Wollemi v Wollemi: Tesla chair Robyn Denholm's family office caught in trademark dispute
Ex-Macquarie Capital chief Tim Bishop’s climate tech VC firm and Robyn Denholm’s family office, Wollemi Capital Group, are locked in an ongoing trademark dispute.
In 1995 the NSW Government trademarked Australia’s Jurassic era pines, known as Wollemi, to stop anyone from cloning them. Now, nearly three decades on, the term Wollemi is at the centre of a trademark dispute between two investment firms backed by some of the country's most prominent business figures.
Former Macquarie Capital chief Tim Bishop’s climate tech VC firm Wollemi Capital and Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm’s family office Wollemi Capital Group have been at loggerheads for nearly two years over the term, with both parties opposing the registration of the trademark of the other.
Wollemi Capital is a Sydney-based venture capital firm founded by Bishop and former Boston Consulting Group’s Asian venture exec Paul Hunyor that invests in “in the businesses and projects vital to making the net-zero future a reality”. The firm raised $220 million in June this year from heavy-hitting investors, including Carol and Alan Schwartz’s Trawalla Group, Vincent Fairfax’s family office Cambooya, and the University of Sydney. Other shareholders include former Macquarie CEO Nicholas Moore, Square Peg co-founder Paul Bassat and Caledonia Investments co-founder Mark Nelson.
Wollemi Capital Group is the family office of Denholm, whose daughter Victoria Denholm is CEO. It invests in “businesses and ventures delivering a positive impact for generations to come”.
