The Patent 1000 focuses exclusively on patent practice and has firmly established itself as the definitive 'go-to' resource for those seeking world-class legal patent expertise.
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Fishman Stewart endears itself to the C-Suite through its focus on realising business value from patents and other intellectual property. Its professionals design and implement creative strategies to that end and help innovative companies shape optimal IP policies and processes. A key contact for interested parties is Michael Stewart, a global thinker with abundant international experience encompassing brands and patents.
Michael Stewart is co-founding member and managing partner of Fishman Stewart. A strategic adviser to CEOs and senior executives, Mr Stewart develops IP management strategies for US and foreign-based companies, from middle market to Fortune 500, to safeguard their business assets throughout the world. He has substantial experience managing, administering and conducting worldwide projects involving updating ownership records of large intellectual property portfolios and applies a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to maximise the scope of intellectual property protection and beneficial usage. His litigation experience includes both trials and oral arguments before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is also admitted before the United States Supreme Court. Holding four degrees from the acclaimed University of Michigan, he is known for providing creative solutions to clients, protecting their IP while bringing practical and business thinking to the issues.
The recipient of numerous legal and business awards, Mr Stewart has been named among the Best Lawyers in America and as a Michigan Super Lawyer multiple times, as well as being named a DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyer, an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property magazine, and a Go-to Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Mr Stewart is extraordinarily committed to pro-bono service and volunteering within the profession and for non-profit organisations, and he has been recognised by the State Bar of Michigan for giving back to the community. He was instrumental in the founding of annual “World IP Day” (April 26) events throughout the United States in cooperation with organisations including WIPO, USPTO and AIPLA. He is a frequent author, speaker and lecturer on intellectual property protection and enforcement for organisations including INTA, AIPLA, the Michigan Bar Association, the USPTO and the National Science Foundation.
Fishman Stewart is an IP specialty law firm focused on IDENTIFYING, SECURING, AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®. Since 1996, the firm has been a premier provider of IP services, as well as a driver of innovative change in the fundamental practice of law. Michael Fishman and Michael Stewart lead the firm.
When the firm started in 1996, the practice of law was deeply entrenched in traditionalism. Fishman and Stewart recognised the need to approach their practice in a fundamentally different way. Decades-long investments in technological tools and a team-oriented approach to legal practice providing a more collaborative work environment and enhanced client service continue to pay off handsomely.
Fishman Stewart specialises in all areas of IP representation. Since its founding, the firm has obtained tens of thousands of patents and trademarks and represented clients in hundreds of lawsuits. With deep client relationships, firm attorneys serve as strategic advisers to CEOs and senior executives, developing IP management strategies for US and foreign-based companies, from middle market to Fortune 500. The firm has approximately 25 attorney and 20 non-attorney professionals.
Areas of specialisation
Intellectual property can be one of a company’s most valuable assets. Fishman Stewart believes that intellectual property should be managed in the same way companies manage their more traditional capital. The goal is to extract maximum enterprise value from organisational creativity. However, not all creativity is created equally. The firm determines when it makes sense to take formal steps to convert specific organisational creativity into a business asset – not only having the essential characteristics more commonly associated with a tangible asset such as a building or factory equipment, but also simultaneously providing an entirely different type of contributor to enterprise value by attracting partners, licensing and franchising opportunities, and even in settling disputes.
Fishman Stewart consistently ranks among the top organisations for patent and trademark procurement worldwide. The firm handles all aspects of the creative process, from searching to ongoing management of pre-existing portfolios, including monitoring potential infringement and identifying ways to optimise portfolio value through licensing and other revenue-generating opportunities.
The firm’s practice includes expertise with respect to digital assets, which often do not fall within the more traditional IP constructs, including copyright law. Fishman Stewart provides protocols to maximise the value of confidential information while minimising risk of infringing on third-party rights. IP consulting, as well as both transactional and e-commerce services, are additional examples of the skill sets associated with Fishman Stewart.
With a top-ranked litigation practice in all facets of intellectual property, Fishman Stewart develops strategies for resolving disputes of any size or complexity. The firm’s multidisciplinary litigation team has represented clients before courts nationwide, the International Trade Commission, the US Patent and Trademark Office, the Federal Trade Commission and in Uniform Dispute Resolution Proceedings.
Lastly, many organisations do not appreciate that a break in the chain of ownership of an IP asset can be just as fatal to its value to a potential new owner as the failure to update the chain of ownership following the sale of real estate. Fishman Stewart is an established leader in addressing chain of title issues worldwide.
There’s intellectual property in everything we do
With a keen eye on the intersection of intellectual property and pop culture, the firm’s experts write about and comment on the IP implications of national and international trends including through a weekly newsletter with an expansive readership and dozens of informative white papers covering a wide range of topics available for download at tackleboxinsights.com. Fishman Stewart also supports its colleagues in their individual outreaches to benefit our profession. For example, Fishman Stewart IP litigation partner Maxwell Goss hosts The Litigation War Room podcast, presenting “great stories and great insights from some of the nation’s most accomplished courtroom lawyers”.
Fishman Stewart also has a whimsical side, as evidenced by its re-imagined website at fishstewip.com and the creation in 2021 of the firm’s popular fish mascot, Sir Finnegan – affectionately known as Finny® the Fish. Fishman Stewart’s website provides a wide range of materials to facilitate innovation and creativity at no cost.
As Fishman Stewart pivots to its next quarter-century, it reaffirms its commitment as a premier provider of IP services.