IP STARS 2022: Intellectual property rankings published

Welcome to the 2022 edition of IP STARS.

Please read the information on this page carefully to understand what we have published and what to expect from us in the coming weeks and months.

In March, Managing IP revealed the 2022 rankings of the leading firms for trade mark filing/prosecution and contentious work, covering more than 50 jurisdictions.

For this month, we have published the 2022 firm rankings for intellectual property work in more than 25 jurisdictions, including the United States (see the appendix below). For these jurisdictions, we evaluated and ranked firms for their IP practice as a whole rather than split them up into different practice areas. For the US, we also published special national rankings for ITC litigation and life sciences IP work. The remaining 2022 US rankings will be published according to the timeline below.

To check if a firm has been ranked this year for trade mark or general IP work, enter the firm’s name in the search bar or use the regional navigation tab above to select the jurisdiction (click on 'Rankings' to see the 2022 firm rankings).

Congratulations to all the firms ranked this year.

What to expect next

We have more rankings to announce in the coming weeks and months and we will therefore continue with our research. Below is a snapshot of the 2022 edition content publication timeline. Any research information not considered or used for this year’s edition will be used for the 2023 edition. We will start the research for the 2023 edition of the IP STARS rankings and Managing IP Awards in September 2022.

IP STARS 2022 rankings

Managing IP's firm and practitioner rankings are published on this website; use the regional drop-down menu to see the jurisdictions we cover and their latest rankings.

March: Trade mark practice rankings for firms (including US states such as California) here

April: Intellectual property rankings for firms (only available in jurisdictions without trade mark or patent rankings)

May: IP Stars list

May: Managing IP’s Top 250 Women in IP list (read about it here)

June: Patent practice rankings for firms (including US states such as California)

July: IP transactions practice rankings for firms

July: Copyright practice rankings for firms

September: Rising Stars list (learn more here), Corporate IP Stars list (learn more here), and the Notable Practitioners in IP

As usual, the 2021 firm rankings for a practice area and the 2021 individual practitioner rankings will remain on this site until we publish the 2022 rankings. After our official announcement, we will change the year of rankings to say '2022'.

Firm editorials

Readers should that any firm editorial (i.e. content under the 'Review' tab) found on this website is from the previous edition of IP STARS. We are working towards publishing the latest editorials before or on August 31. Firms can contact us if there is information we need to update or correct sooner rather than later.

Our marketing/business development team will contact the relevant ranked individuals directly in due course. 

If you have any feedback or questions about IP STARS, please contact us at research@managingip.com

Russia and Ukraine

We are deeply saddened to see the destruction of lives and property in Ukraine and the displacement of millions of its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine, including its IP community.

Managing IP has decided to suspend its research and publication of research content for Russia and Ukraine until further notice. In the meantime, we have republished the 2021 rankings for Ukraine here. We pray for peace and a swift end to the war.

About IP STARS

Managing IP published its first legal directory in 1994 and rebranded it in 2013 as IP STARS. The research for the IP STARS guide has expanded over the years, covering over six IP practice areas and more than 70 jurisdictions, and has become the leading specialist rankings publication for the IP profession.

Research methodology

The research for these rankings was conducted rigorously and impartially by our team of research analysts in London, New York, and Hong Kong. Each year, we request information from thousands of firms, IP practitioners and their clients through interviews, email, and online surveys.

Before compiling the rankings, our analysts also conducted their own independent research, including an analysis of publicly available information (such as court or IP office data) and existing data we hold on firms. The aspects assessed for the firm rankings include expertise, workload, market reputation and record, outcomes achieved for clients, and unique strengths in a given practice area. Judgements about which firms to include in the rankings, and which tier and practice area they should be in, take account of all this information.

Firms are ranked alphabetically in tiers, or as highly recommended or recommended. The total number of firms listed varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For most jurisdictions, the rankings are split into prosecution and contentious work. However, in certain jurisdictions, we evaluated and ranked firms for their trade mark practice as a whole.

The prosecution ranking takes account of pre and post-registration work, including office proceedings and portfolio management advice. The contentious ranking covers trade mark-related disputes (in and outside the courts) and anti-counterfeiting work. Where appropriate, some firms have been ranked for both practice areas, and in a few European jurisdictions, we have a separate table for law firms that do trade mark filing and prosecution work.

These rankings are based on information available at the time the research was completed (February 2022). Except for firm name changes, any subsequent developments or information that could influence our rankings will be considered during the research for the 2023 edition of IP STARS, which starts in September 2022.

For the avoidance of doubt, the ranking tables do not suggest or indicate that the expertise or services of the listed firms are limited to the practice area in question, and Managing IP does not recommend or endorse any particular firm for IP work. No firm can pay to be included or to influence the results.

The IP STARS rankings are not influenced by any commercial relationship, including advertising, with Managing IP or IP STARS. There is no fee to pay to participate in our research. The rankings are subject to change each year.

Click here to learn more about our research.

Appendix**

**The remaining 2022 US rankings will be published according to the timeline above.