Taylor Wessing launches Paris patent practice with team from Pinsent Masons 

Full-service firm Taylor Wessing already has an IP team in the French capital focusing mainly on soft IP. The new dedicated patent team will launch with four litigators. Marina Jonon joins as counsel and Louise Millot as associate, both following Fabre from Pinsent Masons. Millot had moved to Pinsent Masons from August Debouzy just a year ago. A third associate, Clémence de Marassé-Enouf, will arrive from A&O Shearman in June.

Fabre pharma specialist

Jules Fabre (39) began his career as an associate at Hogan Lovells and Linklaters. He then spent time in-house at Teva Pharmaceuticals as senior counsel for European IP and regulatory litigation. He returned to private practice in summer 2019 as legal director at Pinsent Masons in Paris, where he made partner in 2023.

Jules Fabre

Fabre specialises in litigation for clients from the pharmaceutical sector, particularly generic drug companies, before French courts and the UPC. For example, he represents Accord in French proceedings against Sanofi over cabazitaxel and in parallel UPC litigation. With Jonon, he advised  Formycon and Fresenius in their dispute with Janssen Biotech over Stelara until they reached a settlement. He regularly acts for Zentiva, including in French litigation over Bayer’s Xarelto, and for Teva. Fabre also frequently coordinates pan-European market access and litigation strategies.

The team’s focus and client base align well with Taylor Wessing, whose pan-European practice regularly represents generics manufacturers. The German team, for example, acts for Glenmark and Stada in the dispute with Novartis over MS drug fingolimod and for Mylan/Viatris against Bayer over cancer drug sorafenib. The firm also represents originators such as Pfizer, which instructed Taylor Wessing’s UK and Dutch teams as co-defendant of BioNTech in the dispute with Moderna over mRNA vaccine technology.

Mutual boost

The new team fills a crucial gap in Taylor Wessing’s pan-European patent practice. It previously lacked dedicated patent capabilities in Paris, an important UPC venue. Gilles Amsallem, managing partner of Taylor Wessing in Paris, says, “This is an exciting step for our international patent law practice and for Taylor Wessing in France. The calibre of Jules Fabre and his team significantly strengthens our ability to support our clients in strategic litigation.”

For Fabre’s team, the move provides an opportunity to work within an established pan-European patent practice. Taylor Wessing has strong teams in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria, with extensive experience in cross-border cooperation.

The firm is currently among the most active at the UPC, representing clients such as Ericsson, Nichia, and Tandem Diabetes Care. It also represented Accord in a non-infringement claim against Novartis and Abbott against Dexcom until those disputes settled.

Jules Fabre says, “Taylor Wessing has one of the largest and most regarded patent and IP practices in Europe, and is one of the most active firms before the UPC. We are extremely happy to further strengthen the firm’s patent capabilities with a team in Paris and to be able to offer our clients first-class expertise in all of their key jurisdictions in Europe.”

Pinsent Masons retains a small Paris team, with Virginia de Freitas, recently promoted to partner, and associate Nicolas Bitsch handling patent cases. De Freitas previously worked closely with Emanuel Gougé. She took over most of his work when he moved to become a legally qualified judge at the UPC last year.