Specialty / Intellectual property
Protect what your client invented, made, named, or wrote.
Patents, trademarks, copyright, and trade secrets are the assets that fund modern businesses. Marco Reid drafts the application, tracks the response deadlines, and the IP attorney signs every filing — across IPONZ, IP Australia, USPTO, and UKIPO.
Coverage by jurisdiction.
The statutes, the regulators, and the matter types Marco Reid handles for this specialty in each market.
New Zealand
Authorities
- ✓Patents Act 2013 + Patents Regulations 2014 — IPONZ prosecution
- ✓Trade Marks Act 2002 — IPONZ register, opposition + revocation
- ✓Copyright Act 1994 — automatic protection, no register
- ✓Designs Act 1953 — registered designs
- ✓Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act 2006
- ✓Plant Variety Rights Act 1987
What we cover
- ✓Patent prosecution at IPONZ — examination, divisionals, oppositions
- ✓Trade mark filings + opposition proceedings
- ✓Copyright assignments + licensing
- ✓Registered design applications
- ✓PCT national-phase entry
- ✓Madrid Protocol designations from NZ
- ✓Confidential information + trade secret advice
Common matters
Australia
Authorities
- ✓Patents Act 1990 + Patents Regulations 1991 — IP Australia
- ✓Trade Marks Act 1995 — opposition, removal, revocation
- ✓Copyright Act 1968 — automatic + voluntary registration
- ✓Designs Act 2003 — newness + distinctiveness threshold
- ✓Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994
- ✓Federal Court of Australia IP list
What we cover
- ✓Standard + innovation patent prosecution at IP Australia
- ✓Trade marks + opposition / revocation / non-use
- ✓Copyright assignments + collective licensing (APRA AMCOS, PPCA)
- ✓Designs registration + certification
- ✓PCT national-phase entry
- ✓Madrid Protocol designations from AU
- ✓Federal Court IP enforcement + interlocutory injunctions
Common matters
United Kingdom
Authorities
- ✓Patents Act 1977 + UKIPO prosecution
- ✓Trade Marks Act 1994 — UKIPO register
- ✓Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
- ✓Registered Designs Act 1949 + Community Design Regulation post-Brexit
- ✓Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC)
- ✓European Patent Convention (UK still party post-Brexit)
What we cover
- ✓UKIPO patent prosecution + EPO filings via UK chartered patent attorneys
- ✓UKIPO trade marks + EU IPO post-Brexit comparable rights
- ✓Copyright licensing + CPRR collective rights
- ✓UK + Re-Registered Designs
- ✓Unitary Patent + Unified Patent Court (where applicable)
- ✓IPEC small-claims track + multi-track
- ✓Confidentiality + trade secret protocols
Common matters
United States
Authorities
- ✓35 U.S.C. — patents (USPTO prosecution)
- ✓15 U.S.C. — trademarks (Lanham Act + USPTO)
- ✓17 U.S.C. — copyright (Copyright Office registration)
- ✓Defend Trade Secrets Act 2016 (federal)
- ✓America Invents Act 2011 — first-to-file, IPR, PGR
- ✓PTAB — Inter Partes Review, Post Grant Review
What we cover
- ✓USPTO patent prosecution — utility, design, plant patents
- ✓USPTO trade marks — Section 1(a), 1(b), 44(d), 44(e), 66(a)
- ✓Copyright Office registrations + recordation
- ✓DTSA + state UTSA trade secret protocols + injunctions
- ✓PTAB IPR + PGR + Derivation proceedings
- ✓DMCA Designated Agent registration ($6 with US Copyright Office)
- ✓ITC § 337 investigations + Federal Circuit appeals
Common matters
How Marco Reid helps.
Patent specification drafting
Independent + dependent claims drafted from the inventor's disclosure. Prior-art search prompts. Specification + abstract + drawings prep. Patent attorney signs before filing.
Trade mark search + clearance
Multi-jurisdictional search across IPONZ, IP Australia, USPTO, UKIPO + EU IPO + Madrid Monitor. Identical + similar marks, classes, refusal grounds. Clearance opinion drafted, signed.
Office action response drafting
USPTO Section 2(d) refusals, IPONZ s 17 distinctiveness objections, examiner's reports. Marco drafts the response, cites the right test, surfaces the precedents. Partner signs.
Licensing + assignment agreements
Exclusive vs sole vs non-exclusive licences, royalty mechanics, sublicensing, audit rights, termination. Tax-treatment notes per jurisdiction (NZ withholding, US s 1235).
Trade secret protocols
Confidential-information procedures, employee + contractor IP assignments, NDA suite, access controls, departure interview templates. DTSA-compliant for US.
DMCA Designated Agent + safe harbour
Marco Reid files the Designated Agent registration ($6, US Copyright Office). Counter-notice procedure, repeat-infringer policy, takedown logging. Built into Marco Reid Launch flow.
Marco Reid is a workspace and tooling vendor. It is not itself licensed to practise. Every consumer-facing output passes through SignoffRequest and is approved by a credentialled practitioner in the relevant jurisdiction before release.
Files preserved. Deadlines tracked. Filings signed.
IP work is unforgiving on deadlines and unforgiving on documentation. Marco Reid is unforgiving on both, in a good way.