Matthieu Dhenne
Matthieu Dhenne has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2014. He founded Dhenne Avocats in 2018 and represents clients before the French courts and the Unified Patent Court.
His practice focuses on litigation. He conducts infringement actions and revocation proceedings, saisie-contrefaçon proceedings and applications to set aside evidence-preservation orders. He acts for applicants and defendants in preliminary injunction proceedings and represents clients before the Unified Patent Court. He coordinates parallel proceedings abroad.
His cases concern FRAND licensing and standard essential patents, information technology, software, artificial intelligence and computer-implemented inventions, chemistry and life sciences — pharmaceuticals and biotechnology —, electronic devices and medical devices, mechanical engineering, trade secrets and employee inventions.
His academic research, teaching and publications bring depth to his assessment of cases and the strategies developed, particularly in patentability, FRAND and litigation procedure.
Selected matters
An anonymised selection of advisory and litigation matters.
Medical devices: patent infringement proceedings before the UPC
Represented a medical device manufacturer in patent infringement proceedings before the Unified Patent Court, alongside an overseas law firm. The work addressed the patent, the evidence of alleged infringement and the remedies sought.
Individual role: Representation alongside an overseas law firm.
Medical consumables: assessing risk before commercialisation
Advised a medical device business on the risks associated with commercialising compatible consumables. The work assessed the patents relied upon, their term of protection and other potential grounds for claims, to guide further checks before launch.
Individual role: Pre-launch legal advice.
Biotechnology: evidence and enforcement strategy
Provided strategic advice to a biotechnology business on protecting processes used to manufacture biological medicines. The work covered evidence planning, potential French saisie-contrefaçon measures and the relationship between French court and Unified Patent Court options.
Individual role: Strategic advice and preparation of evidence.
Telecommunications: strategic SEP and FRAND advice
Provided strategic advice to a telecommunications business on standard-essential patent and FRAND licensing issues.
Individual role: Strategic advice on SEPs and FRAND licensing.
Embedded software: patents and trade secrets
Represented an embedded software developer in a dispute involving mobility assistance technology. The work covered patent infringement, trade secret and unfair competition claims before the Paris Judicial Court.
Individual role: Conduct of patent and trade secret litigation.
Generic medicines: SPC litigation
Worked on supplementary protection certificate litigation for a generic pharmaceutical manufacturer concerning a combination of active ingredients. The matter involved challenges to the right and applications for provisional injunctions.
Individual role: Work on the matter.
Therapeutic antibodies: patent infringement and validity
Worked on a patent infringement action for a biotechnology business in the field of therapeutic antibodies. The matter involved claim scope, patent validity and the relationship with parallel proceedings abroad.
Individual role: Work on the matter.
Chemistry: infringement and preservation of evidence
Acting for a chemical business in patent litigation concerning chemical compositions. The work includes substantive pleadings and proceedings concerning evidence preservation, French saisie-contrefaçon measures and challenges to those measures.
Individual role: Advice and conduct of the matter.
Drones: patent infringement proceedings
Acting for a drone manufacturer as claimant in patent infringement proceedings before the Paris Judicial Court. The work includes evidence preparation, technical analysis, substantive pleadings and responses to procedural challenges.
Individual role: Advice and conduct of the matter.
Energy: patent strategy and freedom to operate
Advising an energy-sector manufacturer on patent strategy and freedom to operate, working with its in-house intellectual property team.
Individual role: Advice and conduct of the matter.
Biotechnology: French patent-law opinion
Preparing a French patent-law opinion for a biotechnology company, instructed by an international law firm. The analysis addresses standing to sue and the principles governing the assessment of damages.
Individual role: Advice and conduct of the matter.
Industry: employee-invention remuneration
Advising an industrial business in a dispute over additional remuneration for employee inventions. The work includes analysis of the inventions, evidence and limitation periods, submissions to the French employee-inventions commission and court pleadings.
Individual role: Case analysis and preparation of pleadings.
Research: ownership and employee inventions
Advising on ownership of inventions developed in a research context. The analysis covers employee-invention rules, confidentiality commitments and invention-disclosure steps with the relevant organisations.
Individual role: Review and supervision of the legal opinion.
Pharmaceuticals: patent and SPC strategy
Advising a pharmaceutical company on a protection strategy combining patents, supplementary protection certificates and preparation for a competing product launch.
Individual role: Advice and conduct of the matter.
Industry: criminal infringement proceedings
Acting for an industrial manufacturer in criminal infringement proceedings, including monitoring expert evidence and coordinating procedural exchanges.
Individual role: Advice and conduct of the matter.
Industrial processes: litigation and negotiation
Acting in a patent dispute concerning an industrial process, in coordination with overseas counsel. The work includes procedural documents and support in settlement discussions.
Individual role: Advice and conduct of the matter.
Aesthetic medicine: patents and know-how
Worked on the defence of an aesthetic medicine manufacturer in a dispute involving patent infringement, unfair competition and alleged misappropriation of know-how. The work addressed manufacturing processes, technical evidence and issues arising from a court-appointed expert report.
Individual role: Work on the matter.
Retail equipment: patent infringement defence
Worked on the defence of a distribution business facing a patent infringement claim concerning retail display equipment. Analysed the claimed mechanical solution and prior art, and prepared arguments on inventive step and patent scope.
Individual role: Work on the matter.
Pharmaceuticals: second medical use patents
Worked on litigation for a generic medicines manufacturer involving a second medical use patent. The matters combined validity challenges, defence against applications for interim measures and analysis of the indications retained in the generic product’s authorisation and product information.
Individual role: Work on the matter.
Biological medicines: challenges to evidence seizures
Worked on challenges to patent evidence seizures in the biological medicines sector. Analysed the requirements for obtaining the orders, proportionality and the scope of seized documents, alongside the substantive patent dispute.
Individual role: Work on the matter.
Pharmaceuticals: preparing a pre-launch defence
Worked on the preparation of a defence to interim proceedings for a generic medicines manufacturer in the context of a French launch. Analysed a dosage regimen patent, sufficiency and inventive step arguments, and decisions in parallel overseas proceedings.
Individual role: Work on the matter.
Business disputes: shareholder litigation
Acting in a shareholder dispute and related proceedings. The work includes evidence review, resolution strategy, pleadings and procedural issues concerning jurisdiction and consolidation.
Individual role: Advice, case analysis and preparation of written submissions.
Chemistry: preparing for UPC provisional measures
Advising a chemical business on preparing its defence against potential provisional or evidence-preservation measures before the Unified Patent Court. The work involves a protective letter and coordination with overseas counsel.
Individual role: Advice, case analysis and preparation of written submissions.
Chemistry: patent litigation and mediation
Acting for a chemical business in a patent and know-how dispute and in preparation for mediation. The work includes analysing the parties’ positions and preparing negotiation documents concerning a possible licence.
Individual role: Advice, case analysis and preparation of written submissions.
Chemistry: trade secret protection
Acting in litigation concerning confidential information and know-how in the chemical sector. The work includes reviewing evidence and preparing pleadings in interim proceedings.
Individual role: Advice, case analysis and preparation of written submissions.
Automotive technology: patent validity and infringement on appeal
Acting for automotive businesses in an appeal concerning a device securing vehicle electronics. The work includes patent and prior-art analysis, validity and infringement arguments, and appellate pleadings.
Individual role: Advice, case analysis and preparation of written submissions.
Green chemistry: formulation patent litigation
Acting for a green-chemistry business in patent litigation concerning chemical formulations. The work includes technical case analysis, litigation strategy and pleadings.
Individual role: Advice, case analysis and preparation of written submissions.
Education
Matthieu holds a PhD in patent law from Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, a Master’s degree in industrial property law from CEIPI (Strasbourg) and an LL.M. in International Legal Practice from Bond University (Queensland, Australia). He was a visiting researcher at Columbia University in New York and a scholarship researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich, supported by the Max Planck Society and GRUR. In 2026, he undertook a research stay at the Institute of Intellectual Property (IIP) in Tokyo.
His interest in technology complements his legal background. During his doctoral research, which addressed software and biotechnology in particular, he took courses in computer programming and biology to deepen his understanding of the inventions and scientific issues underlying his work.
He continues this technical training: in December 2024, he attended the Antibody-Targeted Therapies module at University College London (UCL), within the Modular Training for the Bioprocess Industries (MBI) programme. This technical curiosity informs his dialogue with inventors, researchers and industrial teams.
Distinctions
Matthieu’s expertise is recognised by several international rankings. IAM Patent 1000 recommends Matthieu Dhenne individually and ranks Dhenne Avocats in the Bronze band for patent litigation.
“an experienced and strategic litigator with strong commercial awareness and an approachable style”
“This firm, in particular Matthieu Dhenne, is top notch; very responsive, experienced in France and UPC patent litigation, effective, cost-sensitive.”
IP STARS · Managing IP — Client feedback
“Very thorough approaches, at the same time pragmatic, always having the client’s need in mind to achieve effective, good results.”
IP STARS · Managing IP — Client feedback
He is also ranked in IP STARS by Managing IP (Patent Star, France). Dhenne Avocats received the Silver Award at the Palmarès du Droit 2026 for patent law.
Teaching
Matthieu is a lecturer at the University of Paris Panthéon-Assas, where he also teaches intellectual property litigation and intellectual property law as applied to the digital sector in the master's degree in industrial property law.
He has also taught intellectual property law at École Centrale Supelec, Sorbonne University, Paris XII University, Lille University and Montpellier University.
Publications
Matthieu is the author, co-author or editor of several reference books on patent law and of more than one hundred academic and professional contributions, in French and English.
His books include:
- A Contractual Theory of FRAND. From Private Normativity to Legal Obligation in Technical Standardization, Wolters Kluwer, 2026.
- Droit des brevets, with Anne-Catherine Chiariny and Emmanuel Py, LexisNexis, 2024.
- Le droit de l’ingénierie inverse, with Bertrand Warusfel, L’Harmattan, 2021.
- Les inventions mises en œuvre par ordinateur : enjeux, pratiques et perspectives, co-edited with Christophe Geiger, LexisNexis, 2019.
- Technique et droit des brevets. L’invention en droit des brevets, LexisNexis, 2016.
His articles and contributions address software and artificial intelligence patentability, standard essential patents and FRAND licensing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and litigation procedure. They appear in journals and legal encyclopaedias published by Dalloz, LexisNexis and Lamy, and in the European Intellectual Property Review.
Explore his publications on HAL and Google Scholar profile. He also contributes LexisNexis encyclopaedia entries on FRAND licensing and technical character, and regularly writes as the French correspondent for the Kluwer Patent Blog.
He also contributes to policy discussions: read his responses to public consultations.
Services
Matthieu regularly speaks at conferences in France and internationally, before courts, intellectual property institutions, universities and industry teams, including Infineon. He also contributes to the organisation of Institut de Boufflers conferences. Selected speaking and conference activities include:
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28 September 2026 — French Senate, Paris. Organisation, with the Institut de Boufflers, of “Intellectual Property in Action: Litigation, Evidence, Injunctions and Remedies”.
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19–20 May 2026 — Amsterdam. Panel on preliminary injunctions before the UPC in life sciences, C5 Pharma & Biotech Patent Litigation in Europe.
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29 October 2025 — Basel. “SPCs before the UPC: Early Lessons from the Merz v. Viatris Case”, LES Basel Life Science Series.
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10 October 2025 — Dijon. Panel on balancing intellectual property protection, healthcare economics and patients’ interests, conference on advanced therapy medicinal products.
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26 April 2024 — Cour de cassation. Session chair, “Les rencontres du droit des brevets”.
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17 November 2023 — Université Grenoble Alpes. Compulsory licensing, annual CUERPI conference.
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30 March 2023 — French National Assembly. Recent developments in FRAND litigation, third edition of “Patent Law in France and Europe”, Institut de Boufflers; scientific committee member.
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7 October 2022 — Munich. “Recent developments regarding SPCs in France: the avelumab case”, Pharma Day.
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16 December 2021 — Cour de cassation. Artificial intelligence and patent law, lecture series on artificial intelligence and legal reasoning.
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26 February 2021 — Online. “Compulsory Licensing: The Golden Mean for Industrial Sovereignty in the Pharmaceutical Field?”, UNION-IP Winter Round Table.
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23 November 2020 — Online. Opening remarks and talk on artificial intelligence and patent law, Les Séminaires Brevets de Boufflers.
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30 June 2020 — Online. Artificial intelligence and patent law: can AI invent?, LES webinar.
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5 December 2018 — INPI. Computer-implemented inventions, INPI–EPO conference.
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3 December 2018 — Munich. “Computer-implemented inventions litigation in Europe”, VPP, the German association of intellectual property professionals.
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17 October 2018 — Paris. Scientific co-direction of “Patent Law in France and Europe”, Institut de Boufflers, CEIPI and AACEIPI; opening remarks, session chair and a talk on the training of UPC judges.
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15 March 2018 — French National Assembly. Limitation periods for IP revocation actions and freedom of competition.
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24 November 2017 — Cour de cassation. Patentability of computer-implemented inventions before the French courts.
Professional bodies
Matthieu is President of the Institut Stanislas de Boufflers. He is also an active member of AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property), LES (Vice-Chair of the Innovation Committee responsible for the 2022 Innovation Award), APEB (Association of European Patent Practitioners), AFPPI (French Association for the Protection of Industrial Property) and AAPI (Association of Industrial Property Lawyers).
He is also a member of Les Amis d’Albert Camus, the Association des Dîners du Palais and the Le Duc des Lombards jazz club.
Languages
Matthieu works in French, in English and in German, and practises Japanese.