Our firm celebrates more than 140 years of patent and trademark specialization. The history of the Firm began in 1879, when Charles P. Jacobs became one of the first attorneys in Indianapolis to specialize in patent, trademark, and copyright law. Mr. Jacobs built a reputation as the leading patent attorney in Indiana and argued a number of cases before the United States Supreme Court. An avid astronomer, his house was constructed with a private observatory and mounted telescope where he would often entertain friends. Mr. Jacobs was also active as a lecturer, inventor, lyricist and composer, in addition to teaching law at various Indiana law schools.

Harold “Hal” R. Woodard joined the Firm in 1946. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Woodard succeeded Ralph Lockwood as senior partner in 1957. In addition to serving as president of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, he became the first patent lawyer from Indiana to be inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was named as one of three “Giants of the U.S. trademark Bar” by the Trademark Reporter, the official journal of the International Trademark Association. The President of the United States honored this milestone. Hal was also an adjunct professor of intellectual property law at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law for thirty-two years and has an endowed professorship named in his honor. Known for his energy and enthusiasm, Mr. Woodard continued to keep a busy work schedule up until his passing in 2003 at the age of 91.

Jack V. Moriarty came to the firm in 1969, with John C. McNett joining shortly thereafter in 1970. As new technologies were created, especially in the medical field and computer software, the need for intellectual property grew. Thomas Q. Henry joined the firm in 1975, Charles R. Reeves in 1976 and Vincent O. Wagner in 1978. Over the next thirty years, the Firm experienced tremendous growth handling almost 7,000 trademarks including Gatorade, Garfield the Cat and the International Olympic Committee and more than 9,000 patents and patent applications. It has a rich history of successful IP litigation. The firm’s clients have included Eli Lilly & Company, Knauf Insulation, Roche Diagnostics, COOK Group Inc., Allison, Zimmer/Biomet, Indiana University, Purdue University, The University of Illinois, the University of Florida, The Heritage Group, and Springfield Armory.