As Managing Partner, Brett is guiding FB Rice in its drive to be the leading independent firm specialising in IP. He sees this as being achieved by delivering to clients practical outcomes built on a detailed understanding of their commercial environment. Of particular importance to this is ensuring that the firm's attorneys have the time and other resources necessary to develop an excellent understanding of the industry sectors in which our clients operate.
In addition to his role of Managing Partner, Brett maintains a practice specialising in the protection of medical technology. Brett has extensive experience in preparing and handling large patent portfolios and coordinating patent prosecution across different jurisdictions while ensuring that his clients understand the broader context in which their intellectual property fits. A defining moment, early in his career, instilled in Brett the importance of providing clarity for clients. A prospective client had spent several hours at another firm struggling to understand an IP issue, and subsequently appointed Brett because of his ability to translate some pivotal issues into concise and practical advice. This reinforced for Brett the need to couch issues clearly, whilst cognisant that clients have differing levels of IP understanding. It also reinforced the need to understand the client's IP strategy and ensure it is congruent with the organisation’s commercial realities.
Brett acts for a range of clients including Australian and multinational companies, hospitals, universities, start-ups and individual inventors in the medical field. His practice is also flavoured by his secondment to a European Patent Attorney firm, where he gained experience working on European patent applications, oppositions and appeals.
