Marshall, Gerstein & Borun was founded in 1955 by Charles A. Merriam when he formed a partnership with George H. Lorch and they established their patent law practice in offices at the Chicago Board of Trade Building. Shortly thereafter, William Marshall joined the firm. The firm grew, and by the late 1950s, numbered ten attorneys with an early focus on the chemical, electrical and pharmaceutical industries.
In 1962, responsibility for the General Tire & Rubber v. Firestone Tire & Rubber case was transferred to the firm, which it successfully litigated over the next decade. In 1977, Merriam, Marshall, Shapiro & Klose, as the firm was known at the time, merged with the law firm of Hibben, Noyes & Bicknell, which was founded in the 1880s The Hibben firm specialized in patents and added substantial depth to the existing patent prosecution and litigation practices.
Through the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 21st Century, the firm has continued to enhance its intellectual property practice through development of new associates and technical specialists hired from school or industry, as well as through small mergers and lateral additions. The firm’s growth has been purposeful, with a focus to expand and balance its patent prosecution, trademark and litigation capabilities in specialized fields and industries like computer science and software, electrical devices, optics, medical devices, mechanical devices, biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, genetics and nanotechnology.
Throughout its history, the firm has handled many important cases that established fundamental principles in patent law. These include several cases argued before the Supreme Court::
- Blonder-Tongue which established the fundamental principle of offensive collateral estoppel.
- Walker Process which set forth the basic principles for antitrust liability under the patent laws.
In addition, the firm handled from its inception, through litigation and successful appeal in the Federal Circuit, the Amgen v. Chugai case which established several important legal precedents in biotechnology patent law.
Today, as Marshall Gerstein & Borun, we have grown to a firm of over 70 attorneys and patent agents, uniquely qualified to service clients worldwide in an expansive range of industries and practice areas.
1955 Merriam & Lorch
1956 Merriam, Lorch & Smith
1958 Merriam, Smith & Marshall
1965 Merriam, Marshall, Shapiro & Klose
1977 Merriam, Marshall & Bicknell
1984 Marshall, O’Toole, Gerstein, Murray & Bicknell
1993 Marshall, O’Toole, Gerstein, Murray & Borun
2001 Marshall, Gerstein & Borun