Patexia Insight 210: Trademark Prosecution Best Law Firms of 2024
In an ever-evolving global marketplace, trademarks serve as critical tools for businesses to protect, differentiate, and optimize their unique assets. As more than mere company logos, trademarks represent the embodiment of a company's brand identity and value proposition, often serving as the first point of contact between a brand and its potential consumers. Effective handling and positioning of these crucial brand markers can lead to significant competitive advantages and business growth.
Earlier this year, back in April, we released our comprehensive Trademark Intelligence Report 2024. This in-depth analysis offered a detailed view of the unfolding landscape of trademark prosecution and the law firms leading the charge before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). We've already shared several highlights from this report in our previous insights, discussing the Top Foreign Countries Driving U.S. Trademark Filings, the Top Trademark Attorneys Making Lateral Moves in 2023, and the Trademark Firms with Largest Growth and Decline in 2024. Each of these articles provided a distinctive perspective on the dynamics shaping the U.S. trademark environment. Today, we're set to acknowledge some of the top law firms that have demonstrated remarkable dedication and performance in trademark prosecution. Leveraging data from our Trademark Intelligence Report 2024, we will spotlight these firms, recognizing their notable activity and rank.
The trend in trademark filing activity over the past five years presents an interesting trajectory and fluctuations. In 2019, it started with a volume of 530,479 filings. A remarkable spike in activity followed with the year 2020 witnessing the peak of this five-year period with a substantial 692,461 filings. Despite a slight decline, numbers remained high in 2021, with a total of 681,633 filings. As per our earlier analysis, it's important to note that the upswing in the total number of applications is largely attributable to a significant surge in trademark filings originating from Chinese entities. The following years, 2022 and 2023, saw a more noticeable decrease in activity, bringing the total filings down to 546,964 and 543,166 respectively.
Our Trademark Intelligence Report 2024 offers a detailed inspection of the trademark terrain spanning the last five years, from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2023. Throughout this timeframe, the USPTO examined a total of 2,630,366 trademark applications. This led to the acceptance and consequent registration of 1,613,508 trademarks, and the abandonment of 1,016,858, translating to a success rate of 61.34%. In addition, the period saw a filing of 2,964,312 applications, alongside the renewal and cancellation of 410,140 and 875,959 marks, respectively. This period also witnessed the USPTO fielding trademark applications from as many as 219 distinct countries globally. The agency processed entries from a total of 213,639 domestic and international trademark applicants and 24,921 trademark firms.
It's of note, that not all firms exhibit the same caliber of contribution. The table below showcases some of the premier firms acknowledged for their exemplary activity and performance. Their rank within the top 300 out of 24,921 firms, positions them among the top one percentile.
| Law Firm | Trademarks | Category |
Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenberg Traurig LLP | 4,712 | Activity Rank | 29 |
| Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton | 3,855 | Activity Rank | 39 |
| R.J. Pierce Law Group | 2,785 | Performance Rank | 41 |
| Dinsmore & Shohl | 2,323 | Activity Rank | 74 |
| Wood Herron & Evans | 1,885 | Performance Rank | 92 |
| Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks | 1,779 | Activity Rank | 110 |
| Alston & Bird | 853 | Activity Rank | 244 |
| Hankin Patent Law | 706 | Activity Rank | 296 |
Our calculations for identifying the most qualified attorneys, law firms, or companies for each sub-category of intellectual property, including trademark prosecution, rely on a ranking methodology. This methodology serves as our recipe, determining how we measure the activity, success, and performance scores of all stakeholders. Once we have gathered all the necessary data, we use a proprietary algorithm to calculate each stakeholder’s final score which serves as the basis for our rankings. Here, we provide an overview of how these scores are determined, which are ultimately used in the calculation of the final rankings.
The full Trademark Intelligence Report 2024 provides a comprehensive analysis of the trademark landscape, examining data from multiple valuable perspectives. The analysis thoroughly covers different aspects of filing, including registration trends, renewals, and cancellations. It also sheds light on foreign filing trends, providing valuable insight into international influence and the implications it holds for U.S. businesses. Additionally, the report dives deep into the lesser-explored but equally important area of design search codes, offering unique insights into the significance of specific design elements in the world of trademarks. Most importantly, a rigorous evaluation process has led to the ranking of the top 2,000 attorneys, companies, and law firms. The rankings are based on multiple metrics of activity and performance, offering a clear and detailed picture of the leaders in the field. These rankings are an invaluable resource for businesses and individuals looking to engage with the most accomplished and influential entities in the trademark sector.
Stay tuned for more insights, including a list of some of the very best attorneys in the trademark arena as highlighted from our Trademark Intelligence Report 2024.