Litigation: Lawyers – France 2020

JUVE Comment

A&O’s IP practice is among the market leaders for patent litigation in France. The team around Laëtitia Bénard and David Por is most established in the major pharma disputes in Paris, exclusively on the side of originator manufacturers, like all of A&O’s European patents teams. Examples include the pan-European litigation for pharma manufacturer Bayer against Ceva over a veterinary drug, where the French patents team worked closely with the German and Dutch patent litigators. This is also a good example of the firm’s strong cross-border...

JUVE Comment

The IP practice of this national full-service firm is among the market leaders in patent litigation. AD boasts a large number of dual-qualified lawyers, allowing it to handle both French proceedings and the associated EPO proceedings for its clients. This effective strategy as a one-stop shop combined with in-depth technical understanding are what impress clients. Like competitor Hoyng ROKH Monegier Véron, this is one of the few teams with an impressive track record in high-stakes cases, such as Peugeot Citroen Automobiles against NPE Papst Lic...

JUVE Comment

This international technology law firm is a challenger to the market leaders in France and handles patent infringement proceedings for a global client base. In virtually all cases the patent litigators work with at least two other European B&B offices. They act in a coordinating capacity in the complex dispute for Alstom against Bombardier, where proving patent infringement is becoming increasingly complicated due to company acquisitions and licensing agreements. In many other cases, however, this co-ordinating role is played by the German ...

JUVE Comment

This small, full-service firm has a large IP team with a strong reputation which is a challenger to the market leaders. Patent litigation is the traditional cornerstone of the practice, where name partnerMollet-Viéville and the younger Thomas Cuche draw attention for their work in high-profile disputes and are praised for their strategic advice. The renowned team is active in all technical fields. Besides a strong focus on patent litigation, Cuche has carved out a good name for advice on trade secrets. DTMV is frequently seen in high-stakes, co...

JUVE Comment

This national full-service firm is one of the main challengers to the French market leaders in patent litigation. The renowned partner-centric team has an exceptional reputation for litigating pharma cases, the domain of Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier and Jean-Hyacinthe de Mitry. Notable pharma companies – both originators and generics manufacturers – bank on the team. For example, Gide litigated for Sanofi in a patent infringement claim against Mylan concerning a biosimilar of the drug Lantus. The Paris team played a key role in the pan-European di...

JUVE Comment

By building up the team around up-and-coming partner Stanislas Roux-Vaillard the firm has taken a crucial step towards adequately representing its major international client base at French courts as well. HL has thus become a challenger to the market leaders. The team works closely with German, Dutch and British colleagues, who are among the top players in their countries. The work of the French practice has earned it a strong reputation in recent years. Litigation for regular clients Eli Lilly and HTC were among the recent highlights. Hogan Lo...

JUVE Comment

The patent litigation team of this US firm frequently litigates for its clients in all technical fields and is particularly well known for expertise in the life sciences and pharma sectors. In these fields, the firm has been battling in France’s highest profile cases of the year in agriculture over Pink Lady apples before the General Court of the European Union. The Paris office has stepped up litigation work for US, German and UK clients significantly of late; it was previously best known for soft IP and contracts advice. With the arrival of t...

JUVE Comment

This young boutique around French lawyer and British solicitor Denis Schertenleib has established itself impressively in the market. It is relatively small compared to direct competitors, but has been able to take on the role as dynamic challenger to established firms. The practice is mainly visible in the major international cases, for instance frequently litigating for regular clients from the pharma sector like Mylan and Amgen, when their important proceedings are also instituted in France. Over the past nine years,Schertenleib has mainly bu...

JUVE Comment

This traditional French IP boutique is well positioned in the Paris market for patent litigation. SMEs and large corporates alike trust in the small team, especially clients from the life sciences and telecommunications sectors. The firm litigated for Quadlogic in the patent dispute against the French energy provider Enedis over smart electronic meters. The proceedings currently pending at the Court of Appeal concern a technology deployed globally. As this will grow in importance, particularly in the current debate on reducing carbon emissions,...

JUVE Comment

The patent litigation team around Julien Fréneaux is well positioned in France and best known for its vast experience litigating for NPEs. The team is living up to this impression this year, with litigation for Intellectual Ventures in the suit against the French telecom giants, including Bouygues Telecom, SFR, Orange and numerous suppliers. This is currently the most extensive battle over telecommunications patents in Paris and a typical example of cooperation with the German team. The team also litigated for NPE IPCom in proceedings against L...

JUVE Comment

This well-positioned and highly traditional IP boutique is a pioneer when it comes to patent attorneys and litigators working together in the French patent scene. The team around the two name partners, lawyer Arnaud Casalonga and patent attorney Axel Casalonga, was one of the first in France to strategically follow a mixed approach. Even before the legislator permitted mixed firms, the two professional groups worked together in separate units. Accordingly, close cooperation is deeply rooted in the firm’s DNA today. Even independently of each ot...

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing

JUVE Comment

The IP practice of this large international firm is especially well positioned for patent litigation in pharma, where Pauline Debré’s team is frequently active in the French proceedings of pan-European patent disputes on the side of originator manufacturers. Linklaters also advises and litigates for a host of notable national and international clients from other sectors, including transport and consumer goods, the industrial sector and computers. This work is less well known in the market, however. In addition to Seoul Semiconductors, which Lin...

JUVE Comment

This small, partner-centric IP boutique is well positioned in the French patent litigation market. It maintains long-standing connections to midsized and large companies from the automobile, aviation, pharma, chemicals and biotech sectors. Besides a broad client base of French companies, the firm also boasts good contacts among German clients who it litigates for in the French part of pan-European patent disputes. One example is an international group and its German subsidiary specialising in industrial adhesives against a French competitor ove...

JUVE Comment

The well-positioned IP team of this full-service firm follows a project-based advisory approach on the interface with commercial, IT and corporate. Notable national and international corporates bank on DGF, for instance for advice on licenses during deals. The firm has its core clients among French SMEs from the life sciences, automotive and energy sectors, as well as packaging and consumer goods. Francine Le Péchon-Joubert’s team is now seen alongside renowned competitors like August Debouzy or Duclos Thorne Molle-Vieville in patent disputes, ...

JUVE Comment

Nine years after opening its doors, this small and well-positioned IP boutique has a solid place among the patent litigation teams. The firm litigates for many French startups with a strong research branch, as well as midsized companies and also major international corporates with French roots. Emmanuel de Marcellus boasts experience from both major international firms and boutiques, in particular Monegiér (predecessor of Hoyng ROKH Monégier Véron). Compared to competitors like the boutique Schertenleib, the team at this four-strong IP boutique...

JUVE Comment

The well-positioned patent litigation team of this international full-service firm attracts far less attention in the French market than similar international outfits like Hogan Lovells or Allen & Overy. After the departure of its probably best-known patent litigator, Marianne Schaffner in 2018, the firm’s visibility has decreased. It is well known in the market that Dentons works for prominent clients such as Apple in high-profile patent litigation before the French courts, but the firm is as a whole still not particularly prominent in Fra...

JUVE Comment

A large, well-positioned French firm made up of litigators and patent attorneys. Lavoix nurtures close connections to regular clients who are mostly advised on all IP matters by a team of experts from all technical fields. The very large client base gives the firm a diversity independent from individual instructions. Lavoix is among the top firms for patent filing along with competitors Plasseraud, Regimbeau and Santerelli. The team also provides patent litigation for midsized companies and major corporates from a range of sectors. But it is le...

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing

JUVE Comment

Like few other firms, Pinsent Masons follows a pronounced sector focus in across all advisory fields and international offices. The work of the well-positioned Paris IP team in patent litigation and licensing thus largely focuses on clients from pharma and life sciences as well as technology, especially in the automotive and aviation sectors. The firm relies heavily on its international network, especially the patents practices in the UK and Germany, with whom the team conducts pan-European proceedings like those for Accord and Teva. But the pr...

JUVE Comment

This small IP boutique is well positioned in the French patent litigation market and primarily advises and litigates for clients from the pharma, mechanics and electronics sectors in patent disputes. The team is praised by clients and competitors alike, especially for its “efficiency and high skill”. In addition to national work, activity focuses on advice to German clients in patent disputes in France. Like Cousin & Associés, Szleper Henry nurtures long-standing contacts in Germany, including some notable companies. For Herrenknecht, a German ...