Two submission windows, one stretch of the calendar: whether your firm appears in IAM Patent 1000 and IP STARS is decided over the next few weeks.
For IP firms, the densest phase of the ranking year starts now. Two of the world’s most important IP directories close their submission windows this autumn: IAM Patent 1000 closes on Monday, 14 September 2026, and IP STARS, published by Managing IP, on 31 October 2026.
Both deadlines apply worldwide. Unlike Chambers or Legal 500, where dates differ by guide and jurisdiction, IAM Patent 1000 and IP STARS run a single global research cycle. Miss it and you wait a full year.
IAM PATENT 1000
Monday, 14 September 2026
Patent prosecution, transactions, litigation — 60+ jurisdictions. Access only via the invitation from your jurisdiction’s researcher.
IP STARS / MANAGING IP
31 October 2026
Eleven practice areas: patents and trade marks in both prosecution and disputes, plus copyright, design, IP transactions, life sciences and more.
31 October 2026 is a Saturday. IP STARS: “Any deadline that falls on a Saturday or Sunday is automatically extended to Monday.”
What is IAM Patent 1000?
IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals is the reference directory for patent work. According to IAM, the guide contains “detailed reviews of firms and individuals engaged in patent prosecution, transactions and patent litigation in over 60 jurisdictions” — assessments of firms and individuals across the three pillars of prosecution, transactions and litigation, in more than 60 jurisdictions.
The research is deliberately built on three legs. IAM puts it this way: “Firms participate in our research by providing written submissions and client contact details for reference purposes – and by making leading patent practice representatives available for interviews.” Filing a form is not enough. Firms provide a written submission, nominate clients as references, and make their leading practitioners available for interview. Submissions run through a dedicated secure tool: “IAM is using a proprietary survey tool to enable firms to upload their submissions securely.”
IAM states plainly what participation is worth: a better chance of appearing in the rankings at all, of being accurately positioned in the tables, of having more of your individuals selected by name, and of receiving a more detailed editorial write-up. That last point is routinely underrated — the narrative text about your firm is what clients actually read.
Unlike IP STARS, IAM publishes no definition text for each table. What can be evidenced is the split between the three areas and the qualification logic:
The three IAM tables — in IAM’s own words
| Prosecution | Filing and grant work. IAM runs a separate table wherever practitioners have specialised: “In those markets in which practitioners have narrowed the focus of their work, we have presented tables highlighting the leaders in the respective areas of prosecution, transactions and litigation.” |
| Transactions | Patent transactions — sale, licensing and monetisation. IAM frames the relevance as follows: “knowing how to obtain, enforce and monetise them has become mission critical for companies in all industries.” |
| Litigation | Patent disputes and enforcement. IAM names the role of firms explicitly as “acting to protect clients’ rights in the event of infringement”. |
| Firm criteria | “Firms qualify for a listing on the basis of their depth of expertise, market presence and the level of work on which they are typically engaged.” |
| Individual criteria | “Individuals qualify for a listing in the IAM Patent 1000 when they receive sufficient positive feedback from peers and clients with knowledge of their practice and the market within which they operate.” |
Source, IAM Patent 1000 methodology: https://www.iam-media.com/rankings/patent-1000/methodology
On the date. IAM’s research page still names “September 15” — but that sentence belongs to the fifteenth edition’s cycle. What governs is the invitation email for the 2027 cycle, which IAM has been sending since early August. Under the heading “Confirmations – IMPORTANT” it reads: “By way of reply to this email, please confirm your participation in the research and let us know that we can expect a submission by the September 14 deadline.” The deadline is therefore Monday, 14 September 2026.
One point is routinely underestimated: without an invitation you cannot even open the form. IAM sends the access link and password exclusively with that email, and firms submitting for several countries need a separate invitation, a separate login and a separate submission per country — against a single deadline. We set out why this is the real hurdle, and what to do if the invitation is missing, here: IAM Patent 1000 2027 is open: invitations are going out – submission deadline Monday, 14 September 2026.
What is IP STARS — and how does MIP relate to it?
IP STARS is the rankings directory published by Managing IP (MIP). The two names describe the same research: MIP is the publication, IP STARS the brand under which firms and individuals are ranked. It covers eleven practice areas — a notably broader field than IAM. MIP splits them by activity rather than by right: prosecution and disputes each apply to patents AND trade marks. Unlike IAM, MIP defines every area explicitly:
The IP STARS practice areas — definitions verbatim
| Prosecution (patent and trade mark) |
“protection/registration-related work including protection strategy and portfolio management advice and IP Office proceedings such as oppositions and appeals”. Work before regional offices such as the EPO counts explicitly; litigation support work may be taken into account. |
| Disputes (patent and trade mark) |
“all disputes and enforcement/infringement work”, regardless of whether the matter reached trial. Trade mark disputes may include unfair competition and anti-counterfeiting work, patent disputes may include SPC litigation. IP Office proceedings do NOT belong here (they count under prosecution); CJEU work does. |
| Copyright & related rights | “all copyright and related rights work, e.g. database right, performers’ right and broadcasting right”. The non-contentious part covers transactional and advisory work across publishing, entertainment and software; unregistered design right may count. |
| Design | “registered and unregistered design or industrial design work”. For US firms this category means design patent. |
| IP transactions | “work or advice concerning the sale or licensing of IP rights”, plus research collaboration agreements and technology transfer. Explicitly: “All IP-related transactions or agreements, regardless of monetary value, are considered.” |
| Life sciences IP | “all IP and related regulatory work in sectors such as life sciences and pharmaceutical” — typically patent term extension, market exclusivity, and Orange Book/Hatch-Waxman matters (US). |
| IP tax advice | “tax advice or work concerning intellectual property rights or intangible assets” — transfer pricing, restructuring, IP/Patent Box and R&D credits. |
| Domain name disputes | “all domain name work, including domain name disputes managed by national and international organisations”. |
| ITC litigation | “disputes and non-contentious IP work relating to the US International Trade Commission (ITC)” — US only. |
| PTAB litigation | “USPTO trial proceedings, particularly Inter Partes Review (IPR) work” — US only. |
| Intellectual property | “all the IP-related work done by a firm” — the catch-all table MIP uses in smaller jurisdictions instead of the individual areas. |
Source, IP STARS methodology and practice areas: https://www.ipstars.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Methodology-and-practice-areas/Index/4016
The timeline is published on the IP STARS website and has been stable for years:
IP STARS: the research cycle at a glance
| August | Announcement email to firms with the research details |
| 1 September | Submissions accepted, market interviews scheduled |
| 31 October | Deadline for the firm questionnaire and client referees |
| October – December | Research interviews |
| December – March | Client referee feedback, practitioner survey |
| From March | Rankings published |
Two details in that calendar decide outcomes in practice.
First, the weekend rule. IP STARS states: “Any deadline that falls on a Saturday or Sunday is automatically extended to Monday.” 31 October 2026 is a Saturday. We leave the conclusion to the rule itself — plan for 31 October in any case, because Managing IP places its entire schedule under an express annual reservation of change.
Second, the processing order. IP STARS explicitly handles punctual submissions first: “we’ll first process documents submitted on time, i.e. between September 1 and October 31.” A late submission is therefore not merely a formal slip — it moves to the back of the queue.
Why this matters for IP firms
IAM Patent 1000 and IP STARS are not alternatives to one another; they cover different halves of the IP market. IAM is patent territory exclusively, and goes deep there, with the distinction between prosecution, transactions and litigation that the market itself uses. IP STARS maps the full intellectual property spectrum, including trade marks, copyright, designs and IP transactions. A pure patent practice can concentrate on IAM. A full-service IP practice that also handles trade marks leaves the larger part of its visible surface unused if it stops at IAM.
Where the two directories differ
IAM Patent 1000 — patents only, in depth
- Patent — prosecution
- Patent transactions
- Patent litigation
IP STARS — the full IP spectrum
- Patent — disputes
- Patent prosecution
- Trade mark — disputes
- Trade mark — prosecution
- Copyright & related rights
- Design
- IP transactions
- Life sciences IP, IP tax advice, domain names and more
Then there is the referee mechanism. Both directories work with clients as referees, and both collect that feedback only after submission — at IP STARS between December and March. A firm that assembles its referees in the week before the deadline has no time left to brief them. In our experience, that is precisely where a solid submission either does or does not turn into a good ranking.
What to do now
The limiting factor is time, not the size of the forms. Six points decide how well a submission holds up:
What makes the difference in both submissions
| 1 | Review the matters first, open the form second. Go through the twelve months before the deadline and pick the most substantial matters. IAM names “the level of work on which they are typically engaged” expressly as a listing criterion. A weak submission in an additional area does more harm than good. |
| 2 | Approach client referees now, not shortly before the cut-off. In both rankings the referees are part of the submission. IP STARS collects their feedback between December and March — a firm that assembles them in the final week has no time left to tell them what it is about and when the request will arrive. |
| 3 | For IAM, secure the invitation before anything else. The access link and password arrive solely with the personal email from your jurisdiction’s researcher. If it is missing: check the spam folder, work out who might have received it, and write to the researcher directly. Firms submitting for several countries need a separate invitation, login and submission for each. |
| 4 | Confirm who is genuinely available for interview. At IAM the interview is part of the research, not an add-on: “by making leading patent practice representatives available for interviews”. Deciding who can speak only after the deadline forfeits the stage at which placements actually move. |
| 5 | Submit on time — the queue is not neutral. IP STARS processes punctual documents first: “we’ll first process documents submitted on time, i.e. between September 1 and October 31”. |
| 6 | Plan both submissions together, but do not copy across. In patent work the underlying material overlaps substantially; the formats and the way areas are cut do not. IP STARS sorts by activity (prosecution and disputes, each for patents and trade marks), IAM by the three patent pillars. |
Points 3 to 5 rest on the wording published by IAM and IP STARS; the others on our experience from running submissions.
Selection is the real work — not filling in the form.
What our Law Business clients in IP say
“Thanks to the expertise of Mr. Dillinger’s team, we made it into the IAM ranking — we can gladly recommend Law Business to any law firm.”
Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Gerd Hübscher, Managing Partner
Hübscher & Partner — one of the leading patent law firms in Austria
“We have now been ranked for the first time in both the Legal 500 and the IAM 1000! This is something that law firms only rarely achieve; as a rule, you have to submit at least two, if not three times to be included in a directory from zero.”
Jan Pieter Loock, Equity Partner
Kutzenberger Wolff & Partner
“During this collaboration, we were able to place in the Legal 500 and IAM Patent 1000 for the first time. […] For us, Law Business is the leading provider here.”
Jürgen Feldmeier, LL.M., Managing Partner
Prüfer & Partner mbB — around 60 staff, including 23 German and European patent attorneys
“Law Business included our law firm in the WTR 1000 ranking (World Trademark Review) for the first time. […] The team knows the subject matter and the market very well and is very well connected with the rankings.”
Dr. Tim Meyer-Dulheuer, Managing Partner
Dr. Meyer-Dulheuer & Partner — patent law firm in Frankfurt am Main
“I can highly recommend patent attorneys to work with Law Business for their work with rankings.”
Andreas Gehring, Equity Partner
Puchberger & Partner — top patent law firm in Austria, MIP national awards 2019 and 2020
“Law Business has helped us to rise in Chambers and to enter the Legal 500 for the first time. […] They always told us very clearly what information was needed for a successful submission.”
Dr. Friedrich Emmerling, Partner
Braun-Dullaeus Pannen Emmerling — boutique IP firm, clients include HUAWEI and HTC
“Highly recommended, we were able to quickly benefit from the comprehensive knowledge of the team in our submissions […] the team really knows the law firm industry very well.”
Daniel Hoppe, Partner
Bonabry — IP boutique with offices in Hamburg, Munich and Paris
All quotes verbatim from lawbusiness.de/en/clients; omissions marked with […].
Considering a submission to IAM Patent 1000 or IP STARS?
We handle ranking submissions end to end — from selecting the matters and coordinating referees to the finished submission, for the IP directories as well as for Chambers, Legal 500, IFLR1000 and JUVE.
- All ranking deadlines at a glance
- Directories & Rankings: our services
- Our article: IAM Patent 1000 2027 — invitations, access and the submission process in detail
- Our article: MIP IP STARS compared with Chambers & Co
- IAM Patent 1000: research page with submission forms
- IP STARS: research and publication timeline
- IP STARS: methodology and practice areas (definitions)
- IAM Patent 1000: methodology
As of 10 August 2026. Based on the research page at iam-media.com and the research timeline at ipstars.com, both retrieved verbatim on 10 August 2026. The IAM deadline of 14 September 2026 comes from the IAM Patent 1000 invitation email for the 2027 cycle (section “Confirmations – IMPORTANT”); the IAM research page still shows the previous edition’s status. IP STARS places its timeline under an express annual reservation of change. Before submitting, check against the primary source.