Banner & Witcoff Breaks Design Patent Procurement Record for the Second Year in a Row

Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., a leading intellectual property firm that is dedicated to the procurement, enforcement and litigation of intellectual property rights throughout the world, has once again surpassed the record for prosecuting the most design patents to issuance by a law firm in a calendar year.

As of December 25, 2007, Banner & Witcoff has broken the design patent procurement record for the second year in a row. The firm increased the total number of design patents procured on behalf of its clients to 744 in 2007. This breaks the record of 554 design patents in a single year, which was set by the firm in 2006.

"This has been a tremendous year for our design patent team. As the importance of protecting designs has become increasingly necessary, more companies are gravitating to law firms with expertise in design patents. This year gave us an opportunity to work with many forward thinking design-driven companies across multiple industries. We look forward to continuing to provide forefront expertise in design patent procurement in 2008," said Robert Katz, Senior Partner at Banner & Witcoff.

Microsoft, Nike, Nokia and Toshiba collectively accounted for a majority of design patents procured by Banner & Witcoff this year. The 744th design patent procured by the firm in 2007, U.S. Pat. No. D558,417, was issued on behalf of The Libman Company, a leading manufacturer of mops, brooms, brushes and other cleaning-related products. The firm also added Newell, Electrolux, PepsiCo and Solo Cup to the design patent client list in 2007.

About Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.

Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. (www.bannerwitcoff.com) is dedicated to excellence in the specialized practice of intellectual property law, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, computer, and unfair competition law. The firm actively engages in the procurement, enforcement and litigation of intellectual property rights throughout the world, including all federal and state agencies, and the distribution of such rights through licensing and franchising. The firm has over 90 attorneys and agents in its Chicago, Washington, DC, Boston and Portland offices. Banner & Witcoff tops the list for patent prosecution work with clients like Microsoft, NIKE, AT&T, and Amgen. IP Law & Business named Banner & Witcoff one of the top U.S. law firms protecting intellectual property for the world's 50 most innovative companies. Overall the firm ranked in the top five for all IP prosecution and litigation work, and prosecuted more design patents in 2007, then any other law firm.

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