The Legal 500

Garrigues Portugal provides ‘outstanding’ service on trade mark infringement cases and other litigation, and on patent and trade mark protection and licensing agreements. The firm is ‘one of the most advanced in Portugal’ for work relating to data protection, and its clients include Hermès, Kraft Foods, Banco Espirito Santo and Intel Corporation. Gonçalo da Cunha Ferreira heads the ‘competent and professional’ team. Among several capable associates, Isabel Bairrão is ‘highly efficient’ and Paula Veiga has ‘great commitment, awareness and availability’.

Practice co-head Tomás Vaz Pinto at Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados is an experienced IP transactional lawyer who advises on advertising and copyright issues. António Pinto Leite is recommended for his advice on patent law. In 2010, Leite conducted the first national arbitration in Portugal’s new specialist IP arbitration centre. The team represents clients across the pharmaceuticals, media, telecoms and retail sectors, including Pfizer, Impresa, Sonae, Benetton, Procter & Gamble and new client Euronext Lisbon.

Manuel Lopes Rocha heads the team at PLMJ Law Firm, which acts for clients including Nokia and Warner Bros. The practice has developed expertise in advising on counterfeiting issues, and continues to represent Microsoft in landmark cases appealing against court decisions under Portugal’s new IP enforcement legislation. Other clients include Pandora, Novabase and Helm Portugal. Senior associate Paula Martinho da Silva is also recommended.

The ‘responsive, knowledgeable and professional’ group of César Bessa Monteiro, César Bessa Monteiro Jr and senior associate Ricardo Henriques joined Pedro Pinto, Bessa Monteiro, Reis, Branco & Associados from ABBC – Azevedo Neves, Benjamim Mendes, Carvalho & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados in 2010. The team’s IP expertise spans copyright, media rights, and data protection, as well as counterfeiting and patent infringement cases. High-profile clients include Sony Music, Oracle, Vodafone, Cisco and Compuware.

Rui Pena, Arnaut & Associados, Sociedade de Advogados, RL’s experienced team has a superb reputation, and is deemed ‘quite unique in Portugal’ owing to its position as one of the first firms to deal with enforcement of IP rights. It advises on trade mark enforcements, prosecutions, and counterfeiting issues for clients from sectors such as pharmaceuticals, energy and luxury goods. The ‘hugely knowlegeable’ team manages the IP portfolios of Portugal Telecom, Danone and Unicer Group, and advises L’Oréal on contentious IP matters. Practice head José Luís Arnaut demonstrates ‘high professional knowledge’ and ‘extraordinary levels of client attention’. Senior associate Cristina Gouveia de Carvalho is recommended.

Vieira de Almeida & Associados’ expertise in the pharmaceutical sector extends to its work in IP, where the team demonstrates an ‘intimate and accurate understanding of complex issues’ concerning patent rights and related litigation. The group provides ‘innovative and tailored solutions’ through its ‘excellent business acumen and knowledge’. Clients include Novartis, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck, and GlaxoSmithKline. The group is rated for its ‘persistence and hard work, all on a cost-effective basis’. The ‘influential and well respected’ practice head António Magalhães Cardoso has the ‘ability to think outside the box’. Managing associate Ana Falcão Afonso is ‘very experienced’, and associate Patrícia Paias is ‘proactive and responsive’.

Abreu Advogados fields an ‘extremely competent team’ from partner through to associate level, and possesses ‘high-quality, in-depth knowledge’ on IP and TMT matters. The group is advising RBS on trade mark clearance searches and Farmaprojects on a breach of contract case against a pharmaceutical company, and also represents Complex Films. Leonor Chastre is praised for her ‘intelligence, experience and know-how’.

Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira advises on trade mark rights ownership, infringement and counterfeiting disputes, and represents several publishing and media clients. Carlos de Almeida Sampaio heads the group.

Nuno Cadima Oliveira leads the IP team at FCB&A – F Castelo Branco & Associados, which is advising Medinfar on IP rights as part of a product transfer transaction and assisting Screenvision on licensing global rights to a product. It advises Logica on trade mark, patent and copyright filing and litigation. Angola is a growing source of instructions.

Franco Caiado Guerreiro & Associados offers an ‘excellent service with quick responses and strong awareness of IP issues’. The team advises on patents (particularly relating to pharmaceuticals), trade marks and copyright, including IP disputes. It is advising Neopharma and Abbott on patent infringements, and providing Eli Lilly with data protection advice for its new genetics database. The firm manages the Portuguese IP portfolios of Buddha-Bar and Olympus. Ricardo Costa Macedo is praised for his ‘high level of competence and knowledge’.

The IP capability of ABBC – Azevedo Neves, Benjamim Mendes, Carvalho & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados was significantly reduced by the departure of César Bessa Monteiro, César Bessa Monteiro Jr and associate Ricardo Henriques to Pedro Pinto, Bessa Monteiro, Reis, Branco & Associados. However, the firm continues to source work from its association with trade mark agency J. Pereira da Cruz, and clients include Sony Music, Lufthansa, Air France and Calvin Klein. Associates Ana Mira Cordeiro and Carmina Cardoso are now the key contacts.

Barrocas Advogados lost Claudia Cruz to AVM Advogados in 2010. Pedro Drago is now the key contact, advising on IP rights including transactions. The team represents clients across sectors including IT, electronics and health.

CCA Advogados has experience advising media companies such as Rede Record and Grupo Corfina on IP. The team, led by Rita Cruz, is advising Partblack on a software licensing matter and also assisted Google in negotiating the IP rights of YouTube with the Portuguese IP Authority. Other clients include music website My Way, advertising agency Fuel, and Condé Nast.

Linklaters LLP represented Pfizer in several patent disputes against various manufacturers including Solufarma, and also advises FIFA and UEFA on protecting IP rights in Portugal. Practice head Carlos Pinto Correia and associate Marta Cruz de Almeida are highly recommended.

Macedo Vitorino & Associados advises on data protection, trade marks and licensing for clients including Apple, Nintendo, Sony Pictures and Fox.

Helga Lopes Ribeiro leads the practice at Mouteira Guerreiro, Rosa Amaral & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados R.L., which advises clients such as Shazam Entertainment and Canalmail on software and internet matters and disputes, including domain name work.

Known for an ‘innovative approach and depth of knowledge’, Raposo Bernardo has broad IP experience, including advising on patent and copyright matters. Clients include Menarini Pharmaceutical Group, Biotop Pharmaceutical, and Cash Converters. ‘IP connoisseur’ Alexandra Pereira dos Reis is the key contact following Nuno Almeida Caetano’s departure in 2010.

SRS Advogados’s ‘excellent overall service’ encompasses international patent work, trade marks, and design registration. Clients include IMS Health, SanDisk Corporation and Ana Salazar. Raquel Cuba Martins is ‘organised and professional’.

Senior associate Jacinto Bettencourt handles the majority of IP work at Uría Menéndez – Proença de Carvalho and is a ‘fluent communicator’. The group advises Fox International on copyright matters and Xutos & Pontapés on trade mark infringements. Francisco Brito e Abreu heads the practice.