A patent is a powerful legal tool available to innovators to protect their inventions and secure a lasting competitive advantage.
Issues in this field are both legal and technical.
- Is my invention patentable, and if so, how should claims be drafted to be sufficiently broad to provide effective protection while withstanding a potential invalidity challenge?
- Does my patent portfolio adequately cover all of my products and processes and their variants, or are there gaps that third parties could exploit?
- My competitors have filed patents: does this block my access to the market, is there a viable design-around, or should an action for invalidity or a declaration of non-infringement be considered?
Litigation strategies in patent law have been profoundly reshaped by the entry into force of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Since June 2023, the UPC has reconfigured the European patent litigation landscape. It enables swift decisions with an unprecedented territorial scope: an infringement or invalidity action brought before the UPC can now take effect across all contracting Member States through a single proceeding. Choosing between national courts and the UPC, deciding whether to maintain or withdraw the opt-out for European patents, and developing a strategy suited to this new environment are now part of the daily considerations of those responsible for patent protection policies within innovative companies—and we assist them in making these decisions.
Patent law is a discipline defined by the close interplay between legal and technical expertise. That is why we work closely with qualified engineers (patent attorneys and European Patent Attorneys), whose technical skills complement our legal expertise. This partnership enables us to offer our clients a comprehensive and consistent approach, from drafting and filing to litigation, across all sectors.
In an advisory capacity, we assist our clients in defining and implementing their protection strategies, managing their portfolios, and drafting and negotiating license agreements, co-development agreements, and technology transfer agreements.
In litigation, we act with responsiveness and determination, both for claimants and defendants, before French courts and the UPC: infringement actions, applications for provisional measures, invalidity actions, declarations of non-infringement, appeals against decisions of the French Patent Office (INPI) in patent opposition matters, coordination of cross-border disputes, etc. We also advise and represent clients on issues relating to employee inventions. Our experience has shown that the best outcome is not always achieved in court: we are equally proficient in alternative dispute resolution methods (negotiation, mediation, etc.) and deploy them whenever they better serve our clients’ interests.