Michael Houlihan

Our Philosophy

We are a full-service, one-stop Patent & Trade Mark Attorney Firm.

At Houlihan², since 2002, our role is and has been to advise you on how to best and most appropriately protect your creativity and to turn your Intellectual Property into a valuable asset. We are here to assist in the securing and maintenance of your Intellectual Property Rights and also to assist with integrating these Rights into your business goals. As part of your team, our Patent Attorneys and Trade Mark Attorneys will work closely with you to tailor your requirements to fit your business needs. This is all done behind a backdrop of our philosophy to value² your asset in the most cost-effective way.

Our Patent Attorneys and Trade Mark Attorneys are creative thinkers and are able to provide solutions outside the square^® to any problem. We complement your team by bringing our wealth of experience in Patents, Trade Marks, Designs and other forms of Intellectual Property, with a fresh and enthusiastic approach.

Our Expertise

Our Patent Attorneys can assist you in protecting your inventions in all areas of Chemistry, Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Medical Devices, Electronics, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, and ICT.

Our Patent Attorneys can also assist you in protecting the new Designs that you have applied to your products.

Our Trade Mark Attorneys can assist you to protect your Brand and your reputation through strategic Trade Mark protection, from filing through to negotiation and litigation.

Our Firm also specialises in protecting Designs and in Copyright issues.

We serve a broad client base including:

• Sole inventors;
• Universities/Research Institutes;
• Small, medium and large businesses;
• Government authorities/instrumentalities; and
• International corporations.

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As a Co-founder and Director of the Firm, Michael is a Registered Patent & Trade Mark Attorney in both Australia and New Zealand, having separate technical qualifications in both Biotechnology and Chemistry. He has undertaken further post-graduate studies at the University of Melbourne in Biotechnology. Michael also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Wine Science. Before turning to Intellectual Property Law, Michael was employed as a researcher at the Monsanto Company.

Michael has practised extensively for over thirty years in all aspects of Patents and their associated prosecution and litigation, particularly in his specialized areas of Biotechnology, Chemistry, Immunology, Micro- and Molecular Biology, Pharmaceuticals, Medical devices, breathing chambers for infectious diseases, drilling and mining processes, oil rigs, distillation cracking towers, Plant Physiology and Plant Breeder Rights. At the request of a US client, Michael assisted in a successful Fraud Proceedings in the USA concerning a US Patent.

Michael currently leads the Firm’s Trade Mark Group and is responsible for the Firm’s IP practice in Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. Michael also has a keen interest in the protection of Trade Secrets and is a past Chair of the International Statutory Developments in Trade Secrets Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s IPL Section. He serves on the International Patents Committee of the major US-based IPO Association.

Michael is a frequent speaker at international conferences, including the AIPLA and CLE International, on Patents and their enforcement in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the other countries of the Pacific Rim. He is on the Editorial Board of Biotechnology Law Report and has had, or made contributions to, papers published by the AIPLA, World Intellectual Property Report (BNA), Houston Journal of International Law and the Biotechnology Law Report.

He is a Member of The American Bar Association, The Australian Biotechnology Association, The Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand, The Royal Australian Chemical Institute and a Member of The Institute of Patent Attorneys of New Zealand.

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