Kate Wilson

Partner

Expertise

• Patents 
• Corporate Services 
• IP Strategy 

Qualifications

• Master of Science (Hons) - Physics (1987)  
• Bachelor of Science - Chemistry and Physics (1984)
• Registered Patent Attorney - New Zealand & Australia 

Kate has a Masters of Science degree and a background in environmental physics at Ruakura, and experience with taking a range of inventions to commercialisation.

Kate is closely involved in the management of corporate clients and their patent and trade mark portfolios.  She acts as a strategic advisor to some of New Zealand's largest exporters and research organisations, including Gallagher Group, Bomac Laboratories, and AgResearch, and has particular interest in the success and growth of New Zealand businesses through intellectual property protection and strategy.

She was named one of Intellectual Asset Management magazine's 2011 global Top 250 most influential IP strategists - the first year a New Zealander has been listed.

Kate is the editor and instigator of the Inventors' Guide to Success publication, and is also a contributing author to the Intellectual Property Guide for the Life Sciences in New Zealand prepared for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

She is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys, the Asian Patent Attorney Association and the Association of Australian Patent Attorneys, and a member of the Business Advisory Board to the University of Waikato Management School.

Kate lives on a lifestyle block with her husband and two teenage children, is an enthusiastic cook (having published her cookbook Platter Chatter and featured on TVNZ programme MasterChef), a keen gardener and an amateur artist.

What Kate's clients say about her:

Wayne Leech, Director, Bomac Laboratories Limited

"Kate has been a pivotal part of our strategy team, showing us how to use IP for the benefit of the Company.  We now see Intellectual Property as a key factor in our success.  Kate has focussed the whole Organisation on innovation and inventiveness; it has become part of our culture and the whole team is cognisant of the value generated by appropriate protection.  Quite often we work with Kate to build a patent specification, with considerable input from her.  She has an eye for the inventive step, which is so easy to miss when you are working closely on a project.  Sometimes she leaves us with a few very sketchy comments and manages to build a specification around that.

We have been delighted to have worked with Kate throughout the last 10 years and will continue investing in the important area.  Kate has a casual, yet effective style and always gets her point across.  She has certainly shown us that a focus on IP is very effective business tool and when fully immersed in the Organisation, the input we have from JAWs provides considerable benefit to the business in many ways."

Dr Ian Boddy, General Manager Business Group, AgResearch Limited

"We have used James & Wells as our primary Intellectual Property attorneys for over 10 years and have been pleased with eth service provided.  Having regular meetings with Kate Wilson has been very useful in helping us develop strategies for our intellectual property.  Her intellectual property skills and business acumen are highly ranked by us. 

Overall we find their level of national coverage with offices throughout New Zealand, of considerable benefit given our multi-campus structure.

AgResearch Limited aims to become the world's best pastoral agricultural research institute and sees James & Wells as being an integral component in achieving that aim."

Richard Johnston, Intellectual Property Manager, Gallagher Group Limited

"I meet Kate Wilson monthly to review Gallagher's intellectual property portfolio and she provides valuable strategic advice in all areas of IP protection. Keeping our IP protection provider close means that their innovation in IP protection can leverage our innovation.

Kate's vast experience in patents and other IP protection techniques means that the strategic advice provided is based on sound knowledge of what works and gives maximum payback in the commercialization of our inventions.

A sound IP protection strategy is a critical a partner for success to an innovation lead business. Kate's invaluable advice has contributed to Gallagher Groups's successful protection of its intellectual property culminating in Gallagher Group being recognized as New Zealand's number one company for best use of IP internationally when awarded "The Best commercialization of intellectual property in international business" by the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise International Business Awards 2009."

Rod Claycomb, Managing Director, Quantec Limited

"I have been working with Kate and her team since 2001 through a number of positions.  I have found Kate and her team to be personal, yet very professional, honest and always maintaining high integrity.  Their biggest strength for me has always been the science, engineering and biotechnology expertise they bring along with the patenting experience.  They are often able to 'add to the invention,' not just 'report on it.'

A refreshing part of how they operate is to truly become a part of your patenting strategy from day one.  They have never been afraid to share methodology and allow more work to be done within the company rather than 'for fee', which has made the expensive costs of filing, maintaining and defending IP much more manageable, especially for the SME companies in which I've been involved.

While trying to always find a patentable position on your IP, they also are very up-front if they believe something is not patentable, saving considerable time and cost.

I would definitely recommend the team at JAWS to be part of any high-tech company's IP team!"

Jacinta Clark, Senor Manager - Business Growth, WHK (NZ) Limited

"Kate has successfully designed and presented WHK Business Growth's IP workshop series targeting SME businesses located in Auckland for several years (under the NZTE Enterprise Development Programme.) Kate has also delivered an international version targeting both new and experienced exporters.

In our experience too many businesses with innovative products or services seem uninformed and somewhat naïve about the value of IP and have not taken out any form of IP protection that may help increase their competiveness and to avoid copies. They just don't know what they don't know. 

Kate is brilliant in highlighting the value and relevance of IP to our clients in an easy to understand and interesting way that brings this topic live. Her workshops are highly rated and sought after, putting IP on the radar for many of our clients especially involved in the technology sector. As a result we have referred many clients to Kate and her team at James & Wells over the years for sound and timely IP strategy advice and assistance."