Claire Tompkins

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Senior Associate

Expertise

• Litigation 
• Copyright 
• Anti-Counterfeiting 
• Franchising 

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts, Victoria University, Wellington (1999)
• Bachelor of Law, Victoria University, Wellington (2000)
• Masters in Law (International and European Law), Paris (2002)
• Barrister & Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
• Registered Patent Attorney (New Zealand)

Claire helps clients resolve disputes relating to the infringement of trade mark, copyright and patent rights and specialises in issues relating to counterfeit and pirated goods.  Claire also acts for franchise owners to protect their brands and develop their franchise systems both in New Zealand and overseas and is experienced in advising Master Franchisors on their international franchise agreements and disclosure requirements.

Prior to joining James & Wells, Claire worked in law firms and in-house legal teams in the United States, New Zealand and France.  Claire is fluent in French and a member of the New Zealand Law Society, the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and a member of the International Trade Mark Association (INTA) and a member of the Asia Pacific Anti-Counterfeiting Sub-committee of the INTA Counterfeiting Committee.  Claire is also a Fellow of the NZ Institute of Patent Attorneys.

What Claire's clients say about her:

Tony Eaton, Executive Director, NZFACT:

"NZFACT (the New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft) carries out enforcement work on behalf of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). We have worked with Claire to develop and implement our anti-piracy programme in New Zealand. She has been highly successful achieving excellent cost-effective results for us. For example, under our TAP (Tactics against Auction Piracy) programme we have obtained delivery-up of thousands of pirated films and overall funds recovered from infringers have exceeded the legal fees incurred. I would absolutely recommend Claire and James & Wells to any rightsholder looking for a firm to handle their anti-piracy or anti-counterfeiting needs."

Mark Roach, General Manager Licensing, PPNZ:

"PPNZ (Phonographic Performances NZ) is the collection agency for recording artists and their labels/distributors. We have engaged the services of James & Wells, and in particular Claire Tompkins, to develop and assist with our copyright enforcement programme. Claire and her team have proven adept at understanding the nature of our business and the specific challenges we face. She has structured and refined the programme as we have progressed with it this year and I am extremely satisfied with the results to date. I would highly recommend Claire and James & Wells to any other entity who has a requirement for regular enforcement of intellectual property rights."

Nilan Fonseka, Finance & Administration Manager, Billabong Group Ltd:

"I have always been extremely impressed with the service and level of protection we have gained using James & Wells’ litigation team. We have also found their anti-counterfeiting programme to be very cost effective with excellent strategies to combat counterfeit goods. In a number of cases they have been successful in recovering costs from infringers which exceed the costs incurred in the action in question. One thing I like about working with James & Wells, and specifically with Ian Finch and Claire Tompkins, is their ability to put themselves into our shoes and carefully consider the costs, risks and benefits of various actions. I would have no hesitation in recommending the services of James & Wells to those seeking intellectual property advice and, in particular, to those requiring management of a substantial anti-counterfeiting enforcement programme."