In the February issue Managing IP reveals the results of part one of the world's most detailed and authoritative survey of the IP market. Following five months' research we list the leading firms in patent prosecution and contentious work in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Americas.
Online exclusive: read the full results of the survey - including the patent, trade mark and copyright tables - in full now. Click here for full access.
Managing IP's exclusive survey of the world IP market, now in its 14th year of publication, provides a unique perspective on IP practice – based on hundreds of conversations with clients and practitioners worldwide. In the following pages, we reveal which firms are recommended, as well as which are rated in the top tier, covering both prosecution and contentious work.
Over the past five months, our team of 10 researchers based in London, New York and Hong Kong have spoken to hundreds of practitioners and in-house counsel to gather information about the IP market in more than 75 jurisdictions. Many more lawyers and attorneys have completed detailed questionnaires providing information on their own practice, other firms and the overall trends in the IP market. We have also contacted in-house counsel to ask their views on the outside advisers they use and recommend in each jurisdiction.
The results of this research are detailed rankings of the leading firms practising intellectual property in each country. As in the past five years, the lists of the leading firms are presented in the form of tiers. The total number of firms listed in each jurisdiction varies according to the size of the market.
This means that the survey is not an exhaustive list of every firm in each jurisdiction; even firms listed in the lower tiers have been recommended by a number of practitioners and deserve congratulations on their inclusion. Those in the top tiers received the most recommendations for the quality and depth of their practice.
The World IP Survey is not simply a list of the biggest firms, or a list of those that have the biggest caseload or are the oldest. Instead, it is a qualitative ranking of the leading firms in each category and reveals which firms are rated by their peers for the strength of their expertise and the depth of their ability to service clients.
The results of the trade mark survey will be published in hard copy form in the March issue of the magazine. We will publish a third part of the survey into copyright firms in key markets in the April issue. The full results will be re-published, together with detailed analysis of the market trends in each country and information about the listed firms, in the annual IP Contacts Handbook, available from May. This will also have detailed analysis of the tables and the trends in each jurisdiction and comments from rivals and clients.
Methodology |
The IP survey consists of rankings of the leading firms practising intellectual property in each country, presented in tiers. The total number of firms listed in each jurisdiction varies according to the size of the market. The survey is not an exhaustive list of every firm in each jurisdiction; even firms listed in the lower tiers have been recommended by a number of practitioners and deserve congratulations on their inclusion. The second and third parts of the survey, covering trade mark and copyright work, will be published in the March and April issues. How the results are compiledA team of researchers based in London, Hong Kong and New York contacted firms in more than 75 jurisdictions to ask them for information and feedback on the rankings. Client feedback was also considered. Based on this research, firms are ranked in tiers in each jurisdiction. In most jurisdictions, there are separate tables for prosecution and contentious work. Prosecution work includes filing of patents and associated work in that jurisdiction, including filing for overseas clients. Contentious work includes all other legal work, such as enforcement and licensing. Firms that handle both prosecution and contentious work are eligible to appear in both tables. The tiers reflect the perception of the leading firms in each market, with the top tier listing those firms regarded as having the strongest practices in each category. Within each tier, firms are listed alphabetically. All firms included, in all tiers, will have received many recommendations and endorsements in order to be included in the rankings. No one outside of Managing IP has seen the rankings before publication. No firm can vote for its own inclusion, or recommend an associated or sister firm in another jurisdiction. The rankings reflect the state of the market when the research was conducted, between September 2009 and January 2010. Managing IP itself does not recommend or endorse any particular firms. |
