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 oppositions to granted patents. The term is used differently in different countries, and thus may or may not require the same legal qualifications as a general legal practitioner.
A trademark attorney or trade mark attorney or agent is a person who is qualified to act in matters involving trademark law and practice and provide legal advice on trade mark and design matters.
Festo Corp. v Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722 (2002), was a United States Supreme Court decision in the area of patent law that examined the relationship between the doctrine of equivalents and the doctrine of prosecution history estoppel.
A boutique law firm is a collection of attorneys typically organized in a limited liability partnership or professional corporation specializing in a niche area of law practice. Although a general practice law firm includes a variety of unrelated practice areas within a single firm, a boutique firm specializes in one or a select few practice areas. There may be some confusion as legal publications may refer to any small- or mid-sized firm as a boutique, though generally firms with fewer than 100 attorneys would count. Boutique should apply to those firms that focus on particular areas, regardless of size, though they are typically smaller, with exception to a few firms such as Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner or Fish & Richardson with over 400 attorneys.
Irell & Manella LLP is an American law firm founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell (1912–2000) and Arthur Manella (1917–1997). It has approximately 70 lawyers, and placed 183rd on The American Lawyer's 2021 Am Law 200 ranking. It has two locations in Southern California: Century City and Newport Beach, as well as one in Washington, D.C. Irell specializes in intellectual property litigation and general business litigation.
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, commonly known as Finnegan, is an international intellectual property law firm based in Washington, DC, United States. Finnegan was founded on March 1, 1965, by Marc Finnegan and Douglas Henderson in Washington, DC. It is one of the largest law firms focusing exclusively on the practice of intellectual property (IP) law, practicing all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation. Finnegan, also represents clients on IP issues related to U.S. and European patents and trademarks, international trade, portfolio management, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition.
Howrey LLP was a global law firm that practiced antitrust, global litigation and intellectual property law. At its peak Howrey had more than 700 attorneys in 17 locations worldwide.
Fish & Richardson P.C. is a global patent, intellectual property litigation, and commercial litigation law firm with more than 400 attorneys and technology specialists across the U.S. and Europe. Fish is one of the most sought-after firms for both patent litigation and patent prosecution services among Fortune 100 companies. Fish has been named the #1 patent litigation firm in the U.S. for 12 consecutive years.
Intellectual property organizations are organizations that are focused on copyrights, trademarks, patents, or other intellectual property law concepts. This includes international intergovernmental organizations that foster governmental cooperation in the area of copyrights, trademarks and patents, as well as non-governmental, non-profit organizations, lobbying organizations, think tanks, notable committees, and professional associations.
Lyon & Lyon LLP was a Los Angeles-based law firm that specialized in domestic and international intellectual property law matters, with over 100 patent lawyers in six offices in California, New York City, and Washington D.C.
Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie is a U.S. law firm with approximately 300 attorneys across ten offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. Its administrative offices are located in Phoenix, where it was founded in 1950 as Lewis & Roca. In 2015, The American Lawyer magazine ranked the firm number 179 in its annual Top 200 U.S. law firms list. It is one of the top five law firms in Arizona
Q. Todd Dickinson was an Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He was an executive director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), and had been mentioned by some sources for possible reappointment to his former post as director of the USPTO by the Barack Obama administration prior to the appointment of David Kappos to that post.
Greenberg & Lieberman is a national and international law firm based in Washington, D.C. Established in 1996 by Michael Greenberg and Stevan Lieberman, the firm is known for its expertise in the technology-law areas of intellectual property, trademark infringements, domain names, virtual worlds, and software and was listed among 16 influential entities in the field of domain names in 2010. A "boutique law firm", Greenberg & Lieberman credited for being among the first in the world to begin generating a significant revenue and client base via online virtual worlds such as Second Life. Greenberg & Lieberman are also noted for their involvement with media law and military law.
David "Dave" J. Kappos is an attorney and former government official who served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from 2009 to 2013. Kappos is currently a partner at New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C. is a law firm headquartered in Troy, Michigan. In October 2021, the firm announced it has adopted Harness IP as its new name. The firm previously went by the abbreviated Harness Dickey.
McKool Smith is a U.S. trial firm with more than 130 trial lawyers across seven offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York City, and Washington, DC. The firm represents clients in disputes involving complex commercial litigation, intellectual property (IP), bankruptcy, and white collar defense matters.
Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentilk LLP, commonly referred to as Lerner David, is an intellectual property boutique law firm with offices in the United States and China. It specializes in intellectual property (IP) disciplines including, among them, patents, trademarks, copyrights, Internet law and trade secrets. Founded in 1969, the firm provides legal advice to clients on intellectual property litigation, patent procurement, licensing, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence and asset management issues.
Donaldson & Burkinshaw is Singapore’s oldest independent law partnership. Established on November 6, 1874, it is a heritage law firm with a history of more than 140 years. Today, the firm is a medium-sized full-service law practice.
Banner Witcoff, Ltd. is an American law firm that specializes in the practice of intellectual property law, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, computer franchise and unfair competition law. The firm engages in the procurement, enforcement and litigation of intellectual property rights throughout the world, including all federal and state agencies, and the distribution of such rights through leasing and franchising. The firm has approximately 125 attorneys and agents in its Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; Boston, MA; and Portland, OR offices.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to patents:
