Our T&Cs

Client Engagement

Our commitment and services

  • IP Synergy® is the trading name of Synergy IP Limited, a Limited company registered in New Zealand on 26 September 2016 (NZBN 9429043338405).

  • IP Synergy is committed to providing premium quality, yet cost effective services.

  • We are focused on building and maintaining strong working relationships and communication with your firm, its processes and its attorneys. Therefore please let us know if there is anything we can do to more effectively align with your firm’s practices and systems.

  • We like to be proactive, so we aim to provide a recommended solution, not simply reporting issues for you to address. Of course, we will only do so and incur any charges if approved by you first.

  • Our written communication will be only via email correspondence. We will not send any hard-copy correspondence to you unless you specifically request. Costs will be incurred for any courier or postage fees required.

  • Our core services for our international clients are patent and design application filing and prosecution at the Australian IP Office (IP Australia) and the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ).

  • Currently, IP Synergy has a single director and patent attorney, Peter Brown, who is jointly registered as a patent attorney under the Trans-Tasman Patent Regime.

  • Peter Brown’s technical background is biotechnology, owing to his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology, and BSc (Hons) in Human Genetics and Plant Biotechnology. Before starting IP Synergy as a specialist biotech IP consultancy practice, Peter was a Senior Associate at a large IP firm where he spent over 8 years as a patent attorney drafting, filing and prosecuting mostly biotech related innovations through to grant in New Zealand, Australia as well as internationally for his clients.

Fee structure and official fees

  • We will always provide a fixed quote or cost estimate prior to conducting any specific action, so you have peace of mind over any costs to be incurred. We are open to discussing retainer fee structures, or any other payment schedule that works for you. For instance, if you would prefer we charge by the hour, Peter Brown’s base rate is US$300/hour.

  • All our estimates or quotes are in US dollars unless specifically stated.

  • Our quotes will include any Patent Office official fees as applicable. Any official Patent Office fees are charged in US dollars based on the exchange rate on the date of paying the official fee(s).

  • All disbursements are provided within the quoted amounts.

Payment terms and overdue accounts

  • Unless agreed otherwise, payments are due within 30 days from date of issue.

  • IP Synergy reserves the right to charge 10% interest per month for any outstanding amounts owing beyond 30 days.

  • IP Synergy reserves the right to suspend or cease services in relation to any matter if any invoices with your firm remain to be paid after 60 days from the date of issue without reasonable circumstances or prior agreement.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

  • IP Synergy (through Synergy IP Limited) holds Professional Indemnity Insurance to the value of NZD$1,000,000 per claim.

Conflicts

  • We will run conflict checks when a new client engages with us to determine if any current conflict is present, and will advise accordingly.

  • Not all conflicts can be identified at the outset, and thus we will advise you as soon as possible if a conflict arises downstream. We retain the right to cease acting for your client if a conflict of interest cannot be resolved.

Trans-Tasman (Australia and New Zealand) Patent Attorney Registration

  • Peter Brown is registered as a Trans-Tasman patent attorney under the new joint regulation regime that came into force on 24 February 2017. This means he has full registration to act as a patent attorney in both Australia and New Zealand.

  • As required by any Trans-Tasman Registered Patent Attorney, we confirm Peter Brown has sufficient knowledge and experience of both Australian and New Zealand intellectual property laws and practice.

  • Under the single patent attorney regime, Peter Brown is bound by the Australian Code of Conduct for Patent and Trademark Attorneys 2013. This includes keeping all materials and information provided by clients as strictly confidential, unless agreed otherwise.

Complaints procedure

  • We encourage you to discuss any complaint directly with us so we can resolve any issues pro-actively and in a timely fashion.

  • You may also raise a complaint by contacting the Professional Standards Board (PSB) via MDB-SecretaryPSB@ipaustralia.gov.au; or via this website.

Acceptance of Terms

At initial engagement with our firm, a link to this Terms of Engagement page will be provided. We will consider these terms acceptable and agreeable by you and your company unless advised otherwise. Please let us know if you would like to have specific agreement in place and we can discuss adaption of the terms.