Jerome Gilson Presented Lifetime Achievement Award by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine

CHICAGO, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States, is pleased to announce that Jerome Gilson, a named partner and senior shareholder at the firm, has been presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Managing Intellectual Property magazine. The award for Outstanding Achievement in Law Firm Practice recognizes Mr. Gilson as one of the past half-century's preeminent practitioners in trademark and unfair competition law.

Jon Dudas, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, presented the award to Mr. Gilson at MIP's first North American Intellectual Property Law Awards ceremonies, which were held on April 3, 2008 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC. Mr. Dudas also presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Judge Pauline Newman of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

"My pathway to the podium was a game-winning forward pass and the award a touchdown and an extra point besides," said Mr. Gilson. "This is a transcendent honor, especially since I share it with such a distinguished jurist."

Mr. Gilson has practiced trademark and unfair competition law for more than 45 years. He has handled numerous trials and appeals before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the federal courts, and has written and spoken widely on trademark law. He has received numerous awards and other professional recognition, including the International Trademark Association's President's Award for Dedicated and Distinguished Service. In addition, Mr. Gilson is a three-time recipient of the Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Achievement for legal writing (co-authored with his daughter Anne Gilson LaLonde). He was also inducted into the IP Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mr. Gilson is the original author of a standard legal treatise in the field, first published in 1974 as Trademark Protection and Practice. In 2006, the publisher, LexisNexis, renamed it Gilson on Trademarks. The multi-volume work comprehensively covers the law of trademarks in the United States.

MIP also presented national awards to leading IP firms in the United States and Canada and to regional winners in the United States for patent, trademark and copyright work. Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione was nominated as one of four outstanding Midwest firms in the following categories:

    Patent Contentious (Litigation) Firm of the Year
    Trademark Prosecution Firm of the Year
    Trademark Contentious (Litigation) Firm of the Year
    Copyright Firm of the Year

The North American awards ceremony marked the culmination of MIP's five-month-long World IP Survey research. As well as producing its annual law firm ranking tables, the publication also canvassed the market to pinpoint those firms excelling in regional markets and in specific areas of IP.

MIP, part of the Euromoney Legal Media Group and published in the United Kingdom, is one of the premier international publications for intellectual property owners, with readers from across the globe, three-quarters of whom are senior in-house counsel in multinational companies.

Founded in 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is based in Chicago with four additional offices across the country serving the intellectual property needs of clients from around the world. The firm is one of the largest IP law firms in the country, with more than 170 attorneys, scientific advisors and patent agents specializing in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, intellectual asset management, and technology and licensing agreements. Brinks routinely handles assignments in fields as diverse as electrical, chemical, mechanical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, Internet and computer technology, as well as in trademarks and brand names for a wide variety of products and services. For more information, please visit http://www.usebrinks.com.

     CONTACT:
     Sydney Iglitzen
     (312) 840-3163
     siglitzen@usebrinks.com