Full-Service Law Firm solving complex challenges through bold thinking, precise execution, and shared purpose.

Full Service Law Firm | Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

Specializing in the Intersection of Business &amp; Government

Meet our team of trusted advisors, strategic thinkers, and community builders dedicated to client success.

Learn about our full-service legal and business solutions, designed to address complex challenges for leading organizations across industries.

Access thought leadership, news, and resources to stay informed about the latest trends, legal developments, and industry innovations.

Discover how partnership, bold thinking, and precise execution drive results for clients nationwide.

Explore how our national reach and local expertise support clients across the United States and beyond.

Grow at a firm designed to bring out your best.

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Protecting what you’ve built. Powering what’s next.

Whether you’re expanding your IP portfolio, entering new markets, or defending critical innovations, you need a partner who understands your business. Our internationally recognized team delivers strategic, full-spectrum IP services tailored to help you enhance and safeguard your competitive position through every stage of the IP lifecycle.

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Key awards we have won with the group delivering strategic, high-quality patent services that support your innovation and business goals:

Our Intellectual Property Practice is ranked by Chambers USA: Band 1 in Wisconsin, Band 3 in North Carolina, and Band 5 in Illinois, and Band 3 for Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright &amp; Trade Secrets in Illinois.

Chambers &amp; Partners, USA

Michael Best’s IP practice is ranked, and five of our attorneys are listed, in the 2025 IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals.

IAM Patent 1000 2025

Our Trademark practice is ranked, and eight attorneys are listed, in the 2025 World Trademark Review 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals.

World Trademark Review 2025

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Our Approach: A Proven Approach to Complex IP Needs

Our IP team is one of the largest and most technically diverse in the country, with professionals who hold advanced degrees in computer science, engineering, physics, chemistry, and biotechnology. Many have worked as patent examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and several bring real-world business and R&amp;D experience to the table.

We build teams around your needs—combining legal precision with technical fluency to deliver practical, business-aligned solutions. Whether you're developing a global patent portfolio, navigating a high-stakes dispute, or structuring a complex licensing deal, we bring the depth, agility, and insight to help you move forward with confidence. We help you anticipate risk, control costs, and align IP strategy with your broader business objectives. We’ve been where you are. We speak your language. And we know what it takes to protect what sets you apart.<br>

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Protecting Your IP Innovation at Every Stage

We work closely with inventors, engineers, and business leaders to identify and capture innovation early. We’ll help you assess patentability, trademark viability, and trade secret potential, helping you lay the foundation for a strong, strategic IP portfolio.

IP Portfolio Analysis – Best LuminEdge

If you are in the process of evaluating a potential investment target, working through strategic planning, or looking to better manage your IP portfolio, Best LuminEdge can help. We deliver a comprehensive report with a simple, actionable summary of our conclusions and recommendations for decision makers.

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Our attorneys and patent agents draft and prosecute patents, register trademarks, and protect copyrights with precision and technical fluency. We manage filings across jurisdictions and ensure your IP is positioned for long-term value.

Brand Protection

Your brand is one of your most valuable assets. We’ll help you protect it and unlock its full potential. We handle everything from registration to enforcement and provide you with actionable guidance on things like trademarks, copyrights, websites, and marketing campaigns. See how our Brand Protection services can help get you back to doing what you love most.

Patent

Whether you're an early-stage startup or a global brand, we help you protect and maximize the value of your inventions. Our team of 100+ patent professionals—including lawyers, agents, scientists, and engineers—bring deep technical expertise across mechanical, electrical, computer, life sciences, and chemical fields. We build tailored, cost-effective teams that align with your internal experts.

We help you unlock the commercial potential of your IP through licensing, joint ventures, and strategic transactions. Whether you're raising capital, entering new markets, or negotiating deals, we ensure your IP assets are protected and leveraged effectively.

Licensing &amp; Technology Agreements

Our IP team works alongside you to craft licensing deals, joint ventures, and tech collaborations. We align this work with your goals, protect your innovations, and open doors to get you into new markets. With our deep technical knowledge and industry insight, we simplify complex transactions and deliver practical, business-minded solutions that move your ideas forward.

When your IP is threatened, or when you're accused of infringement, we act swiftly and strategically. Our litigators have deep experience in federal courts, the USPTO, ITC, and beyond, and we tailor our approach to your business priorities.

Enforcement, Clearance &amp; Defense

When your intellectual property is challenged—or when you need to assert your rights—you need a partner who understands both the legal landscape and your business goals. Our IP Litigation team helps you navigate disputes with clarity and confidence, offering proactive strategies to avoid litigation when possible and powerful advocacy when it’s not.

A world-leading motorcycle manufacturer called on our team to develop an overall strategy for intellectual property management. Together with in-house counsel, processes were put in place for deciding what to patent; for identifying competitive patent risks; and for pursuing potential infringement issues. We helped the company form an internal Patent Review Committee, comprised of senior executives, that effectively protects their assets while pursuing strategic goals.

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Secured an $11+ million judgement in a patent infringement lawsuit for a large client in the water heater industry, we drafted and prosecuted the patent at issue and assisted in the successful litigation to protect the client’s valuable patent rights.

Represented clients in patent infringement lawsuits, including one involving all phases of the defense and enforcement of over twenty patents directed to semiconductor design and manufacturing techniques.

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Trademark Lawsuit: Successfully enforced trademark rights for a major financial services firm against an infringing financial advisor, culminating in a trial victory and permanent injunction against the competitor.

Successfully arbitrated a complex business dispute and obtained a favorable result for our client on claims including breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty by working with experts in forensic accounting, fraud, and accounting reconstruction.

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 of Clients Have Multi-National Operations

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Scam Targeting Trademark Owners

Michael Best Elects Eight Attorneys to Partnership

Michael Best Announces Election of Four to Equity Partnership

World Trademark Review 2024

U.S. Patent Office Guidance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Inventions

Three Michael Best Partners Recognized as Notable Intellectual Property Attorneys by BizTimes

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Motion To Amend (MTA)

DeMarte quoted in <em>Reuters </em>article, "Focus: ‘Livestream’ Shopping Thwarts Some High-Tech Tools to Stop Fake Merch"

Potential Erroneous Release of U.S. Patent Application Number and Title by USPTO

U.S. Supreme Court Revises 3 Year Statute of Limitations for Copyright Infringement Damages

En Banc Federal Circuit Upends 40 Years of Precedent and Establishes New Framework for Determining the Nonobviousness of Design Patents Under Section 103

Five Michael Best Attorneys Recognized as 2024 IP Stars

Thirty-Five Michael Best Attorneys Recognized in Chambers USA 2024 Rankings

Michael Best Secures Victory for SSI Technologies in Patent Infringement Case

Michael Best Welcomes Seven New Attorneys

U.S. Patent Office Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility of Artificial Intelligence Inventions

Michael Best Elevates Eight Attorneys to Partnership

Ninety-Eight Michael Best Attorneys Earn Recognition in The Best Lawyers in America 2025 List

Michael Best Included in Trademark Lawyer Magazine’s 2024  Top 10 Trademark Firms – Midwest Rankings

Michael Best Welcomes 32 Associate Attorneys

USTR Initiates Section 301 Exclusion Process for Domestic Manufacturing Machinery

Five Michael Best Practices Ranked National Tier 1 in 2025 “Best Law Firms” Rankings

USPTO Updates Fee Schedule – Notable Increases

Resurgence of Scam Targeting Trademark Owners

USPTO Issues New IDS Fees and Assertion Requirements

Trump Trade 2.0: Reciprocal Tariffs Arrive

Trump Trade 2.0: Weekend Action on Trade

Michael Best Attorney Thomas Agnello Named to Wisconsin Law Journal’s Business Defense Powerlist

Trump Trade 2.0: Another Week in Trade Ahead of Liberation Day

Trump Trade 2.0: Liberation Day Arrives

Trump Trade 2.0: Trade Talks and Investigations Continue

Trump Trade 2.0: Another Week in Trade

Eric Zylstra Joins Michael Best as Senior Counsel in the Firm’s Nationally Recognized Intellectual Property Practice Group

Federal Circuit Resolves Conflict Over Scope of IPR Estoppel

Trump Trade 2.0: Tariff-ic Trade Deals Arrive

Trump Trade 2.0: Courts Step in on Tariffs

Forty-One Michael Best Attorneys Recognized in Chambers USA 2025 Rankings

Trump Trade 2.0: Trump Orders Steel, Aluminum Tariffs to Double

Five Michael Best Attorneys Recognized as 2025 IP Stars

Patent Office Expands Discretionary Denials with New “Laches” Fintiv Factor

Trump Trade 2.0: IEEPA, Section 232, China Trade Deal, Reciprocals, Oh My!

“Enablement” to Obtain a Patent Differs from “Enablement” to Invalidate a Patent

Trump Trade 2.0: Trump’s Trade Letters Hit the Inbox

Trump Trade 2.0: Trump Releases Trade Letters for the EU and Mexico

Michael Best Attorneys Rich Kaiser and Kevin Moran Named to Wisconsin Law Journal’s IP Powerlist

Trump Trade 2.0: Movement on Trade Deals Ahead of August 1

Trump Trade 2.0: T-Minus 2 Days Until August 1

Michael Best Attorneys Earn Recognition in The Best Lawyers in America 2026 List

Urgent Reminder for Companies Using SMS Marketing in Texas to Register Under the  Telephone Solicitation Act by September 1, 2025 New Obligations for Calls, Texts, and Other Digital Outreach

Intellectual Property

Key Contacts

Trending Conversations for Intellectual Property

Michael Best Welcomes Dana Bell as Senior Counsel in Intellectual Property Practice

Copyright or Trade Secret? How Software Companies Should Decide What to Protect—and How

Trademark Watch Services in Practice: Turning Alerts into Informed Decisions

Key Contacts

Trending Conversations for Intellectual Property

Michael Best Welcomes Dana Bell as Senior Counsel in Intellectual Property Practice

Copyright or Trade Secret? How Software Companies Should Decide What to Protect—and How

Trademark Watch Services in Practice: Turning Alerts into Informed Decisions

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