JUVE Comment

With its impressive track record of cross-border patent litigation, this IP firm is holding its ground as one of the undisputed market leaders. Competitors are impressed by the large team of “very strong patent litigators” and their high profiles across international borders. The practice led by renowned litigator Sabine Agé is often seen in high-profile patent litigation in France, for instance for Bouygues Télécom and Orange against Intellectual Ventures – one of the largest FRAND battles in France today. Agé often litigates for regular client Philips, currently against Xiaomi and Thales.

Hoyng ROKH Monegier puts in a similarly strong performance in pharma and life sciences litigation, where the practice represents innovators such as Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Gilead as well as winning over new clients like Illumina. The firm litigated for the latter against Chinese competitor BGI/MGI in the dispute over DNA sequencing technology. As in this case, pharma manufacturers are increasingly entrusting the team with cases involving complex biotechnological methods such as CRISPR/Cas and biologica. This makes Hoyng ROKH Monegier one of the few firms in the French market to play in the top league in both of the key sectors for pan-European patent litigation. The firm also litigates for clients from a whole host of other sectors, including energy, electronics and automotive.

Following the dynamic development of recent years and the complete integration of the former Véron team, the team is not only impressive for its experienced litigators, but also for the younger lawyers who are coming into the spotlight and are highly praised by competitors. Two of these are Amandine Métier, who was particularly visible in the lawsuit against Intellectual Ventures, and Marta Mendes Moreira, who was in action for Ceva Santé Animale and Volvo. The generation change is underlined by the fact that veteran Denis Monégier du Sorbier recently stepped down from the partnership and now acts in an of counsel capacity.

Strengths

Cross-border litigation over pharma, electronics and telecoms patents.

European set-up

The international IP boutique Hoyng ROKH Monegier is at the top of the market in France, the Netherlands and Germany. Clients such as Gilead, Philips and Ceva frequently entrust it with patent litigation in all of these countries. This makes it currently the only IP boutique that can hold a candle to the large international practices of Allen & Overy, Bird & Bird and Hogan Lovells when it comes to cross-border work. Its wealth of experience in high-volume international cases puts Hoyng ROKH Monegier in an excellent position for litigation at the UPC. It has preeminent teams at the key venues of the new court: Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Munich and Paris. The technical expertise in the network mainly comes from the strong patent attorney team in Amsterdam, but the Paris practice also has the support of a patent attorney. Hoyng ROKH Monegier also operates established, albeit small teams in Brussels and Madrid. It is not represented in Italy or the UK, though it does have excellent connections to top London boutiques, with which it often joins forces for cases, e.g. Powell Gilbert for Philip Morris over e-cigarettes. If Milan wins the bid for the UPC division originally planned for London, it will make sense to open an office there in view of Hoyng ROKH Monegier’s strong representation of pharma companies.

Recommended individuals

Sabine Agé (“really good”, competitor), Amandine Métier (“she is a star, did a great job in the Intellectual Ventures case”, “very active” competitors), Benoît Strowel (“visible in global litigation”, competitor), Denis Monégier du Sorbier

Team

20 lawyers, 1 patent attorney

Specialties

Pan-European IP boutique focusing on patent infringement, proceedings and nullity suits. Also licences, R&D cooperations and transactions. Trademarks and unfair competition.

Clients

Litigation: Bouygues Telecom and Orange (both defendants) against Intellectual Ventures over SEPs for DSL; Philips (claimant) against Xiaomi and Thales over SEPs; Lenovo (defendant) against IPCom over SEPs for UMTS; Ceva Santé Animale (defendant) against Bayer over animal health drug BayCox Iron; Illumina (claimant) against BGI/MGI over DNA sequencing technology; Zimmer Biomet (defendant) against Heraeus over bone cement; Volvo Trucks (claimant) against Scania over fuel-saving technologies; Vorwerk (claimant) against Lidl over several patents for Thermomix; JC Bamford (claimant) against Manitou over excavators.