Brinks Gilson & Lione is one of the largest IP law firms in the United States and is at the cutting edge of IP law. Its attorneys, scientific advisers, patent agents and paralegals focus on IP litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, intellectual asset management and technology and licensing agreements. The firm is repeatedly ranked by Chambers & Partners and other legal directories as a top IP firm in Chicago and the Midwest. US News & World Report has named Brinks one of the Best Law Firms – National for IP law in its law firm surveys for nine years in a row, including in their latest 2019 guide.
Industries represented
Brinks represents companies of all sizes and from a variety of industries, including aerospace, agriculture, automotive, biotechnology, chemical, colleges and universities, computers, construction, consumer goods, electrical and electronics, energy, engineering, entertainment and media, internet and e-commerce, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, medical and medical devices, mechanical, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, software and hardware, technology and telecommunications.
Trademarks and unfair competition
Brinks performs a full range of trademark-related services, including registering, enforcing and defending trademark rights. Brinks represents its many clients in the resolution of unfair competition disputes involving design and trade dress infringement, counterfeit products, dilution, unfair trade practices, trade secret misappropriation and rights of publicity.
Brinks has one of the largest groups of attorneys focusing on trademark law in the country. Group members regularly represent the firm’s clients in US district courts, courts of appeal, the USPTO TTAB and in trademark disputes abroad.
Several of the group’s members have authored prominent and leading treatises relating to trademark law, including trademark litigation, international trademark practice, a corporate compliance treatise, a leading treatise on TTAB practice and the 10-volume leading treatise Gilson on Trademarks, cited in over 350 US court decisions.
Group members are active in related organisations, where one member held the highest position available to outside counsel with INTA, as counsel from 2014 to 2015, and was awarded the INTA President’s Award in 2016.
Patents
Brinks’s patent lawyers have experience prosecuting patents in every major technical field and help clients to obtain and license patents, enforce them against infringers and defend against charges of infringement. BTI Consulting Group named Brinks as one of only two law firms in the United States recognised in the Fortune 1000 for routine and complex patent work in its 2015 Intellectual Property Outlook. Brinks was also named by BTI Consulting Group to the Honour Roll of Value Driving Firms in its Brand Elite 2017 Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms survey.
Copyright
Brinks protects the copyrights of its clients on issues involving the Internet, multinational transactions, licensing and work-for-hire agreements. The firm assists clients in registering domestic and foreign copyrights in many fields, including publishing, sound recordings, visual arts, television and motion pictures, and the Internet.
Litigation
Brinks has earned a nationwide reputation for litigation, with a long history of winning jury verdicts, leveraging a thorough knowledge of technology, mastering the nuances of the law and effectively communicating with clients. Brinks represents clients at all levels of the judicial system and guides them through alternative means to resolve important disputes. As part of its full-service litigation practice, Brinks has been focused on post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Although the new proceedings have only been available for a few years, Brinks has jumped to the forefront of IP rights and covered business method patents, having been involved in more than 85 cases before the PTAB and several subsequent appeals to the Federal Circuit.
International Trade Commission
The Brinks International Trade Commission (ITC) practice group represents a vast array of clients before the US ITC. With the globalisation of corporations, new technologies and increasing competition worldwide, rights holders are increasingly turning to the ITC for its accelerated procedures and powerful remedies. Recognising that ITC proceedings are complex and specialised, the Brinks ITC group uses a team approach to offer clients a unique combination of legal skills and technical prowess.