We’ve been lucky enough to work with a range of professionals from solicitors to compliance experts, trade mark and patent attorneys to knowledge management professionals and more.

Today we meet Christine – a complete outsourcing solution for anyone who touches the world of intellectual property.

1. What are you best at i.e. your sweet spot?

I guess my “sweet spot” would be time management and ensuring that my client’s time is utilised wisely. I like to make sure that their time is spent doing what they do best and allowing me to take care of the rest.

For the past 28 years I’ve been working in intellectual property as an EA/Paralegal. I have experience working in trade marks, patents and designs and I love it! I have a great attention to detail and am very client focussed ensuring that the admin side of a practice runs smoothly.

2. Tell us about your virtual IP support service - is it just for law firms or in-house teams/businesses as well?

It's both really. At present I’m assisting lawyers, patent and trade mark attorneys either on an ad hoc basis when they need me or on a daily basis assisting with the running of their practice and building their client base.

My services are well suited to an in-house team as well as you can use me to help with overflow or for special projects as they arise.

3. What have been your favourite projects/roles since setting up this service in 2013?

I love everything I do but probably my most favourite and most rewarding is assisting with the setup of a trade mark department. Creating processes and templates to ensure a department runs smoothly. I enjoy filing trade mark applications, i.e. preparing specifications of goods/services and filing at IP Australia or IPONZ.

4. How do clients typically get started using you i.e. what type of work do they initially tend to send you?

The ‘pain points’ do vary and the good thing about my service is I am very flexible which enables my clients to increase or decrease support as needed. Some clients want me doing minimal tasks on a daily basis and some need me doing more involved tasks on a daily basis. Some use me when needed, for example, preparing and filing their trade mark applications or certain projects like updating their trade mark or patent portfolios.

5. You mentioned having 28 years experience in the IP industry - are there any standout changes or watershed events you’ve witnessed in either trade marks or patents (or the IP sector as a whole)?

Yes, I guess one of the big things I’ve noticed evolve over the years, is becoming paperless. I remember the days working in Wellington when all patent specifications had to be printed, so we are talking hundreds of pages printed out in duplicate, drawings pages individually stamped and signed and if you received late instructions, it meant driving the documents out to the Lower Hutt Patent Office and popping in the ‘late filing box’ before midnight. Making amendments to a patent specification meant physically cutting and pasting the amendments on the pages and endless photocopying.

Thanks to the latest technology and IP Australia and IPONZ moving online, paperless is not only better for the environment but so much easier to be able to work virtually.

6. Beyond trade marks and patents work, what other services are you getting traction with?

Something I’ve learnt on my journey is business development and converting leads to new clients in the trade mark space. Sitting down and brainstorming ideas on how a client can grow their business is a great passion of mine. Putting my ideas into practice, watching the leads come in and converting to clients gives me a great deal of satisfaction and of course, gives me a happy client!

7. Given we’re all working virtually (for now at least), I guess you are very well placed for that?

Yes, I’ve been working virtually for the past 8 years and I love it! Sure, it can be lonely at times, but with all the phone/video conferencing facilities around these days, it’s so easy to keep in touch and build strong relationships.

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Christine is available now to assist you on trade marks, patents, general legal and business support – feel free to get in touch with us .