“The co-head role will highlight the best of the UK and continental European systems.”
Dentons has appointed Milan-based partner Giovanni Casucci and London-based partner Campbell Forsyth as Co-Heads of the Europe Patent Litigation practice. In an interview with JUVE Patent, Casucci and Forsyth explain their joint strategy and what the new role means for the practice.
1 August 2019 by Amy Sandys
Giovanni Casucci joined Dentons in 2017 and is Head of the Intellectual Property and Technology practice in Italy in addition to his new role as co-head of the Patent Litigation practice. Casucci ran his own firm between 2005 and 2017 before joining Dentons.
JUVE: Mr Forsyth, you were recently promoted to global co-chair of Intellectual Property at Dentons. What is your strategy for the patent litigation practice?
Giovanni Casucci: The decision to focus on patent litigation specifically comes from an economic point of view and because of the complexity of competition and property rights. The idea is to offer a clear vision for our clients and to be a point of reference during complex litigation.
Campbell Forsyth: Having a single global organisation with expert and lean IP groups that talk to each other and understand more holistically our clients’ needs creates great synergies for our clients.
“The interplay between competition law and IP law is an area of growth”
Casucci: For example, Germany is one of the more interesting places for patent litigation, but our aim is to raise interest in other jurisdictions that can offer alternative advantages. France is attractive for the recovery of legal fees while Italy is providing ample opportunity for evidence collection, even cross border within the EU. The idea is to represent all of Europe to formulate a clear strategy for clients in multi-jurisdiction cases, and to coordinate in a more efficient way.
You mentioned the interplay between competition law and IP law. What impact will that have on your practice?
Campbell Forsyth
Forsyth: Competition in patent litigation and other areas of IP is a hot topic. We can work with the firm’s antitrust teams on a cross-border basis dealing with the interplay of national IP rights and competition law to help our clients understand the sensitives involved in such cases. We see this as an area of growth.
Casucci: The balance of interests between the IP owner and the antitrust authorities is central to modern patent litigation for any jurisdiction in Europe. It is the real way to consider any strategy.
What kind of role do you want to play in the European patent market?
Casucci: We have a real opportunity to offer an optimised way to consider patent litigation. The co-head role for European patent litigation promotes more efficiency and allows us to offer a combined strategic point of view. It will highlight the best of the UK and continental European systems. We can decide what we advise clients to get the most credible and efficient strategic presentation of the cases.
Forsyth: The UK courts are aware of the differing systems for IP litigation in continental Europe and are trying to be more proportionate and reduce costs where possible. They are paying close attention to what is going on in the European Courts and at the EPO.
“Dentons is a disruptive firm”
How will the two of you work together in this shared role?
Forsyth: Dentons is very much a disruptive firm. It is growing rapidly which means it is increasingly important to ensure we have these kinds of roles to solidify the strategy and help guide the expanding national teams.
Casucci: We will use our individual experiences together to cooperate and plan initiatives. We will litigate in our own jurisdictions and use this to guide our local patent teams to create a common understanding.
Forsyth: It is incumbent on the individual to be collegiate and understand the common goal. We each have our own day jobs, but our clients require more than just that. Dentons understands this and puts the time, effort and money behind roles like this to ensure we can be the best we can be.
What is your plan for the future of the practice?
Forsyth: To continue to grow the strength and the quality of our people to support and provide our clients with leading cross-border IP teams with a focus on locations where they are most required.
“There is an opportunity to collaborate with other practices”
How do you want to grow the practice?
Forsyth: Collaborating closely within our patent litigation teams across Europe and in turn delivering more added value to our clients. We also see opportunities to collaborate with other practice groups – such as competition and antitrust – to deliver more complex solutions.
Casucci: At the same time, we will provide our current and prospective clients with a new way of considering patent litigation strategies. We want an approach based on successful cases and combine all of the available procedural tools, frequently misunderstood or underestimated.
This interview was conducted by Angharad Carrick and Amy Sandys.
