Patent

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The team at CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats can assist you with your patent law issues. Our team of lawyers based in Paris is well experienced in the following fields: 

Litigation: Saisie-contrefaçons” counterfeit seizures, Infringement actions, in particular in summary proceedings, unfair competition and parasitism, disputes related to trade secrets, Actions for patent/SPC invalidation or declaration of non-infringement and Litigation related to employee inventions.

Advice and drafting contracts: R&D contracts, relationships with inventors, Filing strategy, portfolio audit, valuation, technology transfer, Assignment, licensing or co-ownership agreements.

Most of the matters have cross-border aspects and require close coordination with actions carried out abroad.

Our team is used to working in several technical fields, in particular in the pharmaceutical and health products fields (also has good knowledge of the regulatory framework applicable to these products), but also in the fields of electronics, mechanics or consumer products. 

This experience  complements an excellent knowledge of other complex disputes such as trade secrets infringement (particularly technical know-how) or unfair competition and/or parasitism

Our team is part of the CMS network of over 150 lawyers, legal experts and specialists advisors in 33 countries. It allows us to propose a global strategy in adequacy with the needs of our customers. This particular  know-how is set to become more importantwith the arrival of the Unified Patent Court and the Unitary Patent.

Quotes 2023

The Legal 500

Intellectual propety : patents

With a particular focus on the life sciences, electronics and mechanics sectors, CMS Francis Lefebvre frequently handles patent infringement litigation and associated claims for damages, as well as assisting in disputes between employers and employees in relation to the ownership of patents. The team around practice head Jean-Baptiste Thiénot also handles research and development contracts, assignment and licence agreements and portfolio audits. Anne-Laure Villedieu, who focuses on data privacy matters, heads the firm’s IP department.

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25/03/2024
Patentability of inventions relating to diagnostic methods at the EPO
Under Article 53(c) of the European Patent Convention (EPC), diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body are excluded from patentability. The purpose behind this exclusion is to avoid patent...
18/01/2024
EP Case Law in Brief: Commercial success and inventive step
“Commercial success alone is not to be regarded as indicative of inventive step, but evidence of immediate commercial success when coupled with evidence of a long-felt want is of relevance provided...
21/11/2023
EP Case Law in Brief: Proof of common general knowledge
It is a common sight for a patent attorney – an EPO Examiner acknowledges that a claim is novel, but asserts a lack of inventive step over ‘D1’ in combination with ‘common general knowledge’...
07/11/2023
Description amendments at the EPO – the Appellant agrees with the need...
Description amendments bringing the content of the description in line with the allowed claims remain a controversial topic in the European practice. As reported previously, the Board of Appeal in T0056/21...
06/10/2023
The European Patent Office (EPO) ‘10-day rule’
By the Decision of the Administrative Council of 13 October 2022, a number of Rules of the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention have been amended. These include Rule 126 (Notification...
28/09/2023
EP Case Law in Brief: Erroneous Disclosures
“Mistakes in a document do not in themselves constitute prior art such as to prevent the grant of a patent.”So begins section I.C. 4.9 of the Case Law of the Boards of Appeal. This statement, and...
15/08/2023
AI in healthcare inventions – technical or not technical?
SummaryRecent European Patent Office (EPO) Board of Appeal case T 1910/20 sits among a number of decisions regarding the discussion of what constitutes technical character in the field of healthcare...
28/07/2023
Description amendments at the EPO – uncertainty for not (too) much longer?...
Amending the description to conform with the claims remains a challenging element of European patent practice, particularly in view of the divergent case law in the subject, and varied approaches taken...
31/05/2023
UPC – the “Long-arm” jurisdiction
UPC Long-arm jurisdictionWith the UPC set to open its doors on 1 June 2023, just how far might its reach extend?Unless a European patent has been opted out of the UPC, the national courts and the UPC...
06/04/2023
G1/22 and G2/22 – Preliminary opinion of the Enlarged Board of Appeal
On 21 March 2023 the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) issued a preliminary opinion in consolidated cases G1/22 and G2/22 (“pri­or­ity”), which provides some initial insight into the possible outcome of...
31/03/2023
Armchair inventions part 3: Decision on plausibility at the EPO (G2/21)
The issue of plausibility was previously referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA), the highest judicial authority at the European Patent Office (EPO). Our article on the referral can be found here...
28/03/2023
European Parliament and Council ready to start negotiations on EU Data...
In February 2022 the European Commission presented its proposal for the EU Data Act, which – if adopted - will introduce a far-reaching legal regime on access to and use of non-personal data in the...