Australia

Firm overview

Founded over 60 years ago, FB Rice is Australia’s leading independent intellectual property firm. Beginning as a small Sydney practice, we have evolved to become a national firm with offices from the east to west coast of Australia, together with a well-established ASEAN hub which services our clients requiring IP services in South East Asia.

We employ the smartest scientists and engineers to ensure our clients have access to the requisite technology expertise. The breadth of our staff expertise is what sets us apart. Whether it is biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, medical devices, pharmaceuticals or software and communication technology, we make sure we have the right specialisation for our clients’ needs.

We enjoy a significant share of provisional patent filings in Australia and have seen significant growth in national phase filings. We are also one of the biggest filers of Australian patent oppositions for both our domestic and international client base, achieving numerous successful outcomes. Litigation support and due diligence also remains an important part of our service offering where we enjoy working alongside law firms in a range of matters.

Our trade marks team has expertise across numerous industries and includes large portfolios and local businesses – from start-up companies to those wishing to further establish themselves. We also offer a high level of strategic advice to clients requiring protection for their industrial designs.

Our Research and Development (R&D) tax consulting business assists organisations in navigating the Australian government's valuable R&D tax incentive program. This addition to the business demonstrates how we have evolved to address our clients’ needs from the beginning to the end of the IP cycle. Our searching capabilities are also an important part of this complete and full service offering, which we tailor for our clients’ needs.

We work with a broad range of clients; including universities and research institutes, government agencies and research co-operatives. At a corporate level, our client base includes both local and international organisations, maximising their investment in fast moving consumer goods, communications technology and resources. We also have strong relationships with a range of associate legal firms.

Being privately owned, we are focused on providing the best possible intellectual property service, with flexibility in service and pricing arrangements. At every point of protecting our clients' intellectual property we maintain a strategic and holistic approach, reading the commercial environment and making sure we maximise the value of their assets. Our local engagement has been the basis upon which we have built the success of the firm today, and we are committed to keeping this foundation in place whilst also operating across multi-jurisdictional contexts that the global economy demands.

We believe our strong firm culture is an integral part of how we approach our clients’ work. We care about our staff and believe in gender equality as evidenced by our inspiring team of female leaders. We also support marriage equality and diversity, and we strive to create a really terrific work environment for our staff. 

Remaining privately owned has meant we are able to maintain our strong client-focussed culture within a competitive market. We support the community through our commitment to providing pro bono services and charitable donations to a range of causes including The Northcott Institute, the Children’s Hospital Westmead, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Hope2Day Ltd and The Smith Family.

Network Memberships: AIPLA, AIPPI, FICPI, INTA, APAA, IPTA, CIPA, IPSANZ, LESANZ, RACI.

Last updated 30th May 2018

Firm overview

Over the last century we’ve been lucky enough to have played a part in protecting some of the world’s most ground-breaking inventions and high profile brands. You can trust us to know IP law inside out, to be curious, and to connect the dots to reach solutions others don’t.

We will provide you with a team, rich in real-world experience, comprising experts who have worked at the forefront of pioneering technologies. A substantial number of our lawyers hold qualifications in scientific or technical fields, meaning we are often called upon for our specialist knowledge and insight on large international mandates. We are respected for our creative and original solutions.

We offer both litigation and transactional support in relation to all IP rights, from small innovative projects to the largest, most complex and ground-breaking transactions and disputes.

Our approach has always been centred on client service, collaborating and innovating with our clients to create bespoke solutions that make their lives easier. This includes: our 'twobirds Pattern' product, a proprietary, in-house patent valuation and analysis tool, that allows us to landscape, analyse, and value patent portfolios in an automated and sophisticated way; and our innovative and dynamic Brand Protection Reporting Portal, which uses dynamic charts that give clients an up-to-date overview of their risk profile at any given time.

Talk to us to find out how our tools, experience and our genuine passion for IP can help you devise a strategy that will help to maintain your competitive edge, whilst protecting and optimising your IP in the best way possible.

Internationally Bird & Bird has over 400 IP lawyers, attorneys and legal professionals across our 29 offices, many of whom have known each other and worked together for years, meaning we're all on the same page and offer consistency and quality that runs through all levels of seniority. We are therefore ideally placed to devise and coordinate multi-jurisdictional litigation strategies and,in the future, to represent clients before the Unified Patent Court.

Office Locations: Australia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic & Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and United States of America

Firm overview

Norton Rose Fulbright in Canada is unique in its ability to provide seamless IP advice on a truly national and global scale. We have one of the few IP practices with such a designation in Canada covering IP professionals in each of Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. The integration of Bull Housser Tupper was completed on January 1, 2017 and has added a particular depth in trademark prosecution and litigation, anti-counterfeiting, and trade secrets. 

Litigation practice:
The team of IP litigators at Norton Rose Fulbright is ranked among the best in Canada. We provide offensive and defensive litigation counsel in all areas of intellectual property, including patents infringement and impeachment actions under the Patent Act and pursuant prohibition proceedings and section 8 damages actions under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance Regulations), copyrights, trade-marks, trade-mark oppositions, trade secrets, counterfeit enforcement, and industrial designs. The team is particularly well known and regarded for its patent litigation work for pharmaceutical clients. Our roster of innovative pharmaceutical clients for which we act in litigation is second to none in Canada. As pharmaceutical patent disputes represent a significant part of patent litigation in Canada, our team is extremely active in this area. The patent litigation practice also includes mechanical patents, medical devices and oil and gas patents, among other technologies. More recently, several new partners with leading practices in trademark and copyright litigation have increased our capabilities, successes and client base in this area. 

Patent practice:
Norton Rose Fulbright's Canada patent attorneys and agents have highly specialized degrees and provide comprehensive intellectual property advice and global portfolio strategy. We handle the Canadian and global patent work for a stellar cross section of Canadian and international clients. Our Canadian Patent Centre of Excellence complements notably the patent expertise within Norton Rose Fulbright in the United States.

We are one of the largest patent filers in Canada with a particular emphasis on drafting original patents and global portfolio strategy, as evidenced by the fact that we are consistently one of the top PCT filers in Canada. We are often selected over our competitors because our patent prosecution expertise is unrivalled and works seamlessly with our disputes and regulatory lawyers to provide strategic and holistic approach to patent portfolio management. 

Trademark practice: 
We assist clients with all aspects of the branding process. This includes providing overall branding strategy, the drafting and prosecuting of trade-mark applications, the provision of advice regarding availability and registrability of marks in Canada and globally. Our team provides strategic trade-mark advice including portfolio review, infringement surveillance, and advice on legal issues connected with introducing products and services to the market, such as branding, product information and advertising. We assist clients with all aspects of brands expansion into social media including acquisition of domain names, and enforcement of brands on all social media channels globally. Our litigation team acts for clients in opposition proceedings, infringement proceedings and expungement proceedings and trade libel actions. 

Copyright practice:
Our copyright team has expertise in all aspects of copyright law including clearance, acquisition and registration, infringement and litigation, due diligence, licenses, assignments and transactional issues. We act for copyright owners working in various industries such as film, television, video, music, art, fashion, literature, software and evolving media including telecommunications and the Internet. Similarly, our trade-marks team works with clients to acquire, commercialize and safeguard their brands, including logos, product or container shapes and packaging. We advise on all aspects of the selection, registration, commercialization and protection of rights related to trade-marks and brands. We are regularly called upon to advise on the copyright aspects of advertising and marketing campaigns. Clients consistently call upon our professionals for wide industry coverage, the shared experience between the team and our large panel of services. Our litigation lawyers are also active in copyright disputes at both the trial and appellate levels in the software, media, communications, and entertainment sectors with clients including film studios, software and gaming developers, telecommunications companies, the television industry and the music business. We have extensive experience representing rights holders before the Copyright Board and assisting in the enforcement of tariffs, as well as in anti-counterfeiting mandates for fashion enterprises and standards organizations, including border seizures and rapid enforcement campaigns. 

Commercial IP practice:
The IP team handles a wide range of commercial transactions relating to all areas of intellectual property. For example, our commercial IP team has assisted a major financial institution in developing key collaboration agreements, developed and negotiated licensing agreements with other financial institutions, developed blockchain consortium agreements, and very complex IP co-existence and ownership issues.

Last updated 31st July 2018

Firm overview

FPA Patent Attorneys (FPA) is an independent, top-tier Australian-based patent attorney practice with expertise in patent and design filing, prosecution and oppositions in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. We also have particular insights into Indonesia. We support clients in these jurisdictions and in each technology space. Our clients include worldwide listed companies as well as Australia’s leading universities, research organisations and start-ups.

FPA comprises a team of patent attorneys qualified in a range of science and engineering disciplines including materials science, chemical and civil engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, physics, organic and inorganic chemistry, biotechnology, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. Our practice is led by 12 Principals and 8 Senior Associates and is supported by a group of patent attorneys, patent scientists, patent engineers and patent administrators.

Our patent attorneys have many years of expertise, advanced qualifications and a proven record of success. Discover more about our expertise.

FPA is a private incorporated, registered attorney firm that is wholly owned by QANTM Intellectual Property Limited, an Australian Securities Exchange listed company. QANTM IP also owns the longstanding patent attorney firm Davies Collison Cave Pty Ltd, Davies Collison Cave Law Pty Ltd, Davies Collison Cave Asia Pte Ltd and Advanz Fidelis IP Sdn Bhd (ADVANZ).

Why choose FPA Patent Attorneys?

When you partner with FPA, you gain access to experienced patent attorneys, and some of the finest minds in the industry. We seek to be the best at what we do - to exceed our client expectations every time.

Our efforts have been recognised, with FPA this year being awarded Australian Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year in the Managing Intellectual Property Stars IP Patent Firm Survey, which is based on the results of client interviews and surveys.

Thanks to our exclusive strategic relationship with Herbert Smith Freehills, we also provide access to Australia’s best intellectual property litigators, licensing and technology transfer legal practitioners and trade mark attorneys. Complementary commercial law services include competition and anti-trust, tax, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and equity capital markets.

We have a long history in advising on contested proceedings, assisting in more court actions than our competitors. Since 2000, FPA Patent Attorneys has accumulated experience in over 100 Australian oppositions. We are experienced through all stages, from filing through to attendance at hearings. Our oppositions practice covers a very broad range of technologies.

FPA work with and support IP practitioners including litigators and commercial lawyers throughout our region and worldwide. Learn more about our services.

More than a Patent Attorney

FPA believe that the patent attorney relationship should involve more than a mere following of client instructions. We invest our time into understanding global industries and getting to know the business of our clients. This approach enables us to become a strategic advisor and to be better placed to foreshadow risk and maximise opportunities for clients in any situation.

Last updated 22nd July 2019