Presenters

Dr Victoria Argyle, Special Counsel, AJPark Law
Victoria is a member of the litigation team at AJ Park and brings to her role a unique blend of scientific expertise and legal acumen. She holds a PhD in inorganic chemistry, a bachelor’s degree in law, and is a registered patent attorney. Utilising her science background, Victoria particularly enjoys learning about new and emerging technologies, and assisting clients in resolving patent related disputes. This can include challenging a competitor’s patent in New Zealand or overseas or working with clients to defend or enforce their patent rights. Prior to joining AJ Park, Victoria served as an employed barrister at Andrew Brown KC, where she acted as Junior Counsel on patent opposition and revocation matters, and trade mark opposition matters. Her role included providing general patent advice concerning possible infringement and regulatory matters, assisting clients with filing and prosecuting trade mark applications through to acceptance, maintaining trade mark registrations, and providing advice to clients concerning copyright, the Fair Trading Act and passing off. Prior to this, Victoria worked as a Patent Attorney at Baldwins (now AJ Park) in the Chembio team, giving her experience in the prosecution of patent applications through to acceptance and grant. Contributing to the IP industry, Victoria is a committee member for the New Zealand Intellectual Property Association (NZIPA) and New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) IP.

David Nowak, Director, Henry Hughes IP
David is a Registered Patent Attorney in Australia and New Zealand and a Director of Henry Hughes IP Ltd. He joined Henry Hughes in 2009, following his role as a Senior Patent Examiner at the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. David is an experienced IP specialist. He is expert in all matters relating to the Patents Act 2013 and contributes to the LexisNexis publication on the Act. A particular area of interest is patentable subject matter in the life sciences, a topic on which he has spoken internationally. David was named a 2025 IP Star by Managing IP Magazine and is listed in the IAM Patent 1000 for New Zealand practitioners. David graduated from the University of Auckland in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences) and in 2007 with a Bachelor of Laws.