We are delighted to announce that the 2016 rankings of the top firms for patent work in over 70 jurisdictions are now available, here on ipstars.com.
Please use the navigation bar to view a country's 2016 patent rankings (note that the US rankings can be found under "Americas").
Rankings explained
If your firm has been listed, congratulations! Listing on IP Stars means that your competitors and/or clients have recognised your firm as one of the most capable, active firms in IP in your jurisdiction.
Firms are ranked in “Tiers”, or as "Highly Recommended" or "Recommended" for each practice area. Tiers 1 and 2 are our top-tier rankings. The total number of firms listed, as well as the number of tiers, varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For the prosecution ranking we consider all work in the IP Office; whereas for the contentious ranking we mainly consider disputes outside the IP Office, whether or not they reached the court or tribunal.
Research methodology
The IP Stars rankings are based on extensive research carried out over a six-month period, starting from October each year. To produce the rankings, our team of researchers in London, New York and Hong Kong obtains information from thousands of firms and their clients by phone, online surveys, email and in face-to-face meetings. Researchers also conduct desk research for other available information. Among the attributes assessed are: the firm’s workload, the quality of work, and the strength of the IP team.
The research is conducted rigorously and impartially, and there is NO COST to participate. Firms cannot vote or pay for their own inclusion, nor can they solicit votes from associates. To be included at all, a firm must have received a significant number of recommendations from peers and clients.
The patent rankings are based on information available when the research was concluded in January 2016.
What's next
Rankings
2016 copyright rankings will be published in April. Until then, the 2015 copyright rankings will remain online.
Firm Analysis & Stars
The firm analysis and individual IP stars list on this website are from the 2015 edition of the IP Stars handbooks. The 2016 version will be published in May for trade mark and copyright and June for patent.
All the firm rankings, latest analyses, and list of the IP Stars (private practice and in-house practitioners) for 2016 will also be published in the Global and US editions of the IP Stars handbook (2016). For advertising opportunities in the handbook please contact the sales and advertising team.
More information about IP Stars, including links to our methodology page, FAQs, research and publishing schedule, can be found here. To know why it is important to participate see our blogpost here.