Litigation: Lawyers – France 2021

JUVE Comment

The patent practice of this national full-service firm is an undisputed market leader in France when it comes to patent disputes before the civil courts. The team impresses clients and competitors alike with its many dual-qualified lawyers and often conducts high-stakes EPO proceedings for its clients. An example is its representation of Italian mechanical engineering company Sibo in a seizure and proceedings on the interface with trade secrets, as well as at the EPO.

JUVE Comment

The IP team at this international full-service firm is a challenger to the market leaders and best known for representing originators in major pharma disputes. For the French proceedings in pan-European cases, international heavyweights from the life sciences sector such as Bayer and MSD rely on the team led by Laëtitia Bénard, which often works with Allen & Overy’s team in the UK and Germany. For regular client MSD, the firm succeeded in keeping generics of cholesterol-lowering drug Inegy from entering the French market until the SPC expir...

JUVE Comment

This international technology-focused law firm is a challenger to the market leaders in France and handles patent infringement proceedings for a global client base. Bird & Bird stands out from most competitors for its high proportion of pan-European patent disputes. The Paris team has an advantage in that IP team represent Bird & Bird in all European countries.

JUVE Comment

The large IP team of this French full-service firm is a challenger to market leaders. Thierry Mollet-Viéville and Thomas Cuche have had excellent names for representing notable companies in high-profile patent disputes for many years. The other three partners, on the other hand, are not yet on the market’s radar.

JUVE Comment

The patent team of this national full-service firm is one of the challengers to the French market leaders in patent litigation. The large IP team is especially visible in life sciences litigation. With suits for Celltrion or Sanofi-Aventis, Gide plays a central role in pan-European patent cases – even without a formal international IP network. The team has much experience when it comes to SPC proceedings.

JUVE Comment

The French team of this internationally well-positioned patent litigation practice is a challenger to the market leaders. Over the past year, the young team led by up-and-coming partner Stanislas Roux-Vaillard has won the market’s acclaim. Its success for Eli Lilly, a regular client across the whole firm, in two damages cases against generics manufacturers was among the most widely observed pharma decisions of the past year.

JUVE Comment

The well-positioned French team of this US firm is best known for its deep roots among clients from the life sciences and pharma sector. The firm litigated for Santen in a precedent issue involving SPCs at the CJEU. Although the proceedings did not end in the client’s favour, the case underlines the vast SPC experience of Thomas Bouvet’s team.

JUVE Comment

This well-positioned French boutique around French lawyer and UK-qualified solicitor Denis Schertenleib is bearing on the French market leaders in its pharma and telecommunication cases. Schertenleib stands out from its competitors in that it has recently expanded its client relationships in a dynamic way. In doing so, the firm has enhanced its presence in numerous high-profile cases against the French market leaders. The Paris boutique enjoys an excellent reputation for its litigation for generics companies. Regular clients include Mylan and S...

JUVE Comment

This national IP boutique is well-positioned in patent litigation, with an international client base. Renowned companies from a range of technical fields, such as Merck Millipore from the life sciences sector or Wiko from telecommunications, have banked on the team around Catherine Mateu and Stéphane Guerlain for years. It is not unusual to see the IP boutique in cross-border proceedings. It litigated for Estar Medical against Regeneron – proceedings were also conducted in the UK and USA at the same time.

JUVE Comment

This well-positioned patent team is making a charge on the French market with major SEP suits. Julien Fréneaux is omnipresent in SEP proceedings with his litigation for NPEs Intellectual Ventures and IPCom. The suit for Intellectual Ventures is still among the largest ongoing SEP and FRAND cases in France. The firm is also representing IPCom on legally important SEP issues in France.

JUVE Comment

With its mix of litigators and patent attorneys, this IP boutique has carved out a sound position in the French market. The two name partners, lawyer Arnaud Casalonga and patent attorney Axel Casalonga, were among the first in France to put the mixed approach consistently into practice. Close cooperation between the two professional groups is thus more deeply rooted in Casalonga’s philosophy than in almost any other firm. Both litigators and patent attorneys enjoy strong reputations independently from one another. Casalonga generally positions ...

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing

JUVE Comment

Litigation for originators in pan-European patent disputes forms the basis for this international firm’s solid reputation. The well-positioned Paris IP team around Pauline Debré frequently represents such notable pharma companies as Sanofi or GSK and its joint venture ViiV in the French proceedings of international pharma disputes. Cooperation with the UK and German Linklaters teams is strong here. A counsel dual-qualified as a patent attorney and lawyer came to bolster the practice from Plasseraud at the beginning of 2020. She complements the ...

JUVE Comment

This small IP boutique pursues a partner-centric approach with a strong position in the market, mainly in patent litigation. Most recently, however, it has built up a practice in ongoing advice, for instance on licensing agreements and inventors’ rights, especially in the biotechnology sector. The list of often long-standing clients includes companies from the auto, aviation and life sciences sectors, which the firm frequently advises in patent disputes. Among these are SMEs, as well as corporations like Thales. The firm litigated for the latte...

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.

JUVE Comment

This well-positioned IP boutique led by litigator Emmanuel de Marcellus conducts patent infringement proceedings in a wide array of technical fields. Both SMEs and the French branches of international companies and start-ups frequently call on the small outfit. The sheer number of proceedings and the firm’s broad sector expertise thus lend it a strong market visibility. But its small size is also limiting. The firm has not appeared in the recent high-profile pharma and telecoms battles. In addition to litigation, life sciences clients frequentl...

JUVE Comment

Lavoix is one of the large mixed teams in France, making it well-positioned for all-round work in patent disputes before the French courts and EPO. Litigators and patent attorneys often advise international core clients on a broad spectrum of technologies. With this mixed approach, the firm has taken the same path as Casalonga, but has yet to achieve the same profound synergies between the two professional groups.

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing

JUVE Comment

The Paris IP team of this international full-service firm enjoys a sound market position where it brings its pronounced sector focus into play. In the auto sector, Emmanuel Gougé’s team represented a South African manufacturer of steel wheels, Global Wheel, in a patent dispute against Hutchinson concerning inflation technology. The firm’s contacts in the energy sector are similarly well-established.

JUVE Comment

This well-positioned, small IP boutique primarily advises and litigates for clients from the life sciences, mechanics and electronics sectors in patent disputes. Recent months have seen the firm sharpen its profile in pharma litigation. The defence work for Hoffmann-La Roche in the French part of the pan-European patent dispute against Celltrion over a biosimilar showed the IP boutique’s good position in complex pharma proceedings, despite its relatively small size. Like similarly positioned competitor Cousin & Associés, Szleper Henry nurtures ...