Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is a dominant IP boutique in the Midwest and solidly placed across all specialties. Formed in 1917 to focus on patent law, the firm now also handles trade mark and copyright matters. A client praised its "responsiveness, service attitude and business-oriented IP advice", adding: "They have managed to offer us a tailor-made legal service deal, which is not easy to find in large and well-known IP firms in the US."
Its trade mark group rose to prominence with name partner Jerome Gilson, described by one attorney as "the person that really put them on the map". Clients praised Scott Slavick for his prosecution and litigation practice. "Scott understands the importance of maintaining a reasonable fee structure in order to establish a long-term relationship," said a client. "For us, that is important and creates value-added service." Howard Michael and trade mark litigation group chair David Fleming are said to demonstrate "impeccable ethics and integrity".
The firm obtained a victory for Alpine Electronics and Alpine Electronics of America in the Federal Circuit against Encyclopaedia Britannica in a patent infringement dispute dating to 1989. Brinks also successfully represented Kimberly-Clark in a trade mark infringement and dilution dispute with Georgia-Pacific involving designs that appeared on the surface of Cottonelle Ultra and Scott bath tissue.