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Firm Overview
Oblon is headquartered within steps of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and has an affiliate office in Tokyo, Japan. Oblon is one of the largest law firms in the United States focused exclusively on intellectual property law.
The Firm is consistently recognized as an industry leader, with annual accolades from reputable publications such as Chambers and Partners USA, U.S. News & Best Lawyers (named “a Best Law Firm”), Corporate Counsel Magazine (named a “Go-to” law firm by the top 500 U.S. companies), and Intellectual Property Today (ranked on the list of “Top Patent Firms”). The Firm has obtained more U.S. utility patents than any other firm in the world for 30+ years.
Oblon's attorneys and professionals collectively offer centuries of USPTO insight and expertise and serve as an invaluable resource to Oblon clients that have come to rely on the firm’s uniquely qualified experts, including many former patent examiners and administrative patent judges (APJs). Today, most of Oblon’s management team is made up of patent prosecution practitioners.
In addition to its renowned patent prosecution practice, the firm has a precedent-setting litigation practice, having litigated cases such as the Festo case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Oblon litigation team has extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of complex intellectual property litigation involving patent, industrial design and trade secret disputes.
Additionally, the firm's post-grant practitioners are some of the most experienced in the country. The Group routinely recovers patent portfolios made subject to post-grant disputes as a result of high-profile, concurrent litigation valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Our Clients
Our attorneys regularly work with business leaders, marketing professionals, scientists and technicians at our clients’ companies. With an office in Tokyo, Japan, regular visits to domestic and foreign clients, and attorneys fluent in French, German, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, and many other languages, our attorneys communicate effectively with clients around the world. We also host client trainees, familiarizing them with the U.S. legal system, culture and business methods.
Firm History
The Inception
The firm's history began the second half of the 1960s when the founders Norman Oblon, Stanley Fisher, and Marvin Spivak met while employed in the patent section at the White Oak Naval Ordnance Laboratories. Their discussions led to the formation of Oblon, Fisher, and Spivak in the fall of 1968.
MoreThe Grand Entrance – The Firm's First Clients in Japan
Recognizing the economic situation in the United States at the time was not favorable, Norman Oblon went to Japan, a still undiscovered market, and succeeded in recruiting several clients on his first trip by offering new groundbreaking strategies for world-wide patent prosecution. Most of the clients from this first trip remain firm clients to this day.
MoreIrv McClelland and Gregory Maier
Irv McClelland then joined the firm, followed by Gregory Maier in the early 1970s.
MoreServing as a Lighthouse for Japanese Companies
The firm adopted the practice of offering training and guidance on U.S. patent law to Japanese patent professionals. The founders also co-authored a book designed to guide Japanese companies through the U.S. patent prosecution system.
MoreTalent Acquisition to Provide New and Advanced Services
In the early 1970s, the firm began the practice of hiring scientists with advanced degrees to help with the prosecution of the rapidly developing technologies of the time. In 1974, Arthur Neustadt joined the firm and began its litigation practice.
MoreThe End of an Era and New Beginnings
The firm continued its rapid growth in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, the founders prepared to leave management of the firm and began a transition to the next generation of partners.
MoreThe Landmark Festo Case at the Supreme Court of the United States
Art Neustadt litigated the landmark Festo v. SMC case as lead counsel over a twenty-year period in which he successfully argued before the Supreme Court and twice before the en banc Federal Circuit.
MoreOblon Moves Adjacent to USPTO's New Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia
In anticipation of the USPTO's relocation plans, the firm moved adjacent to the USPTO's new headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
MoreOblon Opens Tokyo Office
At the same time as the transition of management from the founders was completed, the firm opened its Tokyo Office, which today has four full-time patent professionals headed by Ms. Yuki Onoe.
MoreThe Oblon Name
The firm is now most well known as the "Oblon" firm. While the firm has changed to meet the challenges of today, it has maintained its tradition of putting the client first and hiring talented professionals with advanced degrees and diverse backgrounds and legal experiences. The Oblon firm looks forward to the future with confidence in its continued success.
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