Melinda Upton and Nicholas Tyacke have joined DLA Piper in Sydney as partners. Upton joins from Blake Dawson, where she advised local, regional and global companies on branding and rebranding strategies and maximizing their intellectual property portfolios, trademark protection and enforcement, anti-counterfeiting, advertising and marketing, domain name disputes, consumer protection, passing off, social media, design protection and intellectual property audits and due diligence. Her clients include companies in life sciences, technology, health care, medical devices, entertainment, financial services, food, hospitality, media, publishing, transport, energy and water management.

Tyacke, who joins from Clayton Utz, is an Australia- and US-qualified IP litigator who specializes in advising clients in relation to patent disputes in the life sciences and technology sectors, as well as copyright and trademark disputes, particularly in relation to the internet and high technology. He is recognized for his work on complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes including a number of leading patent cases in Australia and the US, having spent many years at US patent litigation law firm Fish & Neave.

The appointments build on DLA Piper’s recent additions in Australia, including Australian sector leader for life sciences, Amanda Turnill in Sydney; life sciences special counsel Simone Mitchell in Sydney and IPT partner David Richardson in Brisbane.

His recent representative litigation matters include representing a US client in a patent enforcement action against several Germany and China based companies, representing a China-based company in computer software and trade secret litigation in the US and representing a US client in a patent infringement case in China against several companies in China. He also has extensive experience in patent prosecution and has represented clients on patent aspects of dozens of mergers and acquisitions and due diligence reviews.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth has added Annette Hughes to its dispute resolution and risk advisory team. Hughes will serve as partner in the firm’s Melbourne litigation group. She is a past president and current member of the executive committee of the National Product Liability Association, and joins Corrs from Allens Arthur Robinson where she led the product liability team and co-led the corporate responsibility group. She was also a partner at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold in San Francisco and remains a member of the California Bar Association. Her experience includes the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games litigation and appeal, Plantronics’ Polaris litigation, Burger King franchise litigation and others.