Harnessing the power of intellectual property

The decision to return to postgraduate study was driven by meeting the increasingly complex challenges of both leveraging and protecting the IP generated by his businesses, including LCC Asia Pacific and his private investment vehicle Adrenalin Equity and by the domestic and multi-national clients he advises.

“I believe commercially leveraging IP is the most complicated issue organisations are facing in both growing their business operations and driving shareholder value,” Nicholas says.  

“Despite my now decades of experience, I had a desire to revisit current best practices to create and protect traditional IP classes, as well as to access the latest thinking on commercialisation strategies.”

Learning from leading professionals 

The UTS Master of Intellectual Property was the first-ever accredited postgraduate IP qualification in Australia and New Zealand. Taught by leading professionals, it remains one of the most highly sought-after degrees of its kind.

“The quality of the UTS degree was exceptional,” says Nicholas, who holds academic degrees and professional certifications from some of world’s top institutions, including the University of Rochester, Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Comprised of eight subjects, the Master of Intellectual Property can be tailored to suit students’ interests and professional aspirations. All learners complete a core subject called Preparing for Intellectual Property Practice; from there, they can pursue subjects in their chosen areas of IP, patent, trade marks, copyright, and designs law and practice.

For Nicholas, the trade marks, copyright and intellectual property commercialisation content stood out, as did the degree’s emphasis on the role of AI in shaping the future of IP. Its online and highly flexible design gave students the opportunity to engage with both self-paced and live learning.

“The courses were structured and detailed, digging into many of the commercial and legal frameworks that practitioners and entrepreneurs operate in. Many lecturers discussed at length the commercial implications of the subject matter using numerous case study examples that reinforced strategies for both IP development and protection,” he says.

“It was a very good experience; very structured. The UTS education technology platform and the quality of the online content that was delivered in combination was a better experience than some face-to-face qualifications I’ve completed.

“In today’s rapidly shifting, AI-driven environment, I don’t see these degrees as being legal qualifications only. I believe this particular master’s degree is directly relevant to CEOs, scientists, researchers, development engineers, software engineers—anyone whose career circles intellectual property and intellectual capital.”

Optimising commercial opportunities

True to his entrepreneurial nature and following registration as a trade marks attorney, Nicholas launched Axis IP, a sister company to LCC Asia Pacific that provides intellectual property, trademark registration, IP valuation and commercialisation support for domestic and international clients.

“Many professionals are so busy running their businesses that they just take for granted a lot of the IP that sits around them. If you don’t really have a command of IP beyond just a patent or a trade mark, I think you’re going to be leaving, from a shareholder perspective, significant value on the table,” he says.