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Patent attorneys

Patent attorneys specialise in the creation and protection of intellectual property rights and usually have a background in science or engineering. They are the only professionals legally entitled to draft patent specifications on behalf of others.

To be registered an attorney must have had at least three years experience working for a registered patent attorney and have passed a series of examinations prescribed by statute, on the law and practice relating to intellectual property.

Most patent attorneys (including all those at James & Wells) are members of the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys, which is a self-regulating body.