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Partner
Head of IP & Technology
Competition & Trade Practices
Franchising
Current practice
Ben has a range of experience in commercial transactions and intellectual property matters. He specialises in:
- trade mark matters, including advice, registrations, disputes and licensing;
- intellectual property commercialisation, including technology agreements, patent licensing and plant variety licensing;
- copyright advice, disputes and licensing;
- joint venture agreements, capital raisings and shareholders’ agreements;
- Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) compliance and advice; and
- IT agreements and disputes.
Clients and recent experience
Ben has acted for the following clients: Apple and Pear Australia Limited, AXA, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Boost Juice, Drake Personnel, Museum of Victoria and Note Printing Australia Limited.
Specific experience includes acting for the owner of one of Australia’s premium brands which is licensed around the world including the following:
- defending a non-use trade mark claim;
- licensing trade marks internationally including in Brazil, Argentina, the EU, South Africa and New Zealand;
- advising on complex trade mark proprietorship issues;
- customs seizures of suspected counterfeit products; and
- trade mark infringement and enforcement matters.
Ben has also advised clients in defending substantial copyright and trade mark infringement claims, implementing a national trade mark certification scheme, enforcement actions against importers of suspected counterfeit goods and drafting agreements relating to the commercialisation of new plant varieties and patented technology in the veterinary and agri-chemical fields.
Qualifications and personal affiliations
Ben has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from Monash University and is currently undertaking a Master of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Melbourne. He became a partner in July 2008.
Ben is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria and its Intellectual Property and Information Technology Committee. He is also a member of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ) and the Licensing Executives Society of Australia and New Zealand (LESANZ).
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