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Marshall, Gerstein & Borun is composed of more than 100 attorneys, paralegals, patent agents and technical specialists exclusively devoted to IP law. The firm provides experienced representation in every area of intellectual property, including trademark and patent prosecution, trade dress, design, copyright, publicity, privacy, advertising, transactions, licensing and litigation. Marshall Gerstein’s 60 years of helping a long list of premier brands maximise the value of their intellectual property has earned the firm a reputation for outstanding service and thought leadership.
Industries represented
Marshall Gerstein represents clients in a multitude of industries, including consumer goods, entertainment, publishing, hospitality, media, e-commerce, food and beverage, furniture and home furnishings, fashion and apparel, higher education, insurance, aerospace, agriculture, automotive, biotechnology and life sciences, chemistry and chemical engineering, cleantech and renewable energy, electrical and software engineering, healthcare, manufacturing, material science, mechanical engineering, medical devices, nanotechnology, non-profit technology transfer, pharmaceuticals and retail.
Trademarks
The collective experience of Marshall Gerstein’s trademark practice group includes registration and enforcement of all types of trademarks in most countries of the world. The team works side-by-side with clients on branding and enforcement, guiding decision makers in the selection of strong marks, providing clearance and registration services and furnishing client training on best practices. The firm litigates trademark infringement and dilution cases, defends clients against allegations of infringement and advises clients about how best to maximise the value of their brands while avoiding costly advertising pitfalls in print, broadcast and social media. The firm manages global trademark portfolios and enforcement programmes for many clients, and executes international branding strategy in collaboration with a network of carefully selected trademark practitioners in every jurisdiction of the world of importance to its clients.
Domain names
Marshall Gerstein has an active domain name practice defending client brands against abuse of internet addresses. The firm’s lawyers have successfully handled numerous Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy cases, resulting in orders for the transfer of dozens of domain names from cybersquatters to their rightful owners. The firm offers clients a number of services relating to e-commerce, including developing strategies for trademark and domain name protection in the expanded generic top-level domain space.
Patent prosecution
With a team of nearly 70 patent prosecution attorneys and patent agents, Marshall Gerstein has one of the largest patent prosecution practices in Chicago and serves clients throughout the world. The firm’s attorneys have training and experience across every major technical field and industry and in managing large and interrelated US and foreign patent portfolios. The firm’s patent prosecution attorneys help clients to obtain and license patents, and counsel clients regarding third-party patent rights, including validity and infringement opinions.
Copyright
Clients turn to Marshall Gerstein for help in protecting all forms of creative work. The firm’s lawyers are particularly attuned to ownership and work-for-hire issues in the employment and consulting contexts. Among its clients are publishers, writers, musicians, artists and other generators of content, for whom the firm negotiates publishing and licensing agreements in all media.
Design patents
Due to its many years of in-depth practice in all areas of intellectual property, Marshall Gerstein is acutely aware of the interplay among copyright, design, patent and trademark rights in product design. The firm assists clients to take advantage of all available types of protection for their industrial designs and identifies clear strategies for design protection tailored to the client’s particular objectives and budgets.
IP litigation
Marshall Gerstein has earned a national reputation for crafting creative solutions and conducting trademark, copyright and patent disputes in a manner that achieves favourable, efficient and cost-effective results. The firm has successfully represented clients in cases involving some of the most significant issues in IP law. Serving clients with trademark portfolios of all sizes, the firm works to protect the integrity of brands against infringement, dilution, counterfeiting, cybersquatting and unfair competition.
Managing Intellectual Property named Marshall Gerstein one of the five best US Midwest law firms for contentious trademark work, while
Chambers & Partners ranked the firm “first-rate for litigation”.
