West Australian intellectual property firm Wrays has established a national footprint following the opening of Sydney and Adelaide offices in recent weeks and has announced plans to open a Brisbane office in the coming weeks.
Olivia Collings
West Australian intellectual property firm Wrays has established a national footprint following the opening of Sydney and Adelaide offices in recent weeks and has announced plans to open a Brisbane office in the coming weeks.
Wrays chief executive officer Frank Hurley said that the expansion was in response to an increased demand from clients, who are keen to allocate more work to the firm. “Wrays’ growth has also been driven by overseas client and associate demand as well as a recruitment strategy to source highly qualified IP specialists who can assist with this growth,” said Hurley. “IP is increasingly being viewed as a critical success factor in business strategy and planning. Now more than ever, especially against an uncertain economic backdrop we are seeing companies wanting to protect one of the most important aspects of their business; that being their IP.”
Indeed, the number of trademarks registered in the past financial year hit a record high. IP Australia recorded 69,003 trademark applications in the 2011 financial year. The highest number were registered in NSW where 26,290 applications lodged, followed by Victoria on 20,333 and Queensland with 11,814.
The new Sydney office is staffed by four professionals, including new senior associate Joe Seisdedos, who has recently joined from Griffith Hack. Existing partner Gary Cox will be heading the office and is joined by fellow former Perth-based consultant Vicky Longshaw. “Wrays feel strongly about protecting our 90 year heritage and therefore we have decided that we have the capacity to expand on our own,” Hurley said. “Expanding into the East Coast market is a natural progression given Wrays’ expertise in these industries and the East Coast is a strong and attractive hub for these markets.”
The firm is in the process of recruiting for its new Brisbane and Adelaide offices. The expansion coincides with imminent launch of their new brand and culture practice and the firm’s own brand revamp. Having expanded into new areas of law, the firm will from early October be known as Wrays, instead of Wrays Intellectual Property.
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