Intellectual property is the lifeblood of many businesses in today’s competitive markets. Since the dawn of intellectual property as a specialty legal practice, Alston & Bird has been there to assist clients with identifying, protecting, managing and defending a myriad of intellectual property assets. From patent, trademark and copyright assets to trade secret, data privacy and domain name issues, our lawyers are versed in all nuances of intellectual property law today.
With a national practice of over 140 attorneys and patent professionals dedicated solely to the practice of IP law, our breadth and depth of expertise have earned us global acclaim for many years. Our attorneys are leaders in their specialties, keeping abreast of new developments and market trends and frequently writing for publications and speaking at industry events worldwide. Alston & Bird’s IP practice is recognized as a leader in providing exceptional client value and client service.
Accolades
Our IP Litigation Group is one of a small handful of practices in the U.S. that have been deemed both an IP Litigation Powerhouse and Standout by BTI Consulting Group. BTI’s analysis relies on interviews conducted with legal decision-makers, including heads of litigation, chiefs and vice presidents of litigation, and general counsel and direct reports to general counsel. (2019, 2015, 2012)
U.S. News – Best Lawyers has recognized our intellectual property practice on its list of “Best Law Firms” for 2021. The firm ranked nationally in Tier 1 for Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Patent Law, and Trademark Law. (2014 – 2021)
Managing Intellectual Property has consistently ranked our intellectual property attorneys across disciplines (patent and trademark prosecution and litigation) as “IP Stars.” In 2020, 11 of our attorneys were selected based on the publication’s annual research into the IP market, as well as publicly available information and client and peer comments. (2015 – 2020)
Intellectual Asset Management Magazine deemed our patent prosecution team Paragons of Prosecution in the industrials patent classification (top 10 firms in the U.S. for patent quality).
Alston & Bird has been recognized by IPWatchdog as one of the country’s top law firms for utility patents, the third consecutive year the firm has been highlighted by the publication as a leader in patents for inventions. (2016 – 2018)
More than half of our IP partners are regularly ranked in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, or Super Lawyers.
In the 2021 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, our firm is noted in Band 4, with our North Carolina practice in Band 1 and our Georgia practice placed in Band 2. Alston & Bird has also been recognized in the 2021 edition of Chambers Global, with our Intellectual Property: Patent practice and International Trade: Intellectual Property – Section 337 in Band 3. (2021)
Alston & Bird has been recognized as a global leader in patent law in the 2020 edition of the Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals, marking the ninth consecutive year that the firm has earned this recognition. Our firm earned four practice rankings in this year’s report, including Gold in Georgia and North Carolina, as well as 19 individual lawyer rankings. (2015 – 2020)
Alston & Bird ranked Silver in Georgia and Gold in North Carolina in the World Trademark Review 1000. The rankings are based on positive market feedback, depth of expertise, and market presence. (2015 – 2021)
In its IPR Intelligence Report, Patexia Inc. ranked our firm among both the top 20 most active law firms overall and the top 30 best performing law firms overall. The report covers the activity and performance of more than 900 law firms across 7,708 IPR challenges between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2020. (2020)
Consistently ranked in the Top 5 on Unified Patents’ Institutional Success Index (ISIX) – Patent Owner Law Firm, Alston & Bird has distinguished itself as one of the nation’s most winning law firms in representing patent owners before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
Corporate Counsel awarded our IP Litigation group and Privacy & Data Security team with the 2017 Best of Corporate Counsel in the IP Litigation and Cyber/Privacy categories, marking the second annual Best of Corporate Counsel, a special supplement published by the business arm of Corporate Counsel. The reader ranking survey consisted of 55 categories, and more than 1,500 votes were cast. (2017)
Our Silicon Valley office has been singled out by JD Journal as the “go-to” firm for obtaining and protecting a broad range of intellectual property rights for clients in the technology industry. As noted by the publication, we are the largest firm to be included on the list, with “90 IP litigators who have worked on cases in 45 states.” (2017)
Alston & Bird was on the shortlist of six firms considered for “International Trade Commission Firm of the Year” by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine. (2017)
Our practice ranked seventh in total representations before the ITC on the LegalMetric “Firms in Sec. 337 USITC Investigation” special report, handling more than 44 cases in the past five years. (2017)
In 2016, Alston & Bird ranked 7th on defense and 11th overall in Federal District Court Representation with 58 total cases in Corporate Counsel’s annual Patent Litigation Survey. We have appeared on this prestigious list since the early 2000s, until the survey was discontinued after the 2016 edition.
BTI Consulting Group named our firm to its list of IP litigation firms with the Best Market Position. This designation relies solely on in-depth interviews with general counsel and leading legal decision-makers. (2012 – 2016)
We were named “International Trade Commission Firm of the Year” by Managing Intellectual Property magazine. (2015)
The International Legal Alliance Summit & Awards granted our practice the honor of “Best USA IP Firm: Patent Litigation” (2015). Previously, Alston & Bird had been honored with a Gold Award in the category U.S. Patent Litigation Firm of the Year and two Silver Awards in the categories U.S. IP Patent Prosecution Firm and U.S. Global Strategy (2013). Recognized firms were nominated based on suggestions by members of a panel jury and international rankings.
Our litigation teams were honored as the 2015 “Overall Litigation Department of the Year” by The Daily Report. Selected based on the degree of difficulty, dollar value, and importance of its cases, the firm was recognized as the top litigation department overall for successfully protecting our clients’ interests in a wide range of matters. Particularly for IP, we were lauded for our $106 million jury verdict in a pharmaceutical case. (2015)