For the first time this year, Managing IP's survey - which covers 65 jurisdictions in total - ranks the leading firms in the US both nationally and in four regions (Northeast, South, Midwest and West).
It also includes separate rankings for bio/life sciences and for International Trade Commission (ITC) work.
The survey was published on February 1 at www.managingip.com. It is available in full to Managing IP subscribers.
The IP survey ranks law firms in each jurisdiction in tiers and is based on submissions from, and interviews with, hundreds of IP practitioners worldwide.
In every jurisdiction, there are separate tables for prosecution and contentious work. Prosecution work includes filing and preparation of patent applications; contentious work includes other legal work, such as enforcement and licensing.
Fish & Richardson, which has more than 400 lawyers in 11 offices in the US, is ranked in the top tier in seven categories, including patent prosecution nationally, in the Northeast, Midwest and West and patent contentious work in the South. It is the only firm in the top tier for bio/life science work and is one of six firms in the top tier for ITC work.
Finnegan Henderson has more than 300 lawyers in eight offices and is headquartered in Washington DC. It ranks in the top tier in six categories: for patent prosecution work nationally and in the Northeast, for contentious work nationally, in the Northeast and West and for ITC work.
Both Fish and Finnegan are firms that specialize in IP work.
Another IP firm that is highly rated in several areas is Californian-headquartered Knobbe Martens, which is in the top tier for patent prosecution (national and West).
General practice Kirkland & Ellis rates highly for contentious work, featuring in the top tier in the national, Northeast and West tables as well as the ITC table.
Another general practice, Jones Day, is one of three firms that features in the top tier of the Midwest prosecution table and the only one in tier 1 of the Midwest contentious work table.
The survey results for countries in Latin America, Africa/Middle East, Asia and Europe are also available online.
Rankings of the leading firms in trade mark work will be published in the March issue and those for copyright work in selected countries will be published in April. Subscribers can read the results first online at www.managingip.com.
This is the 12th year in which Managing IP has published its annual IP survey. A team of researchers has spent five months carrying out interviews and soliciting information from IP practitioners worldwide.
All firms listed will have received many recommendations to be included. No firm can vote for its own inclusion, or that of an associated firm.
The tables reflect the state of the market in each jurisdiction at the time of the research. The rankings are based on peer recommendations rather than on objective criteria such as which are the largest, busiest or oldest firms. However, Managing IP does not recommend or endorse any particular firms.
The full methodology of the survey is available online.
As part of the survey, Managing IP's editors analyzed trends in each region covered in the survey. These articles cover the impact of the Seagate decision on practitioners in the United States, the emergence of IP awareness and technology transfer in Africa, the value of automatic patent translations in Europe and the quality of patents filed by Asian companies.
For more information on subscribing to Managing IP, for instant access to the survey, click here or call +44 (0) 207 779 8999.
