LESANZ Online Conference 2022 - Wrap Up
‘New Horizons – Creating the Future’.
The presentations over the April three days were engaging and uplifting. So much technology, endeavour, capability, and capacity reaching forward to deliver new solutions, create new businessesand to take Australian and New Zealand commercial capability to the world.
A common theme was funding for early-stage technology, and how to make that easier and for investors to be less risk averse – more work needed there.Our presenters have been fantastic, with stories of overcoming challenges in terms of
- developing the technology,
- figuring out the business model,
- considering the market, market size, the investment opportunity, attracting talent who want to work with you,
- learning to vector the business when customers want something else (changing from a product sales business model to a service model), particularly with overseas cultural and practice differences, creating an IP strategy with IP in-house (both registrable and non-registerable – such as trade secrets and balancing between the two as needed) and being willing to licence in technology instead of create in house, and learning to deal with investors and business partners and collaborators as needed.
We heard from James Robertson from Invert Robotics about the need to translate cultural and practice differences as well as language differences.There is also a need to translate between technology, business and law that patent attorneys, IP lawyers, tech transfer officers, IP managers and other IP professionals come across on a daily basis,and LES (and for us LESANZ) is a collaborative family of like-minded people in that space. I encourage members to make use of that network.
We are particularly pleased that we have been able to enliven our Young Members/Emerging Professionals activity to establish and re-establish those personal networks for early career IP professionals.Despite our geographical spread and relatively small populations,Australia and New Zealand have vibrant technology and commercialisation activities going on, with solutions to real problems for future longevity.
Our conference was delivered from five states of Australia and from New Zealand, covering some 5,500 km wide and 4 hours of time zones. A truly national and home-grown international conference.
On behalf of LESANZ, our thanks to all of our speakers for their presentations and live Q&A. Also, thanks to our regional LESANZ committees for bringing together your topics and speakers for each session.
LESANZ AGM
On the 10th of May, LESANZ hosted their Annual General Meeting online.
The following members have generously offered their time for another 12-month term. We congratulate: Mark Pullen, President and Sue Muggleston, Plant & Food Research, LESANZ President Elect, who are both entering their 2nd year of two-year terms. Cherie van Wensveen, CSIRO, was elected as Vice President and newly appointed Secretary, Chris Wilkinson from Madderns.
Catherine Boxhall, Integra Law, was re-elected as Treasurer. Bronwyn Furse, Thomson Greer Lawyers, and Anna Grocholsky, Macquarie University, continue as Trustees at Large, with Ben Hamilton, Hall & Wilcox, elected as our new Trustee at Large.LESANZ also wishes to thank those retiring members of the Trustees.
Michael Cossetto - 5 years as Secretary and prior to that on the NSW Committee and Heidi Jade who retires as a Trustee at Large and previously NZ Regional Committee Chair.
Our thanks to the LESANZ executive, trustees at large, regional chairs and committees, and to the membership for their continuing support of LESANZ.