The Association of Patent Law Firms (APLF) is an international association of independent specialty law firms that devote a majority of their practice to patent law, trademark law and copyright law. Our member firms provide expert patent litigation support, portfolio strategy advice and protection against copyright and trademark theft. Through our efforts and the demonstrated technical, legal and management capabilities of our member firms, the clear business advantage realized by retaining a specialist patent law firm or joining a specialist patent law firm become obvious.
Details of membership and how to join the Association of Patent Law Firms are available on our JOIN us page
What We Do
The APLF helps member firms and individual attorneys within these firms:
- Ensure excellence in intellectual property law practice;
- Improve their business management abilities at all levels;
- Improve their abilities to serve the needs of their respective clients;
- Underscore the advantages of their technical and legal capabilities to law school faculty and students worldwide to enhance recruiting initiatives, and
- Underscore the advantages of their technical and legal capabilities to businesses and industries worldwide.
Benefits To Member Firms & Individual Attorneys
Ensure excellence in intellectual property law practice
- Encourage and guide members in their constant endeavours to enhance the legal skills and technical and industry knowledge of their lawyers;
- Offer opportunities to exchange information about domestic and global patent and intellectual property law;
- Offer learning opportunities about patent and intellectual property law in domestic and international jurisdictions from professional experts drawn from a global faculty;
- Offer learning and idea exchange opportunities through the interaction with law school academics world wide;
- Offer opportunities to exchange information about patent and intellectual property law practice standards;
- Offer opportunities to exchange information about patent and intellectual property law by members of the Judiciary and the USPTO;
- Identify and report on trends and developments in business affecting intellectual property management.
Improving business management abilities and skills at all levels
- Share information and knowledge about best practices and resources to improve operations and efficiency, management, technology, diversity, training and professional development, recruitment and retention and performance management;
- Offering opportunities for firm management and attorneys to participate in learning programs provided by external providers, business schools and specialist organizations.
Improving abilities to serve the needs of respective clients
- Share information and knowledge about best practices and resources to improve client service and satisfaction, selling and marketing;
- Offer opportunities for firm management and attorneys to learn how to differentiate themselves in the marketplace and become more competitive;
- Offer opportunities for firm management and attorneys to participate in learning programs provided by external providers, business schools and specialist organizations;
- Engage in feedback, dialogue and suggestions from the business community on client needs and the best ways to serve clients.
Underscore the advantages of members’ technical, legal, management and service capabilities to law school faculty and students worldwide to enhance recruiting initiatives
- Offer quality opportunities for direct contact with law school faculty and students;
- Participate in APLF events and programs scheduled at various law schools throughout the year.
Underscore the advantages of members’ technical, legal, management and service capabilities by businesses, industries and law schools worldwide
- Offer opportunities for direct contact with corporate decisions makers in companies of all size and other profile opportunities in the media or arenas exposed to decision makers;
- Fostering understanding by executives, in-house counsel and other decision makers of patents and other intellectual properties and rights, trends and developments;
- Promoting the benefits of intellectual property boutiques to the international business community.
The APLF Brand Of Excellence
There is a basic business reason why your firm should join the APLF. The APLF is developing a brand of excellence as a prestigious affiliation for members and a recognized credential in the business community of specialized patent/IP law firms that provide strategic advantages to clients through technical and legal expertise, client service and efficient law practice management.
The APLF Brand Of Excellence:
- Fills a need of all members equally;
- Provides a unique benefit to members;
- Articulates shared values among the members as a community of firms;
- Recognizes that not all IP law firms that are taking advantage of APLF member programs;
- Creates potential opportunities for APLF to leverage the value its name and reputation for the benefit of members as in joint programming with other organizations etc.
The brand will stand for law firms that care about being well run organizations committed to continuing improvement in order to serve their clients better and their own professional satisfaction.
APLF’s brand will also extend services to specific needs and personnel in the member firms. It will help its members address business and management issues that are specifically relevant to patent/IP firms, including:
- Law practice management and leadership programs for managing partners;
- Business and operations for administrative partners/CFOs/executive directors;
- Technology developments for IT partners/directors;
- Professional development programs with training programs for associates and/or train the trainer programs for professional development/ mentoring program partners/directors;
- Marketing and sales practices and issues for marketing partners/directors; and
- Recruiting, retention and diversity for recruiting partners/HR directors/diversity managers. Member firms would be required to attend a certain number of programs each year.