Description

Sponsored by SODA Inc

Your ideas are valuable - but are you protecting them properly? And more importantly, are you using them to grow your business?

This fast-paced, practical session will help entrepreneurs and business owners understand how intellectual property (IP) can be a powerful tool for scaling and protecting their business. Expect real-world insights, practical guidance and a few “war stories” along the way.

Facilitated by globally-recognised intellectual property expert Kate Wells from James & Wells, this session will break down complex IP concepts into clear, actionable steps you can apply to your business immediately.

What you’ll learn

• How to align your IP strategy with your overall business goals
• Creative ways to leverage your IP to scale and strengthen your business
• How to identify IP risks and opportunities across your business, including:

    • Internal systems
    • Third-party relationships
    • Branding
    • Technology
    • Designs
    • Software and AI
    • Ownership structures

• The practical IP measures you can put in place to protect and future-proof your business, including:
    • Trademarks
    • Patents
    • Agreements
    • Systems and processes

Walk away with a clearer understanding of your IP, practical steps to strengthen your protection, and fresh ideas for turning innovation into profit.

Date:  Wednesday 22 April 2026

Time:  10am - 12pm

Location:  The Long Room, Wintec House, Wintec, Hamilton

Cost:  $49 per person

About the Speaker
Kate Wells is an internationally recognised IP strategist and registered patent attorney (New?Zealand and Australia), with deep expertise across patents, intangible assets, and organisational IP capability. A former founding partner of James & Wells, she has advised many of New Zealand’s leading innovative companies and built extensive experience managing IP portfolios and guiding businesses on how to commercialise and protect their competitive edge.

After stepping down from partnership in 2015, Kate established several successful non IP businesses, served on corporate boards, and developed a thriving consultancy focused on strategic IP advice. She was also one of only three to be inducted in the 2023 NZ Woman Entrepreneur’s Hall of Fame. Kate is widely recognised in global IP rankings, including IAM’s Top 300 IP Strategists, and is regarded as a leader in IP education, delivering workshops and seminars in New Zealand and internationally. She is also the author of The Hidden Mechanics of IP - Demystifying Intellectual Property, released in 2025.