Our services: litigation and advice

Actions, defence and evidence

• Infringement action : from the cease-and-desist letter to the assessment of damages, in France and before the UPC.
• Defence against an infringement claim : contesting infringement, attacking the title, regaining control of the timetable.
• Revocation action and counterclaim for revocation : before the Paris Judicial Court or the UPC, in coordination with the opposition before the European Patent Office.
• Provisional measures and interim relief : obtaining a preliminary injunction, or resisting one, before both courts.
• Saisie-contrefaçon : preparing the application, conducting the operations, then defending the application for withdrawal of the order.
• Evidence before the UPC : orders to preserve evidence and inspection measures.
• Proceedings before the Unified Patent Court : choice of division, language of proceedings, opt-out, interplay with national proceedings.
• Assessment of loss and quantification of damages : building the quantum and arguing the scope of infringing sales.

Licence dispute resolution

• Negotiating an exit from a dispute : settlement agreement, settlement licence, non-assertion clause.
• Arbitration and mediation for international licences and portfolios.

Employee invention disputes

• Proceedings before the National Commission on Employee Inventions or the Paris Judicial Court.

Life sciences and pharmaceuticals

• Supplementary protection certificates : duration, paediatric extension, validity challenges.
• Launch at risk, generics and biosimilars : anticipating the dispute and proving imminence.

Patent licences and contracts

• Review of a licence agreement or portfolio : identifying the clauses that will decide the dispute: royalties, warranties, termination, governing law and forum.
• Drafting and negotiation : licences, assignments, co-ownership, confidentiality, technology transfer, research agreements.
• FRAND licences and standard essential patents : from the declaration to the standardisation body to the setting of the rate.

Employee inventions

• Classification of the invention and additional remuneration : characterisation, method of calculation, limitation.
• Negotiation with an employee inventor : remuneration agreement, settlement, interplay with the termination of the employment contract.
• Internal policy : remuneration scale, invention disclosure form, traceability of inventions.

Second opinion, readiness and funding

• Second opinion in European patent litigation : an independent view on a pending or upcoming dispute, without replacing the counsel already in place.
• Patent litigation readiness review : a maturity review that turns a diffuse risk into a ninety-day action plan.
• Preparing for a saisie-contrefaçon : response protocol, team training and simulation exercise.
• Access to patent litigation funding : assessing whether a case is strong enough to be presented to a funder, without ever handing over the strategy.

Audits and programmes

• IP diagnostic for a Bpifrance funding application or fundraising round : presenting the company’s assets, verifying ownership and preparing the intellectual property aspects of the funding application.
• Trade secrets audit and protection : inventory, reasonable measures, evidence and resilience against staff mobility and incidents.
• Intellectual property due diligence : an independent red flag review, readable by a deal team.
• Building a defensible patent portfolio | Dhenne Avocats : coordinating attorney, patent attorney and client to file with an enforcement perspective.

Local counsel in France and international

• French Patent and UPC Local Counsel | Dhenne Avocats : for foreign law firms and legal departments that need a relay before the Paris Judicial Court and the Unified Patent Court.
• Japan and Europe: patents and trade secrets : a gateway between Japanese companies and European patent litigation.

Each engagement begins with a scoping discussion to check for conflicts of interest and define the question to be addressed. A written proposal sets out the scope, deliverables, timetable and fees. A focused team led by Matthieu Dhenne conducts the work and presents its findings and recommendations. Any further assistance is covered by a separate proposal.