Foundry’s attorneys are involved in various professional organisations in the Australian and international IP communities. Being part of a professional organisation is not only critical in keeping abreast of the latest knowledge and practices locally, regionally, and globally, but also provides opportunities for advocacy that benefits both IP professionals as well as our clients.

Andrew Jones has been on the Council of The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA) since 2017. IPTA is the peak professional body representing Australian patent and trade mark attorneys.

Andrew is currently the chair of the Education Committee, which organises webinars for IPTA members and awards the IPTA Prizes, and co-chair of the Future Directions and YIPTA (“Young IPTA”) Committees.

Andrew has also been a mentor in the The Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s mentoring program since its inception in 2016. The RACI represents Australian chemists working in both industry and academia, as well as students studying chemistry at University. The mentoring program gives chemistry students a head start in their careers by exposing them to networking and career related events.

Andrew is committed to volunteering his knowledge and experience in support of the next generation - in chemistry and in IP.

Ronelle Geldenhuys volunteers her time for more professional organisations than you can count! Ronelle is a founding member of the ChIPs Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Chapter. The ChIPs Network is a global nonprofit organization that advances and connects women in technology, law and policy.

She is also a counsel member of FICPI Australia. FICPI - International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys - is a professional body of intellectual property professionals, i.e., patent attorneys and trademark attorneys, in private practice (as opposed to intellectual property professionals working in the industry). In 2022 FICPI Australia prepared and filed intervener submissions on behalf of FICPI International and sought leave to be heard as amicus curiae in the Aristocrat High Court appeal, a significant case that focused on the patentability of software-implemented inventions in Australia.

Ronelle also volunteers her time, organising lectures and workshops for IPSANZ - The Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc. and The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA).

Being part of a professional organisation is not only critical in keeping abreast of the latest knowledge and practices locally, regionally, and globally, but also provides opportunities for 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲 that benefits both IP professionals as well as our clients. So if you're looking for a petition to sign or a march to join, Ronelle is the person to reach out to because she's probably already fighting for your cause!

Foundry’s involvement in our profession and various organisations involves a variety of different things. Nicola Maxwell is an Honorary Associate in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at University of Technology Sydney (UTS). In this role, Nicola is engaged in patent analytics research and recently published in the area of patent citation analytics.

Nicola was also involved as a mentor in the UTS Techcelerator program, a program designed to enhance student prototyping skills and problem-solving skills.

In addition to university-based work, Nicola takes her patent analytics research global and has presented at international conferences. Most recently, Nicola presented at the World Intellectual Property Forum on the topic of a paper submitted to the World Patent Information journal.

If you're lucky enough to bump into her at an IP conference somewhere in the world you are guaranteed to learn about extraordinary IP facts and figures, drink Coronas till the bar runs dry, and dance the night away!

Lester Miller is a member of AIPPI, The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA) and International Trademark Association (INTA). He also enjoyed writing for, and being on the editorial board of the Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin for a few years from 2016 to 2022.

But really what sets Lester apart is that he sings in the INTA band “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” which includes about 40 international musicians playing bi-annually around the world. Impressively, especially under the circumstances, the band did what it could in the pandemic, helping IP professionals stay connected by recording a couple of music videos, with people submitting clips from their garages and sheds everywhere.

Listen to it here: https://lnkd.in/d--mu89X

Why do we volunteer our time?

Andrew Jones has been on the Council of The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA) since 2017. IPTA is the peak professional body representing Australian patent and trade mark attorneys.

Ronelle Geldenhuys volunteers her time for more professional organisations than you can count! Ronelle is a founding member of the ChIPs Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Chapter. The ChIPs Network is a global nonprofit organization that advances and connects women in technology, law and policy.