Intellectual property firm, James & Wells, has announced the promotion of Andrew Scott to Partner and James Rowland to Associate.

Andrew Scott joined James & Wells’ patent team in 2014 after practicing in Australia for eight years. With a background in physics, biochemistry and chemistry, including a PhD in synthetic medicinal chemistry and post-doctoral studies in materials science, Andrew heads James & Wells' Chemistry Team. He also has a Masters of Intellectual Property Law.
Andrew was involved in three of the first eight opposition decisions under the post-Raising the Bar reforms in Australia and has an intimate knowledge of the new support and disclosure requirements under the Australian Patents Act 1990 and New Zealand Patents Act 2013, having spoken extensively on the topics. Andrew has been a council member of the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys (NZIPA) since 2017.

James Rowland joined the firm in 2018 after three years as a Judges’ Clerk at the Hamilton District Court. His practice, while extending across a range of intellectual property rights, is centred predominantly on the obtaining and enforcement of patent rights. James is experienced across the varied stages of IPONZ and Court proceedings. He has also been involved in numerous successful dispute resolutions outside of court. James has been a contributor to New Zealand’s leading text on intellectual property law published by Thomson Reuters and Westlaw, James & Wells Intellectual Property Law in New Zealand.