and a Masters in Physics from the University of Auckland, and has extensive experience working with a range of advanced technologies.

Outside of work, Matt is an ‘active relaxer’, often found developing electronic systems for motorsport applications.

Simon has been practising in the intellectual property field since 1996. His practice includes patent drafting and prosecution, patent oppositions, novelty and freedom to operate investigations, along with patent infringement and validity assessments. He has extensive experience in both New Zealand and Australia as well as with the World Intellectual property organisation.

Simon has worked with a broad range of technology areas, and specialises in software, electronics and ICT-related inventions. He has particular experience in the fields of pattern-recognition software, Hall-effect transducers, search-engine optimisation systems, biometric-recognition processes, electric-fencing technology and RFID systems.

Simon represents clients in matters before the Australian Intellectual Property Office, the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office and the World Intellectual Property Office. Simon has a Bachelor of Science and Technology, majoring in Physics and Electronics and a Graduate Diploma in Information Technology.

Sandra has eight years’ patent attorney practice experience working for New Zealand, Australian and international clients. Her experience spans patent infringement and validity assessments, patent drafting and prosecution through to novelty and freedom to operate investigations.

She engages with clients within a wide variety of technology areas including general sciences, but specialises in biotechnological and biochemical processes.

As well as protecting general mechanical technologies and consumer products, Sandra has experience working with pharmaceutical compositions, veterinarian preparations and animal husbandry products, active biological compounds, and livestock parentage determination systems.

Sandra represents clients in matters before IP Australia, the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office and the World Intellectual Property Office. Sandra has a Master of Science (first-class honours) in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biology and Chemistry.

Dr Seán Klinkradt is an experienced intellectual property professional with over two decades of expertise in the field. As a registered Patent Attorney in both Australia and New Zealand, he has built a career working with prominent IP firms across South Africa and Australia.

Throughout his professional career, Seán has developed extensive knowledge in diverse scientific domains including biotechnology, chemistry, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and veterinary fields.
His academic background encompasses degrees in science, law, and humanities from prestigious institutions such as the University of Port Elizabeth, University of Technology Sydney, and Stellenbosch University.

Seán’s scientific expertise is further enhanced by his PhD in neuroscience from RMIT University in Melbourne. His doctoral research focused on identifying and characterizing a novel excitatory amino acid transporter in rodent brains, which shows promise as a potential therapeutic target for various neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric conditions.
Seán is a Fellow of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia. He is also an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

Beyond his practice, Seán lectures in biomedicine, business law and human rights, intellectual property, various medical subjects, and property law at multiple universities.

Seán enjoys reading widely, particularly works from the ancient world, and philosophy.

Qualifications:
• BSc (Biochemistry and Zoology)
• BSc (Hons) (Biochemistry)
• BJuris (Law subjects, Latin, English, and Afrikaans)
• MSc (Biochemistry: Research degree focused on the enzymology and protein chemistry of the proteasome)
• LLB (Law subjects, postgraduate award – equivalent of JD)
• Master of Industrial Property (Patent Law, Trade Mark Law, and Design Law)
• BPhil (Ancient Cultures of the Near East and Mediterranean)
• PhD (Neuroscience)
• Registered Trans-Tasman Patent Attorney (Australia and New Zealand)
• Attorney of the High Court, South Africa
• Fellow of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys
• 25 years’ experience in intellectual property law at top tier firms in Australia and South Africa

Mike Biagio is a principal of IP Guardian and has had previous experience in research and development and project engineering before becoming a patent attorney. Mike has been involved in specialist intellectual property law since 2001 in a variety of countries including South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, and has more than 21 years of experience as a patent attorney in obtaining patents and designs around the world for his clients.

Mike has been a lecturer and regular mentor at UNSW, University of Wollongong, and University of Sydney for a number of years, and has advised start-ups at incubators/accelerators on intellectual property and ideation.

Book a no obligation meeting directly with Mike at a time and date that suits you here.

Background

Mike has a background in mechanical engineering although he has also specialised in software patents. Patent applications that Mike has drafted include the following technologies:

• packaging;
• consumer products;
• mining and mining related;
• mechanical devices;
• robotics and electromechanical mechanisms;
• fintech;
• industrial processes;
• naval/marine;
• medical devices;
• defence and weapons systems;
• and many more.

Qualifications

Mike was also previously involved in IP Valuation, which gave him an eye for understanding the commercial aspects of intellectual property.

Mike has a wife and three teenage children, who love him despite him being “deadly boring and stuck in the eighties”.

Qualifications:

• Registered Australian Patent Attorney
• Registered New Zealand Patent Attorney
• Qualified South African Patent Attorney (not practising)
• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (UCT)
• Bachelor of Laws (UNISA)
• Attorney of the High Court of South Africa (not practising)

Barry Meskin, the founder and principal of IP Guardian, is an experienced attorney and is passionate about helping clients' protect their inventions and brands. He has over 20 years’ experience as a patent and trade mark attorney at specialist IP law firms and as in-house counsel in Australia.

Barry specialises in patent, trade mark and design registration. He advises startups, SMEs and large corporates on how to protect their intellectual property in Australia and overseas. Barry is passionate about protection consumer brands especially those that are designed and manufactured in Australia.

Book a no obligation meeting directly with Barry at a time and date that suits you here.

Qualifications

• Registered Australian Patent Attorney
• Registered Trade Mark Attorney
• Registered New Zealand Patent Attorney
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering
• Master of Business Administration
• Master of Intellectual Property
• Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice ((not practising)
• Member of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorney of Australia
• Member of The Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc