One-third of the people recognized as making the most difference IP are in-house lawyers

Intell. Prop., Fall 2010 at 13, honors “the 25 most influential people in IP.” Of that esteemed group, seven in-house lawyers appear. They include Robert Armitage, the General Counsel of Eli Lilly; Terri Chen, Chief Trademark Counsel at Google; Daniel Dougherty, Associate General Counsel and the top IP lawyer at eBay; Michael Fricklas, General Counsel of Viacom; Richard Lutton, Jr., Chief Patent Counsel at Apple; William Patrey, Senior Copyright Counsel at Google (and blogger); and Fred Von Lohmann, Senior Copyright Counsel at Google.

Quite amazingly for a trade journal aimed at lawyers, not a single law firm has a representative. Amidst judges, professors, and government agency leaders, it is a statement of the growing influence of legal departments to have such strong representation as leaders in their field. Lawyers at industry leading companies play central roles at the frontiers of intellectual property.