David Hughes

David Hughes is an internationally regarded patent attorney based in Sydney.

David has more than 30 years’ experience in intellectual property (IP) as a patent attorney. With combined skills in intellectual property and management, he advises clients on complex IP legal matters, developing and building patent portfolios and broader intangible asset strategy.  He is internationally recognised in areas of IP strategy, patent prosecution and IP transactions. 

David works closely with a range of clients – including leading companies across diverse fields such as medtech, energy, construction and mining, as well as government and university institutions – to develop and implement strategies and processes to maximise the impact of their ideas.  He has led university-sponsored projects on the use of AI in the patent process, consulted with IP offices on innovation ecosystems, patent analytics and was responsible for developing client delivery service models integrating broader economic and social disciplines into IP legal services. 

David is passionate about developing effective ecosystems as an enabler of innovation. Areas of particular interest are in developing systems to leverage collective sense-making to improve ideation processes and in the adaption of IP rights to enable increased collaboration, particularly in traditional industries and markets that are undergoing significant change.