Patent litigation attorney in Paris

Their roles are complementary. The patent attorney drafts and files patent applications, handles their examination before the patent offices and helps manage the portfolio. The avocat advises the client and drafts the legal instruments surrounding the patent: cease-and-desist letters, non-disclosure agreements, licence or assignment agreements, settlements. The avocat prepares the litigation strategy, brings or defends actions and represents the client in court, under a professional secrecy that covers all their exchanges. Dhenne Avocats focuses on this legal and litigation side. Drafting and filing applications is the work of the client’s patent attorney, with whom we work to combine knowledge of the patent, the technical evidence and procedural choices.

We start from our client’s objective: stopping an infringement quickly, securing a launch, obtaining compensation or strengthening a negotiating position. The choice of forum follows from it. It then depends on the patent relied on (French patent, classic European patent or European patent with unitary effect) and any opt-out, the territories concerned, the measures sought and the budget. A UPC action can cover several countries at once, but it also exposes the patent to a counterclaim for revocation effective in all of them: that risk has to be weighed before acting. We prepare this choice before taking any first step, with the documents available, the client’s commercial timetable and the counsel already instructed in the other countries concerned.

Yes. The firm acts for claimants and defendants alike, before the French courts and the Unified Patent Court. A defence may concern non-infringement, the validity of the patent relied on and the conditions of the proceedings brought. It may also concern a saisie-contrefaçon or an application for provisional measures. Protecting trade secrets is central: a seizure or a disclosure request must not give a competitor access to your processes, technical data or contracts. To that end, we seek appropriate confidentiality measures, including a restricted circle of persons allowed to access the documents. The approach is built around the patent, the contested product or process and the timetable. A second opinion can also shed light on proceedings already under way with other counsel.

Yes, often to avoid litigation or to prepare for it on the right footing. The firm drafts and negotiates non-disclosure agreements and licence, assignment or collaboration agreements, sends or answers cease-and-desist letters and advises on strategy towards a competitor or a patent holder. It organises the protection of trade secrets (identifying the information, reasonable protective measures, contractual clauses) and conducts IP due diligence for a fundraising, an acquisition or a partnership. Finally, it advises companies and employees alike on employee inventions: classification of the invention, additional remuneration or fair price, proceedings before the French National Commission on Employee Inventions (CNIS).

As early as possible. A cease-and-desist letter, a contested launch, the prospect of a saisie, a leak of confidential information after a partnership ends or an employee leaves, or a disagreement over an employee invention all warrant a prompt review of the situation and the documents available. The first exchange clarifies the subject of the dispute, the rights relied on and the known deadlines. It implies nothing as to whether the firm can act or how the proceedings will end. Before any dispute, the firm also offers litigation readiness work and a review of how defensible the portfolio is. For a matter already under way, a second opinion can help examine the options still open.