JUVE Comment

The French team of this international firm has an excellent name thanks to the strong reputation of litigation expert Thomas Bouvet. The team operates across a wide technical spectrum, mastering litigation in partnership with the German patent attorneys even without technical experts of their own. The practice welcomes a steady stream of new clients, most recently Belgian e-bike manufacturer Cowboy.

The French practice is even sought out for high-profile cases, such as the work for Infineon, and is involved in the French part of a multitude of international suits. These complex proceedings include those for Lufthansa and Schwind.

The firm boasts much experience for life sciences clients like Daiichi Sankyo. In addition, Thomas Bouvet is known for his special expertise on plant variety rights.

Strengths

Integrated patent litigation in Europe and the US. Litigation concerning SPCs and plant protection.

European set-up

As a globally integrated firm with a strong IP practice, Jones Day is well-equipped for international patent litigation and the UPC. The firm is experienced in a large number of technical sectors, pan-European life sciences lawsuits above all, and could be especially interesting for the clients of the strong US practice when it comes to UPC work.

But despite this good starting position, the firm has not conducted as much high-profile pan-European litigation in cross-border teams as competitors like Hogan Lovells in the past. The UPC launch now offers new opportunities for teamwork, although the firm has not litigated for any clients at the new court yet. The increasingly regular cooperation between the French lawyers and the patent attorneys in Germany as well as pan-European proceedings like those for Lufthansa and Schwind show how the firm could incorporate more joint litigation into work in the future.

Recommended individuals

Thomas Bouvet (“highly dedicated and professional”, client)

Team

4 lawyers

Specialties

All-round IP activity. Licensing contracts, transactions and strategic advice.

Clients

Litigation: Lufthansa Technik (claimant) against Astronics, Panasonic and Thales Avionics over aeroplane seats; Schwind (defendant) against Carl Zeiss over laser eye surgery; Infineon (defendant) against Intellectual Ventures over SEPs; Knauf Insulation (defendant) against Saint Gobain over devices used for building insulation; Daiichi Sankyo (claimant) against six generic drug companies on SPC for anti-cholesterol medication; Illinois Tool Works and Instron (claimant) against BIA over car-crash-test catapults; Terraillon (defendant) against Withings over connected scales; Terraillon (defendant) against Leifheit regarding scales; Cowboy (defendant) against Ebikelabs over adaptative power assistance; Cowboy (defendant) against MyStromer on battery alarm systems; ProGeLife SAS (claimant) against Satt AST, Inserm and the University of Bordeaux on licence agreement concerning biotechnology for treating skin diseases; Starfruit in complaint about revocation of community plant variety right at the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office.