Two postgraduate courses on intellectual property taught at the University of Auckland Law School have been accredited by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board.
LAWCOMM 796 Trade Marks and Related Rights and LAWCOMM 772 Intellectual Property and Practice, were recently accredited for a period of five years, ending on 18 November 2026.
THE COURSES, DESIGNED AND TAUGHT BY ROB BATTY, HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR ASPIRING PATENT ATTORNEYS – WHO WORK WITH INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES TO HELP THEM PROTECT THEIR VALUABLE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
The courses, designed and taught by Rob Batty, have been established for aspiring patent attorneys – who work with individuals and companies to help them protect and exploit their valuable intellectual property. Patent attorneys are highly qualified professionals and often have multiple university degrees – usually a law degree and a technical, engineering or scientific degree.
To practice as a patent attorney in New Zealand, a person must be registered under a joint registration regime for patent attorneys in Australia and New Zealand. The Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board oversees this joint Trans-Tasman registration regime. As well as having suitable academic qualifications and meeting practical experience requirements, those wanting to be registered as a patent attorney must have certain “knowledge requirements”. These knowledge requirements cover nine intellectual property topic groups. Applicants can meet the knowledge requirements by passing “accredited courses”.
The Faculty is thrilled that the Board has accredited LAWCOMM 796 for topic group C and LAWCOMM 772 for topic groups A and B. The Faculty also has plans to run other intellectual property courses in the future, and for which it also hopes to seek accreditation.
The University of Auckland Law School would also like to acknowledge the generous support of Ian Finch and George Jackson from James & Wells, who assisted in delivering part of LAWCOMM 772 Intellectual Property and Practice.
