JUVE Comment

The well-positioned IP team of this full-service firm is characterised by a broad set-up and frequently conducts patent litigation for companies from such varied industries as medical engineering, construction and automotive. The firm litigated for Maec, a subsidiary of Cahors Group, as co-defendant in the dispute between Quadlogic and Enedis over smart meter technology.

International companies such as Tyron Runflat, a UK supplier of flat tyre protection, have also put their trust in Francine Le Péchon-Joubert’s team for patent disputes before the French courts. But the De Gaulle Fleurance team does not have the international pull of similarly-positioned IP practices from national full-service firms such as Duclos Thorne Mollet-Viéville or Gide. In addition to patent litigation, all-round IP advice accounts for much work, frequently on the interface with commercial, corporate and IT. This expertise is mostly drawn on by French SMEs from the life sciences sector, for instance in licensing negotiations, matters of employee invention law or joint ventures with larger US pharma and biotech companies.

European strategy

The independent national firm has an informal network with various firms, some of which are highly-renowned in patents. In Europe, this is mainly in the key patent locations of Germany, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands, and overseas in the USA and South Korea. De Gaulle Fleurance has a small Brussels office, which mainly advises on corporate and unfair competition/antitrust, but does not have its own IP team. The firm therefore works with specialised IP firms in Belgium for cross-border patent issues.

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Francine Le Péchon-Joubert

Team

5 partners, 7 associates

Specialties

IP practice within a full-service firm with a broad setup. Patent litigation, employee invention rights, FTO and trade secrets as well as IP advice on transactions.

Clients

Litigation: Maec/Cahors Group (co-defendant) against Quadlogic over smart energy technology; Tyron Runflat (defendant) against Hutchinson over automotive wheels; Japanese manufacturer of special glass (defendant) against pharmaceutical company and contact lense manufacturer over eye surgery; producer of non-invasive diagnostics solutions (claimant) against Chinese competitor over device for liver diagnostics. Advice: licensing and contracts for Cenexis, Genoway, Silmach, SQY Therapeutics.