Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick (POF) is an Australian

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

firm. Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick has around 140 employees across offices in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. It also operates directly in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. In 2013, the firm celebrated it
125th anniversary
Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick publishes a quarterly newsletter on IP, case studies, firm news and legal updates called 'Inspire'.

History

In 1888, William D. Rowlingson commenced practice as a registered

Patent Agent A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

in the then British colony of Victoria. This practice was operated from Melbourne, but encompassed the six original colonies (now Australian States) with their separate legislation for the protection of inventions, trade marks, designs and copyrights. In 1889 Albert Swanston, who had practiced independently as a registered Patent Agent, joined Rowlingson and they remained in partnership as Swanson & Rowlingson until 1892. Edwin Phillips then acquired the practice and renamed the business Phillips, Ormonde & Co. Edwin Phillips, who had emigrated from England for health reasons, had a broad ranging interest in engineering. Phillips wrote and published a comprehensive handbook for inventors entitled The Inventor’s Aid, and a periodical '' The Scientific Australian''. Upon his arrival in Australia from England in 1881, Edwin Phillips took up employment with the fledgling Australian Electric Light Company. He installed lighting plants at mines on behalf of that company, in Victoria and in the colony of Queensland. In 1885, he entered into the partnership of Phillips & Jacques, an engineering firm operating from Richmond, Victoria. Phillips was a director of several prominent Victorian companies and these outside directorships, engineering interests and other investments provided him with ample resources to pursue his interest in intellectual property law and to establish Phillips, Ormonde & Co. Federation of the Australian colonies had been proposed in the 1850s. However, it was not until after the Intercolonial Convention in December, 1883 that a Bill to establish the

Federal Council of Australasia The Federal Council of Australasia was a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia, though its structure and members were different. The final (and successful) push for the Federal Council came at a "Convention" on 28 November 1883, wh ...

was drafted. The Bill was sufficiently broad-ranging to foreshadow the Council having authority over patents of invention and discovery and copyright. After Federation in 1901, the drafting of legislation to give effect to that authority became necessary. The first Australian Patents Act came into effect in 1903, the Trade Marks Act 1905 and the Designs Act 1906. As a Patent Agent registered under the prior colonial legislation, Edwin Phillips was able to continue his practice following Federation and, in 1904, he was registered as a Patent Attorney under the Patents Act 1903. He continued his practice under the new Federal legislation until 1921, and died in 1923 at the age of 64. After joining Phillips, Ormonde & Co., Cecil Woods LePlastrier was registered as a

Patent Attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

in 1905. LePlastrier, one of the first to qualify for registration as a Patent Attorney under the official examination established pursuant to that Act, subsequently joined Phillips in partnership. Victor Kelson joined the firm around 1907 and was registered as a

in 1920. At that stage, Kelson was admitted to partnership and the firm name was changed to Phillips Ormonde LePlastrier & Kelson. Cecil LePlastrier was the senior partner of Phillips Ormonde LePlastrier & Kelson until his death in 1952. Under the guidance of Cecil LePlastrier, the partnership expanded in 1938 to include both Geoffrey Sly, who was senior partner from 1952 until his death in 1964 and Bertram C. Fitzpatrick, (originally engaged by Edwin Phillips himself in 1919) who was senior partner from 1964 until his retirement in 1972. Under B. C. Fitzpatrick, the firm’s name was changed to Phillips Ormonde & Fitzpatrick in 1967. Over the past 20 years the firm has expanded rapidly to its present size with more than 25 partners and more than 140 total staff.

Services

POF offers a comprehensive range of intellectual property services including: * Patents * Trade Marks * Designs * Intellectual Property law/Legal services * Research and investigation services * Portfolio management

External links

* {{official website, http://www.pof.com.au/ Privately held companies of Australia Law firms established in 1888 1888 establishments in Australia Intellectual property law firms