Stephen co-founded Golja Haines & Friend in 2008 and with more than 25 years’ experience practising as a patent and trade marks attorney, continues to assist his clients in the chemical, mechanical and electrical fields.

Stephen graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Science majoring in chemistry, whereafter he pursued a long-time interest in electronics, working for companies in Australia and New Zealand in roles of research development and design, production engineering and quality control, across applications including fire protection, security, and control and signaling.

Stephen subsequently joined the patent attorney profession and commenced study to qualify as a patent attorney. Stephen was registered in Australia as a patent attorney and trade marks attorney in 1999. Stephen is also a registered patent attorney in New Zealand.

Stephen practises in patents, trade marks, and designs, and has extensive experience in drafting patent specifications and prosecuting patent applications in a wide range of technologies, and in preparing and prosecuting trade mark and design applications. Stephen’s experience in industry before joining the patent profession provides a useful background for formulating strategies for protecting the intellectual property of clients.