Banner & Witcoff is a record breaker, in fact breaking its own record for the most design patent grants in a single year. US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) records show the firm procured 1,032 US design patents in 2016. Banner & Witcoff set the prior record in 2008, with 959 US design patents. Also, the firm obtained more US design patents than any other law firm in the country in 2016, the 14th consecutive year. Banner & Witcoff worked to protect prominent designs for longtime clients NIKE and Microsoft, and continued to expand its design patent practice by procuring portfolios of 30 or more design patents for 25 different companies including Electrolux, Nokia and Toshiba.
“This is the first time our firm, or any firm, has procured more than 1,000 design patents in just one year, which is a clear indication that clients are stepping up their efforts to protect their designs,” says attorney Robert Katz, A/IDSA, a principal shareholder at Banner & Witcoff. “We feel privileged to assist these innovative designers and companies, and will continue to help them take the steps needed to procure the highest quality design patents.” Katz served as counsel of record on the IDSA amicus brief filed in the Samsung v Apple case that reached the US Supreme Court in December 2016.
The USPTO shows Banner & Witcoff obtained 8,947 US design patents in the last decade—a total that exceeds that of the next three highest law firms combined.
Banner & Witcoff also continues to lead in procuring international design patent portfolios. The firm has filed hundreds of design registrations in the World Intellectual Property Office for clients who reside in member countries of the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs. The firm began seeking the same international protections for US clients once the USPTO put procedures in place for accepting Hague System applications in May 2015.
The national intellectual property law firm has more than 100 attorneys and 95 years of practice, providing legal counsel and representation to the world’s most innovative companies.