Declan McKeveney

Declan has assisted many clients with the construction and ongoing management of local and international patent portfolios with an eye to adding value to his client’s businesses and ensuring alignment of their intellectual property (IP) strategy with the broader business objectives. This means Declan places a great deal of focus on not just getting to understand his client’s innovative technologies, but also their business as a whole and then advising on an appropriate ‘whole-of-business’ IP strategy. Declan’s depth of knowledge in IP is assisted in this regard by his experience graduating from the Company Director’s Course, provided by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), ensuring Declan has a sound understanding of business concerns and the level of support required by executives and board members of their IP advisors.

Declan devotes a significant amount of time to the preparation and filing of new patent applications for local clients and managing the prosecution of the ensuing portfolio in key international jurisdictions including the U.S., Europe, China, and Japan, as well as Australia. His clients also benefit from advice around protection strategies, freedom to operate and validity issues.

Declan is a supporter of local innovation, particularly in the biotech sector and this extends to his role as Chair of AusBiotech’s IP Advisory Group which provides expertise on IP issues in relation to medical devices and diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and therapeutics.

Prior to joining the patent attorney profession, Declan worked as a research scientist for a Brisbane-based biotechnology company in lead compound library synthesis employing carbohydrate scaffolds.

Declan is committed to the on-going education and development of emerging attorneys and STEM graduates. He is an Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS) mentor, has presented seminars and workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and taught in the Queensland University of Technology Master of Laws in IP course in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation.