What Merchant & Gould does

Merchant & Gould P.C. is a full-service intellectual property law firm founded in 1900 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that has practiced exclusively in IP law for 125+ years. The firm operates eight U.S. offices (Minneapolis HQ, Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Knoxville, Los Angeles, New York, and the Washington D.C. area) and is organized into 15 practice groups spanning patent prosecution (electrical, software, mechanical, chemical/life sciences, design), litigation (patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, brand protection), trademark registration and portfolio management, ITC Section 337 investigations, Hatch-Waxman Act litigation, appellate advocacy, licensing/technology transactions, and IP due diligence for M&A. The firm employs nearly 100 attorneys and technical experts—many with PhDs and prior USPTO or federal-clerk experience—supported by ~180 total staff, a 60,000+-record trademark database, and infrastructure clearing 20,000+ docket dates annually.

The firm's customer base spans Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies (notably in pharmaceuticals, electronics/semiconductors, automotive, software, and food processing), generic pharmaceutical manufacturers requiring ANDA and Paragraph IV strategy, emerging companies and startups, universities, venture capitalists performing IP due diligence, and individual inventors. Revenue is generated through professional-services billing on litigation, prosecution, licensing, and IP due diligence engagements; the firm reports involvement in over $40 billion of M&A transactions since 2011. Its go-to-market is relationship-based enterprise field sales anchored on the 125-year brand, the IP Case Updates Blog (ipcaseupdates.com), professional rankings (Best Lawyers, IP Stars, Super Lawyers), CLE seminars, and referrals through legal/industry networks. The firm actively markets a Midwestern rate structure as a cost alternative to coastal full-service competitors.

Merchant & Gould is a private professional corporation without institutional investors, headed by Managing Director Heather J. Kliebenstein (the firm's first female Managing Director, appointed March 2023) and Chairman/CEO Christopher J. Leonard, with practice-group leadership across litigation (Rachel Zimmerman Scobie, Jeffrey D. Blake), ITC Section 337 (Joshua A. Hartman), pharmaceuticals (Christopher J. Sorenson), design patent/trade dress (Robert S. Sykes, James P. Rieke), and the Los Angeles office (Morgan E. Pietz). International work is delivered via coordination with partner law firms abroad rather than through foreign offices. Recent strategic activity has centered on geographic and practice-group expansion: ITC Section 337 practice launch (December 2021), DC office attorney buildout (April 2024), Los Angeles office launch (October 2025), and Boston office opening (January 2026).

Name

Merchant & Gould

Legal name

Merchant & Gould P.C.

Website

https://merchantgould.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1900

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Merchant & Gould P.C. is a Minneapolis-headquartered intellectual property law firm founded in 1900 with eight U.S. offices, serving Fortune 500 companies, generic pharmaceutical manufacturers, startups, universities, and individual inventors across patent prosecution, litigation, trademark, and IP due diligence engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intellectual Property Law Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Patent Prosecution & Portfolio Management (BPAHAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Copyright Services & Content Protection (BPAHAMAC), Corporate & Commercial Law (BPAHAAAA)

Keywords

• Intellectual property law
• Patent prosecution
• IP litigation services
• Trademark registration
• Trade secret protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Litigation: Trial attorneys handling patent, trademark, copyright infringement, brand protection, trade secret misappropriation, and contract disputes. Includes Hatch-Waxman Act litigation and Section 337 ITC investigations.
2. Legal Services - Patent Prosecution: Preparing and prosecuting domestic and international patent applications across all technical disciplines.
3. Legal Services - Trademark: Trademark registration, maintenance, enforcement, and portfolio management. Consistently ranked as top filer with USPTO.
4. Legal Services - Licensing & Transactions: Technology transactions including patent, trademark, copyright licensing, IP monetization, and M&A due diligence.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Merchant & Gould is a full-service intellectual property law firm providing litigation, patent prosecution, trademark registration and enforcement, copyright, trade secret, licensing, IP due diligence, ITC Section 337, appellate, and post-grant services through 15 specialized practice groups. The firm represents Fortune 100 companies, start-ups, universities, venture capitalists, and individual inventors across industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, software, semiconductors, automotive, and consumer products.

Product overview

Merchant & Gould is a full-service intellectual property law firm founded in 1900, offering a comprehensive suite of IP legal services through 15 distinct practice groups. The firm operates as a unified platform combining litigation (patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret), prosecution (mechanical, electrical/software, chemical/life sciences, design patents), and specialized services (ITC Section 337 investigations, appellate advocacy, licensing, IP due diligence for M&A). The firm maintains 8 offices across the United States (Minneapolis, Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Knoxville, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. Area) and serves clients ranging from individual inventors to Fortune 500 companies. The practice is organized by both legal discipline and industry sector (pharmaceuticals, food/beverage, medical devices), with supporting resources including the IP Case Updates blog and international coordination capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Litigation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $40 billion in M&A transactions supported since 2011
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Oblon: IP-focused firm with strong patent prosecution and litigation practices serving Fortune 500 clients. Competes head-to-head for electrical/software and mechanical patent prosecution work.
• Wolf Greenfield: Boston-based IP boutique specializing in electrical, software, and life sciences patent prosecution and litigation. Directly comparable in practice mix and increasingly relevant as Merchant & Gould opens a Boston office.
• Faegre Drinker: Full-service firm with a significant IP litigation and prosecution practice, including strong life sciences capabilities. Particularly relevant peer given comparable Midwestern roots and enterprise client base.
• Banner Witcoff: IP boutique specializing in patent prosecution, litigation, and licensing with a strong electrical engineering focus. Competes for similar enterprise clients in the patent prosecution market.
• Knobbe Martens: Leading IP boutique with deep technical bench across mechanical, electrical, and life sciences patent prosecution and litigation. Comparable in practice mix and client base, particularly among tech and medical device companies.
• Fish & Richardson: Largest U.S. IP boutique with comparable full-service IP coverage (patent prosecution, litigation, licensing). Directly competes for the same Fortune 500 IP mandates and is widely viewed as the benchmark boutique Merchant & Gould is measured against.
• Harness Dickey: IP-focused firm with deep patent prosecution and litigation capabilities, particularly in electrical and mechanical technologies. Comparable in size and practice breadth.
• Finnegan: Premier IP boutique specializing in patent litigation, prosecution, and post-grant proceedings. Directly competes in Hatch-Waxman, ITC Section 337, and Federal Circuit appellate work, overlapping with Merchant & Gould's highest-margin practices.
• McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff: Midwest-based IP boutique with strong patent prosecution and litigation practices serving tech and life sciences clients. Direct competitor in the regional Midwestern IP market.

Broad incumbents

• Foley & Lardner: Large general-practice firm with one of the deepest IP practices among AmLaw firms. Competes for the same enterprise IP litigation and prosecution work but offers a wider portfolio of non-IP legal services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/merchantgould
• Facebookfacebook.com/merchantgouldpc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/merchantgould

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merchant & Gould