Firm news
News from Dhenne Avocats: the team, new publications, international meetings and the firm’s rankings. Legal analysis remains on the blog and in the Lab.
Dhenne Avocats at IPBC Asia
Matthieu Dhenne will be in Tokyo from 17 to 19 November 2026 for IPBC Asia, IAM’s conference on intellectual property strategy and value creation in Asia. The visit is part of his research stay at the Institute of Intellectual Property (IIP) in Tokyo, which focuses on injunctions based on standard essential patents in Europe, before the Unified Patent Court and in Japan.
It is an opportunity for companies and firms in the region to discuss their French and Unified Patent Court matters in person.
Dhenne Avocats selected by Bpifrance for the Diag Stratégie PI
Bpifrance has selected Dhenne Avocats to advise companies under the Diag Stratégie PI, its intellectual property strategy assessment. Run and part-funded by Bpifrance, the assessment is open to innovative start-ups, SMEs and mid-sized companies registered in France. Over three to ten days of work, it maps the company’s intangible assets (patents, trade marks, designs, software, data), identifies risks and opportunities, and ends with a costed and scheduled action plan.
The firm brings a litigator’s perspective to the exercise: ownership of the rights, the choice between patent and trade secret, how the titles would stand up against an opponent and the weight they carry in a licensing negotiation. Interested companies apply to Bpifrance, which covers part of the cost, and may name Dhenne Avocats as their expert.
Louise Hülsmann sworn in
Louise Hülsmann was sworn in before the Paris Court of Appeal on 15 October 2026. Since joining the firm in July, she has worked on patent litigation, trade secrets and Unified Patent Court proceedings, and now does so as an attorney-at-law.
A graduate of the Paris Bar School (EFB) and of CEIPI (Master’s degree in intellectual property and international trade law), she also completed a dual degree in law and art history (École du Louvre). She works in French, English and German. The whole team congratulates her.
A Contractual Theory of FRAND
Matthieu Dhenne’s book, A Contractual Theory of FRAND. From Private Normativity to Legal Obligation in Technical Standardization, is published by Wolters Kluwer in hardcover and as an eBook.
It reads the FRAND undertaking as a contract. Since the ETSI IPR Policy is governed by French law, the undertaking operates as a stipulation for the benefit of third parties (stipulation pour autrui), namely the implementers of the standard. This reading bears directly on how licence negotiations are prepared, how evidence of each party’s conduct is kept and where to bring proceedings, between national courts and the Unified Patent Court.
2026 rankings
In 2026, Dhenne Avocats and its founder are listed in three leading patent litigation rankings.
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