JUVE Comment

The mixed team of this well-positioned French IP boutique has earned a solid place among the national patent litigation firms. Loyer & Abello recently attracted attention with its litigation for SFR in one of France’s highest-stakes disputes over FRAND and SEPs. Guillaume Dubos was on the front lines in the dispute against Intellectual Ventures, strengthening his market profile. The young partner, whom competitors hail as “very responsive” and call a “talented young lawyer”, is increasingly taking the lead in proceedings alongside renowned senior name partner Michel Abello.

The firm has thus ushered in a generational change, which has given the team a boost – especially given the challenges posed by the UPC. This makes sense, not least because Abello has been named a technical judge at the UPC and could increasingly withdraw from active client work once the new court opens. Thanks to continuous recruitment of both patent attorneys and lawyers in recent years, the patent litigation practice now has the strength to cushion the peaks in workload expected from the UPC’s strict deadlines.

Besides notable clients from the telecoms sector (SFR) and pharma industry (ViiV Healthcare), companies from a wide array of industries trust in the dual expertise of Loyer & Abello. The firm also operates a prosecution practice which counts such industry giants as Alcatel and Nokia among long-time clients, although these have recently been turning to international competitors for their high-stakes litigation cases.

Strengths

Parallel litigation before national courts and in EPO oppositions. Mixed team with broad technical expertise.

European set-up

The litigation experience at civil courts as well as the EPO and its mixed set-up give the firm a solid foundation for the UPC. The team frequently brings this expertise into play in the French parts of cross-border litigation. A recent example is the work for Manitou, where the patent practice coordinated proceedings in several countries.

The independent French boutique maintains contacts with law firms in Germany and the UK. Furthermore, Loyer & Abello is part of a European law firm network with members in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. This network, which is geared towards UPC cooperation, will be represented in all countries with a local division in the future. The French firm thus has a strong international network, while retaining its independence. Just how durable these non-exclusive partnerships are will hinge on whether the example of Brinkhof-Vossius and EIP Amar catches on. Because if more and more firms enter into closer alliances, Loyer & Abello will be one of many IP boutiques competing for an increasingly small pool of potential partners.

Recommended individuals

Michel Abello, Guillaume Dubos (“good technical understanding”, competitor)

Team

6 lawyers, 5 patent attorneys, 1 dual qualified

Specialties

All-round advice and litigation in all IP matters.

Clients

Litigation: SFR (defendant) against Intellectual Ventures over SEPs for DSL; Manitou (defendant) against Bamford over excavators; Cayago (claimant) against Iaqua over seabobs; Citel (defendant) against Dehn over surge protection technology; Delta Med against O3P over dental technology; ViiV Healthcare (claimant) against Biogaran over SPC for HIV treatment; PackBenefit (claimant) against Cellulopack over biodegradable packaging (settled in 2022); Innovation Packaging/Pivaudran against Technicaps over packaging; Arka Ouest (claimant) against Visiolab over real estate software; telecommunications provider on employee invention rights. Prosecution: filing for Alcatel Submarine Networks, Culinaria Mundi, Dendrogenix, GazTransport Technigaz, Kerlink, Manitou, Minds Lab, Nokia, NopTrack (all public knowledge).