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Firm History
Introduction
Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione was founded in 1917 as the two-man patent law firm of Wilkinson & Huxley. Today Brinks has approximately 150 attorneys, supported by a full complement of scientific advisors, patent agents and paralegals. Our headquarters are atop Chicago's preeminent NBC Tower.
Practice Spectrum
As one of the largest firms in its specialty, Brinks is at the cutting edge of intellectual property law. |
Left to Right: Henry Brinks,
Roy Hofer, Jerome Gilson and
Richard Lione |
We litigate, counsel and prosecute in patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, Internet and related areas of law. We routinely handle assignments in fields as diverse as electrical, chemical, mechanical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, nanotechnology and computer technology, as well as in trademarks or brand names for a wide variety of products and services.
Brinks also takes civic pride in providing pro bono legal services to those unable to pay in matters involving eviction, immigration, asylum and criminal matters, as well as non-profits in their intellectual property law matters.
Historical
With nearly 90 years of practice experience, the firm has become rich in the history and development of intellectual property law and in the professional associations that serve it. Its members have handled landmark cases before the United States Supreme Court and the regional Courts of Appeals and have held leadership positions in all the major bar and intellectual property law associations.
Founder George Wilkinson argued and won the case in which Justice Frankfurter introduced the term "commercial magnetism" (the quality that entitles a symbol to protection) into the lexicon of trademark law. In 1930, founder Henry Huxley not only handled an active legal practice, but also taught a course in patent law at Northwestern University Law School. Both Wilkinson and Huxley rose to prominence in the American Bar Association's Patent, Trademark and Copyright section.
James Hume, a prominent partner in the firm from 1947 to 1983, tried patent cases across the country, and at one point, flew with Charles Lindbergh, then a Postal Service pilot. He also gave patent counsel to research scientists Leo Szilard and Enrico Fermi in connection with their work on the Manhattan Project, a former U.S. executive agency that was responsible for developing the atomic bomb.
Howard Clement, another named partner from 1956-1983, litigated major patent cases, served as President of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and contributed substantively as a member of President Lyndon Johnson's commission to recommend revisions to the U.S. Patent System.
 Firm Leadership
Gary Ropski's professional and leadership skills led his partners to name him the President of the firm in 2006. His broad legal experience cuts across the entire spectrum of intellectual property law, with more than 100 disputes litigated before the International Trade Commission and in every federal circuit in the country. His trial skills served him well as an adjunct professor at Northwestern Law School for almost two decades, and his writing awards attest to his command of the language. Gary has played an active role in his firm, his profession and in his community.
The mission statement of Jerold Jacover, President from 2000-2005, still guides our firm: "We provide premium intellectual property law services, in an appropriate environment, in an ethical and professional manner."
Firm Practice Groups
Brinks is organized in both practice area and industry groups, ranging from Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical to Appellate Practice to Trademark. Each group monitors and implements practice changes required by current developments in its area.
The groups are led by a generation of highly talented lawyers who have substantial experience handling first chair and comparable non-litigation responsibilities. To them and their members, and to the firm's senior leadership as well, go the credit for the firm being ranked over the last several years by various publications as #1 in intellectual property law in Chicago, #1 in Illinois, and #1 in the U.S. Central Region, frequently through peer surveys.
Jury Trial Record
The firm is justifiably proud of its pioneering successes in trying intellectual property law cases to juries. Defying the notion that juries cannot understand highly technical subject matter, its lawyers have generated noteworthy awards, many of them in the last decade.
In what became the largest jury award in firm history, Roy Hofer led a trial team in a Chicago case involving patents relating to plastic films for packaging meats. After a 13-day trial the judge and jury found all patents valid and infringed, and ultimately, the judge entered judgment of $164,925,789 for our client.
In other firm jury cases, awards obtained include $40 million for infringing patents covering fan assemblies used with radiators and condensers in automobiles and $12.5 million for infringement of a patent for an outdoor electrical outlet cover.
In 2004, juries awarded firm clients $3.5 million in a gray market trademark infringement case, $5.9 million for infringement of a patent for automatically inflating, adjustable air mattresses, and $1 million for trademark infringement, plus attorneys' fees.
Today's Name Partners
Henry Brinks, Roy Hofer, Jerome Gilson and Richard Lione remain active in the firm, having together amassed more than 175 years of service to the firm, its clients and to civic and professional associations.
Henry Brinks has been a stalwart in patent law and litigation for a half century, handling numerous trials and patent counseling for high profile clients and participating in a dozen intellectual property law and other associations.
Known in the firm as "the Coach," Roy Hofer is an experienced patent litigator with a national reputation. He has written and lectured widely, and also has served as President of the Chicago Bar Association, the Federal Circuit Bar Association and the Center for Conflict Resolution.
Jerome Gilson is a distinguished trademark lawyer, who authored and who currently supplements the 30-year old leading treatise, Trademark Protection and Practice (LexisNexis/Matthew Bender). In 1998 he was named by his peers as "Top Trademark Practitioner in the World" in a survey conducted by the U.K. publication Managing Intellectual Property.
Richard Lione's career has been a unique blend of patent prosecution and litigation, two skill sets that today rarely overlap. He has also achieved distinction in spending about half of his time representing major European and Japanese businesses, in diverse technologies such as robotics, machine tools, aircraft instrumentation, textiles and packaging machinery.
Conclusion
Since 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione has earned an enviable reputation. Through the stellar efforts of our lawyers in trying cases, arguing appeals, writing books, heading associations, teaching law school courses and handling pro bono matters, the firm will continue to serve its clients, the legal profession and the public with distinction. |
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Firm History
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