Helen Macpherson

Helen's past and present clients operate in a range of industries including the pharmaceutical, life sciences, medical device, telecommunications, information technology, energy, manufacturing, agricultural, consumer goods, media, advertising and finance industries.

Helen has had a strong focus in her career working with clients on high-value patent disputes involving complex technologies. In these disputes, Helen has been able to draw upon her technical training in biochemistry and her ability to up-skill swiftly in relation to diverse technologies. Helen's patent dispute work has encompassed disputes in the technical fields of inorganic, organic, physical and process chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology (including genetics, molecular biology and virology) and electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering. Helen regularly advises her patent clients on the preparation and execution of patent infringement, revocation and amendment strategies, including in the context of multijurisdictional patent disputes, as well as on the impact of relevant regulatory frameworks on these strategies and on freedom to operate and patentability issues.

Patents

• Acting for a world-leading green energy provider and solar cell manufacturer in high value patent infringement and revocation proceedings commenced by Hanwha in the Federal Court of Australia. The Australian proceedings are part of a multi-jurisdictional dispute in which there are also counterpart proceedings in the US and Germany.
• Acting for a multinational company in a dispute relating to a patented plant gene technology.
• Acting for an Australian company in a dispute relating to a patented non-chemical herbicide system.
• Acting for a French company in a dispute relating to a patented industrial device and method of making that device.
• Acting for an Australian-based medicinal cannabis producer advising on validity issues as they related to a family of patents, in connection with the Australian company's proposed purchase of those patents.  
• Advising a French multinational on the issue of entitlement in the context of employee inventions.
• Advising a multinational medical device manufacturer on patent prosecution and assignment issues in the context of a confidential corporate settlement.
• Acting for a multinational biotechnology company on their Australian biologic patent enforcement strategy.*
• Acting for an Australian IT/data company in Australian patent infringement and revocation proceedings relating to wireless sensor networks.*
• Advising a German industrial chemicals company in relation to infringement and validity issues in respect of a patent for the use of inorganic chemicals for fumigating grain stores.*

View all

• Listed in Best Lawyers, Australia, for Intellectual Property (2016-2021)
• 2021 Patent Lawyer of the Year, Euromoney Asia Women in Business Law Awards

• Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand - Member