Anton Blijlevens
Principal
AJ Park Law Limited

Anton joined AJ Park in 1994 after graduating from the University of Canterbury with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He gained his law degree from The University of Auckland in 2004.

Experienced in intellectual property (IP) protection strategies and conducting IP audits and due diligence for mechanical and manufacturing technology firms, Anton has a track record of helping exporters be successful both locally and internationally. Anton also works with organisations to establish policies and procedures to maximise the value of their IP. His clients come from diverse industries such as packaging, marine engineering, aviation, agritech, and medical technology.

‘Helping specialist manufacturing companies build an IP strategy to achieve their goals is very rewarding. Many of my clients have successfully grown their business because of well-protected innovations.’

“Anton’s been very helpful; he’s guided me and given me good advice. We trust each other and I knew he’d understand what I had, which is important. I understood the products and the business end but not the patent process and how to go about protecting my product.

Trevor McCoid, Fleximower

Anton lectures in IP at the University of Auckland and Massey University, regularly speaks to industry groups and business incubators, and is a mentor in the ‘Business in the Community’ programme. He also speaks on IP at international conferences and events across Asia and Australia. In 2015, he developed and delivered the Asia Patent Attorneys Association’s (APAA) first ever 5-day long ‘Patent Surgery’ course, covering patent preparation, prosecution and strategy. Anton has been running this course since 2015 and has now trained over 120 patent attorneys on patent drafting. Anton has since been asked to lecture for World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on patent drafting courses and has done so on four occasions now. He is also a co-author on the WIPO patent drafting manual exercise book.

Anton joined the Advisory Committee of APAA in November 2018 and was voted on as the APAA New Zealand group president in August 2019.