Meet the Full-Service Law Firm Partnering With Amazon to Streamline IP
FisherBroyles leaders said the firm's lack of overhead expenses allows it to deliver fixed-fee rates on par with the small IP shops that are also partnering with Amazon.
October 21, 2019 at 05:25 PM
3 minute read
One name stands out on the list of 11 law firms that were vetted by Amazon to provide fixed-rate trademark services to the company's sellers as part of its new "IP accelerator."
Growing "virtual" law firm FisherBroyles is the sole full-service provider on the list, and its nearly 250 attorneys put it in a different category from the 10 small IP shops that are Amazon's other partners in its tentative first step into the legal services arena.
"Amazon recognized we were a fixed-cost brick-and-mortarless enterprise in sort of the same way that they are," said Atlanta-based FisherBroyles' managing partner, James Fisher.
Amazon has billed the initiative as a way to ease the trademark registration process for sellers on its platform. By selecting one of the 11 partner firms, these sellers gain access to fixed-fee IP services, and they are also promised accelerated access to brand protection on the site, even before a trademark is officially issued, which can take a year and a half or even longer.
When it came to identifying potential law firms for the initiative, Amazon prioritized the capability to use fixed fees.
"The fee structure that they were suggesting fit right in," said FisherBroyles partner Scott Harders, who spearheaded the firm's participation in the program through a relationship with a professional contact who recently entered Amazon's law department.
"We didn't have to slash our rates," he added. "We eliminate such overhead that the partners can share more reasonable, more boutique-type rates."
In line with any other service or good sold on Amazon, the IP accelerator allows for easy feedback. Two users have already reviewed the firm's services, with one noting that the rates set by Amazon were above market price. Both reviewers raved about FisherBroyles' services, but the one noting the rates pointed to Amazon's failure to promptly offer access to its brand registry for the 4-star rating.
Several hundred businesses have made inquiries in the first three weeks, according to the firm.
"We're really drinking out of a fire hose right now," Harders said. And FisherBroyles expects longer-term work to emerge from its participation.
"To the extent those businesses grow, we anticipate they will have additional legal needs that we will be able to fill for them," Fisher said.
Legal technology expert Robert Ambrogi speculated in his initial coverage of Amazon's move that this was just the first step for the company with regard to legal services, as it might also seek to use its platform to connect businesses to lawyers in other areas.
Both Fisher and Harders said they've yet to have this discussion with Amazon.
"To the extent there is an evolution, we'll at least be in the conversation," Harders added.
|Read More
Amazon, Williams-Sonoma Face Off Over Trademark Cases in SF Court
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllAssociate Lateral Moves in Data Privacy Accelerate, as Client Demand Remains Stiff
Baker & Hostetler Reshuffles Practice Groups, Signaling Data's Dominance
Are Megaverdicts Changing How General Counsel Think About Litigation?
Skadden, Ropes & Gray Advise on Alibaba's $1.4B China Logistics Deal
Trending Stories
- 1As Gen AI Acceptance Grows, Lawyers Race to Mitigate Risks
- 2Decisions Have 'Real-Life Consequences': Juvenile Court Judge Considered for Appellate Bench
- 3NY District Attorneys Ask for Level Funding Amid Statewide Drop in Violent Crime
- 4Texas Trial Boutique Matches Milbank Bonuses, Paying Up to $140K
- 5'Final Countdown': SEC Launches Nearly 800% Litigation Surge in October
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250