Dr Christine Egan

Dr Christine Egan

Special Counsel \ AJ Park Law Limited, Wellington

Christine combines her scientific training and research background with her expertise in patent law to provide her clients with expert intellectual property (IP) advice.

Expertise

Christine is a member of the firm’s chembio patents team, working with clients in the chemical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, dairy and food industries. Her specialist areas include nutrition, animal vaccines and nutraceuticals.

Christine’s role sees her involved in drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications for her clients. She also advises on validity and infringement issues as well patent filing strategy. Among her New Zealand clients are Crown Research Institutes, universities, biotech firms and food companies, while her overseas clients include major pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

I really enjoy patent attorney work because it’s a mix of science and law. I’m always working on cutting-edge technology, which means I’m constantly learning. One of my favourite aspects of my work is the intellectual stimulation of interacting with patent office examiners to achieve maximum claim protection for the client.

As well as directly assisting local and international clients, Christine works with foreign attorneys filing patent applications in other jurisdictions. She values clear communication, trust and expertise as important ingredients in a successful working relationship.

Experience

A registered patent attorney, as well as a barrister and solicitor, Christine has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Dundee, Scotland, and gained her law degree from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. She held post-doctoral research positions at both the Institute of Cellular Pathology at the University of Catholique de Louvain in Brussels, and at the Biochemistry department of the University of Liverpool.

Christine left academic life to join a small IP firm in the UK and began training to become a patent attorney. She went on to qualify to intermediate level as an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (CIPA).

After moving to New Zealand more than two decades ago, she worked for a Wellington-based law firm before joining AJ Park.

Christine keeps up to date with the changing IP legal landscape and is a member of the regional committee of LESANZ, a member of IPSANZ and other professional patent groups.

Beyond work

In downtime, Christine loves getting out into nature, tramping and going camping with her husband and rescue dog Bob, or being creative with textiles.

Services

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons) (Applied Bio), Bradford University, UK (1984)
  • PhD, University of Dundee, UK (1988)
  • LLB, Victoria University of Wellington (2008)
  • Registered Patent Attorney (New Zealand and Australia)
  • Admitted as a Barrister & Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
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