JUVE Comment

Known particularly for litigation in life sciences, the patent practice of this national full-service law firm is one of the main challengers to the French market leaders. Notable originators from the pharma and biotechnology sectors like Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celltrion regularly bank on the team in high-profile litigation. It is active for Ono Pharmaceutical, for instance, in a landmark lawsuit at the Supreme Court concerning SPCs.

Alongside a strong focus on life sciences, clients from a range of sectors spanning consumer goods, automotive and mechanical engineering ensure a steady flow of litigation work. By representing NPE WSOU in a dispute against ZTE, Gide also boasts experience in the telecoms sector, though competitors Allen & Overy and August Debouzy are much more strongly represented in this important field for patent litigation.

The team coped well with the loss of two renowned senior partners in early 2022 and is still one of the largest in the market. More visibly than other practices in full-service firms, Gide incorporates lawyers from other legal fields into patent litigation advice, for example the antitrust practice or arbitration experts.

Strengths

Representation of drugs manufacturers in pharmaceutical cases.

European set-up

Although Gide Loyrette Nouel has its own offices in London and Brussels, the firm only advises on IP from its Paris office. As one of the biggest teams in the market, however, the French patent practice has the headcount necessary for big UPC cases, even with the new court’s tight deadlines. The team also has many years of experience litigating in the French part of international patent proceedings. For these cases, it is trusted by numerous notable pharma companies like Sanofi, as well as medical device manufacturers like Meril and consumer goods manufacturers like Jacobs Douwe Egberts.

The patent practice frequently works in cooperation with IP boutiques and national full-service firms abroad such as De Brauw in the Netherlands or Arnold Ruess and Gleiss Lutz in Germany. Like other French full-service firms and IP boutiques, Gide has so far opted for non-exclusive contacts. For suits before the UPC, the firm will have to compete with internationally integrated firms to win over its clients.

Similarly to competitor Duclos Thorne Mollet-Viéville, Gide is holding fast to its set-up as a team consisting solely of lawyers. As previously pure patent attorney firms such as Lavoix and Plasseraud are increasingly adopting a mixed approach, the choice of potential cooperation partners with technical expertise is shrinking. Closer collaboration with patent attorney firms for the UPC could therefore be beneficial.

Recommended individuals

Jean-Hyacinthe de Mitry (“one of the best in the market”, competitor), Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier, Emmanuel Larere

Team

14 lawyers

Specialties

Strong focus on patent litigation, especially pharma, biotech and life sciences. Strategic advice on trade secrets, including seizures (saisie-contrefaçon).

Clients

Litigation: Agri Advanced Technologies (claimant) against Nectra over egg-hatching technology; Bristol-Myers Squibb (defendant) against Teva over SPC; Genmab (claimant) over SPC for daratumumab; Celltrion (claimant) against Biogen, Genentech and Hoffmann-La Roche over cancer drug; Meril (defendant) against Edwards Lifesciences over heart valves; Ono Pharmaceutical (claimant) against INPI on SPCs for immunotherapy treatments; ResMed (claimant) against Panthera over sleep and respiratory technologies (Court of Appeal); Seratec (claimant) against Orphalan over treatment of Wilson’s disease; Sanofi-Aventis (claimant) against Mylan over pen syringe for injecting a biosimilar of Lantus; Teoxane (defendant) against Filorga over hyaluronic-acid gel and know-how; Jacobs Douwe Egberts (claimant) against Belmoca over coffee capsules; U-Shin (claimant) against competitor Akwel over a car door opening device provided to PSA; WSOU (claimant) against ZTE over mobile communications.