Event Information
This Focus 45 session provides the critical context needed to ensure the future of IP looks nothing like the "good old days."
Monday 2 March
1900 New York
Tuesday 3 March
0530 Mumbai
0800 Perth & Shanghai
0900 Brisbane
1000 Melbourne
For International Women’s Week 2026, join FICPI Australia Secretary Ronelle Geldenhuys for a provocative and data-driven exploration of the professional landscape for women in intellectual property. While nostalgia often paints a rosy picture of the "good old days," the reality for women in the profession has historically been one of systemic invisibility and distinct barriers. This webinar will consider generational experiences and perspectives, and question whether the "slightly better" conditions of today are enough, or if the profession is simply trading old obstacles for new, more subtle ones.
The session features an expert panel with Professor Jessica Lai (Victoria University of Wellington) and Maryam Khajeh Tabari (Chrysiliou IP/University of Technology Sydney). Drawing on their extensive multi-year research collaboration across Australia and New Zealand, the panel will move beyond anecdotes to present hard-hitting findings from their recent publications. From the "burden on senior women" and the impact of self-group distancing to the persistent presumptions made by clients and colleagues alike, this discussion offers a rare, evidence-based look at how gender shapes the IP career trajectory.
This is a must-attend for IP professionals committed to the long-term sustainability and commercial excellence of the profession. We will dive into the "non-gendered decision-making" required to retain top talent and discuss practical strategies for moving toward a truly inclusive practice. Whether you are a principal looking to improve firm culture or a practitioner navigating the current IP landscape, this FOCUS 45 session provides the critical context needed to ensure the future of IP looks nothing like the "good old days".
| Ronelle Geldenhuys is a Partner at Jones Maxwell Smith & Davis and the Secretary of FICPI Australia. She is a registered patent attorney with over 15 years of experience in electronics and software-based inventions, spanning private practice and in-house roles. Ronelle also lectures in Patent Systems at the University of Technology Sydney and was the founding Chair of the ChIPs Australia & New Zealand chapter. |
| Dr Jessica Lai is Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and a New Zealand Royal Society Rutherford Discovery Fellow. She specialises in patent law, feminist perspectives on patent law, women in IP, and IP and mātauranga Māori. |
| Maryam Khajeh Tabari is the Lead Lecturer for Patent Practice in the MIP Program at the Faculty of Law, UTS. She is a registered Patent and Trademark Attorney and a Principal of Chrysiliou IP, with over 20 years of experience in IP and commercialisation. Maryam specialises in the intersection of engineering and law, holding qualifications in computer, biomedical, and industrial property law. |
More information about their research can be found in the following publications:
- Lai, Jessica C. and Geldenhuys, Ronelle and Khajeh Tabari, Maryam, Invisible Women in Invisible Professions: Voices from Australian and New Zealand Women in Intellectual Property (September 1, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4556301 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4556301
- Lai, J., Geldenhuys, R., & Tabari, M. K. (2023). Women in IP from Australia and New Zealand: Experiences with colleagues and other professions. Intellectual Property Forum: Journal of the Intellectual and Industrial Property Society of Australia and New Zealand, (134), 10–20. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.485563877234875
- Jessica C Lai, Ronelle Geldenhuys, Maryam Khajeh Tabari, Mark Summerfield, Female patent attorneys and movements around the profession: achieving non-gendered decision-making, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Volume 19, Issue 7, July 2024, Pages 596–617, https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpae040
- Lai, J. C., Geldenhuys, R., & Tabari, M. K. (2024). Women in intellectual property: Not taken seriously? EUROPEAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REVIEW, 46(9), 602–612. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.T2024082300024101688338400
- Lai, J. C., & Bowrey, K. (Eds.). (2024). A Research Agenda for Intellectual Property Law and Gender. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. (2024) https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035301775
- Lai, J. C., Geldenhuys, R. & Tabari, M. K. (2025). What do clients presume about women in intellectual property? Voices from Australia and New Zealand. Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property, 15(1), 10-29. https://doi.org/10.4337/qmjip.2025.01.01
- Jessica C Lai, Ronelle Geldenhuys, Maryam Khajeh Tabari, Self-group distancing and the burden on senior women: intellectual property practice in Australia and New Zealand, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2025;, jpaf076, https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpaf076
📖 CPD/CLE certificates can be provided.
❤️ There is no charge to attend the FICPI webinar.
🗣️ This webinar will be in English