What IP Stars does

IP STARS is an online research and ranking platform operated by Legal Benchmarking Group, a privately held UK company. Founded in 1990 under the Managing IP brand as the World IP Survey and rebranded to IP STARS in 2013, the platform assesses and ranks IP law firms and individual practitioners across more than 70 jurisdictions spanning the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA regions. Core products include jurisdiction-specific rankings across patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, and IP transactions; the annual Managing IP Awards programme; and curated recognition lists such as Corporate IP Stars, Rising Stars, Top 250 Women in IP, and Firms Founded By Women.

The platform is supported by a content operation that includes news articles, webinars, podcasts, and analysis of IP law developments. The website hosts more than 2,000 content pages with searchable firm and practitioner profiles, and distribution is primarily digital via ipstars.com and managingip.com, supplemented by LinkedIn, Twitter/X, monthly newsletters, and the annual awards ceremony.

IP STARS monetizes through subscription-based access to Managing IP+ premium content, including historical rankings data and handbook access, supplemented by advertising options for ranked and unranked firms. Primary customer segments are corporate clients seeking IP legal counsel, IP law firms pursuing credibility and visibility, and individual practitioners seeking professional recognition. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Name

IP Stars

Legal name

Legal Benchmarking Group

Website

https://ipstars.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IP STARS, operated by Legal Benchmarking Group, is an online research and ranking platform assessing IP law firms and practitioners across 70+ jurisdictions globally, monetizing via Managing IP+ subscriptions, advertising, and an annual awards programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Rankings and Directories

NAICS

Information (51), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

akta.pro primary industry

IP & Patent Information Publishing (Patent/Litigation Analytics, Prior Art) (MPAJACAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Intellectual Property (IP) Law (BPAHAAAF)

Keywords

• IP law firm rankings
• Legal benchmarking platform
• Patent attorney directory
• Trademark practitioner guide
• Intellectual property rankings

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Research Rankings and Subscriptions: IP STARS provides rankings and editorial content to subscribers. The platform offers Managing IP+ subscriptions for accessing rankings data, historical data, and the handbook.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IP STARS is an online research and ranking platform operated by Legal Benchmarking Group that assesses and ranks IP law firms and individual practitioners across 70+ jurisdictions globally. The platform provides searchable rankings, firm and practitioner profiles, special recognition lists, the Managing IP Awards programme, and editorial content (news, webinars, podcasts) covering patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, and IP transactions. Subscriptions via Managing IP+ grant access to rankings data and historical research.

Product overview

IP STARS is a specialist guide providing assessments and rankings of IP law firms and practitioners globally. The platform offers jurisdiction-specific rankings across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA regions, along with special recognition lists including Corporate IP Stars, Rising Stars, Top 250 Women in IP, and Firms Founded By Women. The service is complemented by the Managing IP Awards programme and educational content through webinars and podcasts, covering both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Managing IP: Parent brand covering IP law publications and awards

Products and services

• IP STARS Rankings Specialist guide that assesses and ranks IP law firms and individual practitioners across contentious and non-contentious intellectual property practice areas in 70+ jurisdictions worldwide.
• Managing IP Awards

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Law360: Law360 provides in-depth legal news and analysis including dedicated IP coverage, reaching a similar in-house and law firm audience. It overlaps with IP STARS' editorial content function while serving as a more general legal news source.

Direct peers

• Martindale-Hubbell: Martindale-Hubbell maintains one of the oldest law firm and lawyer directories with peer-review ratings and a legal search platform. It overlaps with IP STARS in providing IP practitioner discovery and recognition, though with a broader general-practice focus.
• Super Lawyers: Super Lawyers is a rating service that recognises outstanding lawyers across more than 70 practice areas, including intellectual property. Its patented selection methodology and directory listings compete for the same firm recognition and client referral budgets as IP STARS.
• The Legal 500: The Legal 500 publishes annual law firm rankings and editorial research across practice areas including intellectual property, with comparable subscription research, rankings methodology, and law firm client base.
• IAM (Intellectual Asset Management): IAM is a specialist publication focused on IP value creation, patent licensing, and transactions, with practitioner rankings and industry awards. It overlaps with IP STARS in the IP transactions and patent practitioner ranking segments.
• Best Lawyers: Best Lawyers is a long-established peer-review based lawyer ranking service with a global directory and U.S./international editions. It competes with IP STARS for law firm recognition spend and corporate IP counsel awareness.
• Chambers and Partners: Chambers and Partners is the dominant global legal ranking and research firm, producing Chambers Global, Chambers USA, and other lawyer/firm rankings. It competes directly with IP STARS in the IP practice area rankings and shares the same subscription research business model.
• World Trademark Review (WTR): WTR is an IP-specific legal publication covering trademark practice with rankings, analysis, and awards. It directly overlaps with IP STARS' trademark rankings and serves the same in-house trademark counsel and law firm audience.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Law: Bloomberg Law is a comprehensive legal research and intelligence platform with news, dockets, and practitioner directories that includes coverage of IP law firms. It is a broader incumbent that competes for corporate IP counsel's information budget rather than as a specialist ranking.
• LexisNexis Legal & Professional: LexisNexis is a major legal information provider with practitioner directories, news, and IP-related content. It competes with IP STARS as a broader platform that touches corporate IP counsel workflows, though without the specialist ranking depth.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/IP_STARS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ip-stars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 IP Stars