Chris Round
Chris Round is a global Practice Area Lead for the Intellectual Property (IP) group and also a Practice Group Coordinator for the IP Procurement & Portfolio Management team. He is an IP lawyer with extensive experience in the registration of intellectual property rights and associated litigation. He represents clients in copyright, trade mark, designs and associated trade practices litigation in all Australian Courts.
Chris prosecutes trade mark applications and oppositions before IP Australia, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, the World Intellectual Property Organization and across the world. He manages the trade mark portfolio of many Australian and international companies and provides strategic advice on the registrability of a diverse range of trade marks in Australia and overseas.
Chris is also the co-head of the K&L Gates sports industry group and acts for many of Australia and the world's leading sporting bodies in intellectual property matters.
- Recognised by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a Recommended Lawyer for Intellectual Property in Australia, 2026
- Recognised as an IAM (Law Business Research) Strategy 300 Global Leader, 2026
- Recognised by the World Trademark Review 1000 as a
- Silver - Individual for Enforcement and Litigation in Australia, 2023-2025 (and Recommended Individual, 2020-2024)
- Silver - Individual for Prosecution and Strategy in Australia, 2025 (and Bronze, 2023-2024)
- Recognised by Managing IP Stars as a Notable Practitioner, 2021-2026
- Listed by World Trademark Review (WTR) as Recommended in Copyright 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals, 2026
- Recognised by Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal: Australia & New Zealand) as Highly Recommended for Australia & New Zealand – IP - Trademarks, 2022-2026
- Listed by Doyle's Guide as a
- Leading Non-Contentious Intellectual Property Lawyer in Victoria, 2015-2026 (Preeminent, 2026)
- Leading Contentious Intellectual Property Lawyer in Victoria, 2018-2026
- Leading Intellectual Property Lawyer in Australia, 2018-2023
- Leading Copyright & Soft IP Lawyer in Victoria 2015-2017
- Leading Trademark Lawyer in Victoria 2015-2017
- Recognised by IAM Patent 1000 for Litigation in Australia (Bronze), 2025-2026
- Recognised by Thomas Reuters as a Stand-Out Lawyer, 2024
- Recommended by Who’s Who Legal: Australia & New Zealand as a lawyer for Australia – IP - Trademarks, 2022-2024
- Recognised as a finalist in the Partner of the Year Awards for Intellectual Property by Lawyers Weekly, 2017
- International Trademark Association Legislation and Regulation committee member
- International Trademark Association member
- Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ) member
- Australia and New Zealand Sports Law Association (ANZSLA) member
- "Nine's victory in Al Muderis defamation case; Legal fight over 'Never Get Busted' director credit", Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) (Australia), 19 August 2025
- “Shades of Gray: Current Issues in Parallel Importation Law - A Global Perspective”, International Trademark Association Annual Meeting, Boston, United States, 19 May 2019
- Copyright and Social Media: Lessons, Traps and Pitfalls, Legalwise Copyright Practical Applications and Commercialisation Seminar 27 November 2018
- "Protecting your Brand", Dental Practice Owners Conference, Melbourne, 15 June 2017
- "Raising the Bar - The new Australian experience of trademark oppositions" INTA Table Topic in San Diego, United States, 3 May 2015
- "Trade Mark Examination and Hearings Practice Tips", Hosted an event for INTA, 30 July 2014
- "Intellectual Property Issues in an Online World", Learn With Us, 10 July 2014
- "Review of Changes in Opposition Procedures and Trade Mark Disputes", Legalwise Patents and Trademarks Conference, 19 June 2014
- "Issues That Arise When Building a Brand for a New Sports Team or League", INTA Table Topic in Dallas, United States, 4 May 2013
- "Building a Brilliant Brand", IP Australia and Australian Industry Group seminar, 30 May 2012
- "Introduction to Intellectual Property" to a number of accountants and other business advisors, 14 May 2010
- "Protecting IP in the New Media Age", Australia and New Zealand Sports Law Annual Conference, 17 October 2008
Chris is a leader of the global IP blog 'IP Law Watch' and regularly writes posts to be published on the blog. In addition, he has published the following articles:
- "Parallel Imports Welcome in Australia", Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, Vol.31, No.8 p149, 2018
- "Protection for original designs in Australia," Intellectual Property Magazine, November 2015
- "Changes in Trade Mark Opposition Procedures in Australia Make it a More Attractive Place to Protect Intellectual Property", Caijing.com.cn legal column, with Xianjin Tian, August 2014
- "Review of Changes in Opposition Procedures After Raising the Bar", Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, Vol.27, No.9 p238, 2014
- Guest, "Nine's victory in Al Muderis defamation case; Legal fight over 'Never Get Busted' director credit", Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) (Australia), 19 August 2025
- Mentioned, "Strategy 300 Global Leaders 2025" (Excerpt), IAM Media, 19 November 2024
- Mentioned, "K&L Gates guides Elka Capital through residential land lease joint venture", The Australasian Lawyer, 9 October 2024
- Quoted, "'A massive feel-good story': FIFA's IP team on protecting the Women's World Cup 2023", World Intellectual Property Review, August 2023
