Intellectual property in Cyprus
Elias Neocleous & Co LLC
Elias Neocleous & Co LLC has a core focus on patent applications and trade mark registrations, and the firm is retained by a number of high-profile clients, including several global pharmaceutical companies. Its work in this space include monitoring such applications to identify potential infringements of intellectual property rights. The firm also advises on regulatory and compliance issues, and data privacy work. IT, consumer goods, and financial services are other sectors in which the firm is active. A name to note is senior associate Ramona Livera. Maria Kyriacou retired.
Key clients
Blackstone Group International Partnership
British High Commission
Cyprus Mail Company Limited
Cyprus Tourism Development Corporation
European University Cyprus
Four Seasons Hotels
Huawei Technologies
KKCG Group
Limassol Marina
Samsung Group
Thomas Cook Group plc
Work highlights
- Advised the Blackstone Group International Partnership on its investment in Superbet.
- Advised European University Cyprus with the registration of its trade marks with the EUIPO and in Greece.
Chrysostomides Advocates & Legal Consultants
Eleni Chrysostomides heads up the ‘accessible and responsive’ practice at Dr K Chrysostomides & Co LLC
, which acts on a diverse range of matters in IP, including trade mark, patent, design and copyright law issues, with an increased focus on contemporary fields such as online social platforms, video content platforms, online music sharing platforms, and user-generated content platforms. With ‘experience both in patent and trade mark matters in Cyprus’, Alexandros Georgiades is a key practitioner in this area, whose ‘advice is always practical and extremely useful’ for domestic and international clients.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘In Cyprus, they have an unrivalled reputation for expert advice and client service.’
‘The team have always been accessible and responsive to any request, even very urgent ones. They always provide sound advice and are a pleasure to work with.’
‘Mr. Alexandros Georgiadis has much experience both in patent and trademark matters in Cyprus and can provide advice not only on the legal issues but also on the practice side of the local Patent and TM office, which, in some cases, varies from the legal text. In this way his advice is always practical and extremely useful for applicants abroad.’
Lellos P Demetriades Law Office
The ‘dynamic’ and ‘knowledgeable’ team at Lellos P Demetriades Law Office has particular expertise in assisting clients with combating anti-piracy, including handling litigation and Anton Piller orders, and is particularly active in this area for clients in the food and drink, and pharmaceuticals industries. The practice, which is headed up by the ‘extremely cooperative’ Achilleas Demetriades, also assists with trade mark, industrial design, and copyright issues, both domestically and at a European level. It also has experience in handling patent applications. Clients span private organisations and corporations. Newly promoted partner Nicoletta Epaminonda is ‘an outstanding lawyer in the life sciences sector’, who provides ‘excellent’ advice on IP matters.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘Nicoletta Epaminonda is an outstanding lawyer in the life sciences sector and provides service in continuing excellent quality with exceptional responsiveness.’
‘A dynamic team, both in counseling and in the judicial field. What differenciates them from other legal firms is that they are highly cooperative and with immediate and effective response.’
‘Achilleas Demetriades is extremely cooperative and always willing to personally engage in the handling of our cases. Nicoletta Epaminonda is always available and willing to cooperate and provide effective legal support to our cases.’
‘The team are approachable, knowledgeable and I have every confidence in their success.’
IP Cyprus - Ioannides, Cleanthous & Co LLC
Boutique firm IP Cyprus - Ioannides, Cleanthous & Co LLC’s ‘excellent’ practice primarily handles software development agreements, trade mark registrations and infringements, as well as general advisory services for IP rights. Its client roster is largely dominated by domestic corporations, but it is often instructed by law firms on international work with a Cypriot element. Practice heads Marinos Cleanthous and Maria Ioannides ‘put extra effort into their work’, and are praised as ‘great professionals, very competent and very easy to work with’.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘Very easy to work with in comparison to other IP firms in Europe we worked with, which are usually overly conservative. Put extra effort into their work, instead of blindly following instructions; took initiative to investigate an issue that we did not think of, and it improved our legal arguments.’
‘Marinos Cleanthous and Maria Ioannide are great professionals, very competent and very easy to work with.’
‘Marinos Cleanthous is always willing to offer his assistance, and I always trust his accurate legal advice due to his wide knowledge and experience.’
‘An excellent lP practice, with exceptional expertise, strong reliability, high responsiveness, and a good understanding of business needs.’
Key clients
George Pintz & Partners
Work highlights
- Advised a client on a potential infringement matter, successfully negotiating a conclusion.
KOUSHOS KORFIOTIS PAPACHARALAMBOUS LLC
The team at KOUSHOS KORFIOTIS PAPACHARALAMBOUS LLC advises clients, which include international pharmaceuticals companies and high-profile multinational corporations on a range of matters. Trade marks, patents, industrial designs, trade names, domain names, counterfeiting, copyrights, and IP-related litigation are among the myriad areas the firm focuses on. Practice head Eleni Papacharalambous is highly regarded.
Practice head(s):
Markides, Markides & Co LLC
Markides, Markides & Co LLC handles a broad range of IP-related matters, including trade marks, copyright, and litigation, where it has developed a strong reputation in the local market. Hermione Markides is a key contact.
Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC
Led by the experienced Tonia Antoniou, the team at Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC acts for clients on a broad range of IP matters but has notable expertise handling trade mark registrations in Cyprus and the EU, as well as patent applications, validations, and renewals. The group also handles litigation and licensing matters. Associate Agis Charalambous, who works alongside Antoniou on most matters in this space, is another name to note.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Com Laude
Patrix IP
Vossius & Partner
CPA Global
Clarivate Analytics
World Patent & Trademark Law Office
Scope Markets Ltd
Plougmann Vingtoft
Norton Rose Fulbright
Cabinet Beau de Lomenie
Work highlights
- Advised Patrix on the protection of several patents in Cyprus.
- Acted for Holbond Ltd on an application to record a change of ownership for two trade marks to another entity.
- Advised Ovici Ltd on registering its trade marks in Greece.
E & G Economides LLC
Headed by Xenia Kasapi, the team at E & G Economides LLC attracts praise for its ‘in-depth knowledge and experience in intellectual property matters, especially with the registration of trade marks, designs, and patents at a European level’. Instructed by domestic and international clients, it also files oppositions against intellectual property registrations and drafts intellectual property rights licence transfers and confidentiality agreements. George Economides is also noted.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘They provide quick responses and react effectively and timely.’
‘I work with Xenia Kasapi. She always gives us confident answers and yet very respectfully.’
‘Through my co-operation with the firm, I have found that the firm has in-depth knowledge and experience in intellectual property matters, especially with the registration of trade marks, designs, and patents at a European level.’
‘Xenia Kasapi has shown her expertise in the various matters we have worked on, such as registration of trade marks and dealing with multiple legal issues in various jurisdictions.’
Key clients
Arpo It Limited Liability Company/Russia House International Lawyers
Tsakiris Mallas A.E
Brandpol Group Limited
P.G. Economides & Co Limited
Cloudlayer8 Limited (Cl8)
CL8 Cloud Limited
Zeme Eco Fuels And Alloys Ltd
Collagen Lift Sa
Roxor Holdings Limited
Work highlights
- Advising Collagen Lift SA on the Cyprus intellectual property law aspects relating to the total change in ownership both in Cyprus and internationally for several international registrations in the name of the same holder.
- Assisting Cl8 Cloud Limited with exploiting its trade marks, including advising on the licensing and sale of marks, and drafting the relevant trade mark licence agreement and terms and conditions for the different transactions of the company.
- Advising Brandpol Group on the Cyprus legislative framework governing intellectual property, acting on behalf of Bayer, ABB, Yandex to demand relief in the form of damages (or an account of profits and/or an injunction) restraining the further use of the mark.
Andreas Coucounis & Co LLC
Andreas Coucounis & Co LLC specialises in advising prominent international clients on their IP rights in Cyprus. Recent work includes handling trade mark registrations and enforcement actions arising from infringements. Alexandros Coucounis heads up the practice.
Practice head(s):
Work highlights
- Acting for easyGroup in proceedings before the Registrar of Trade Marks of Cyprus, including a number of matters that are currently pending.
- Representing Newsweek Inc. in proceedings before the Registrar of Trade Marks of Cyprus.
- Acting for the Chloride Group in proceedings before the Registrar of Trade Marks of Cyprus.
Christodoulos G. Vassiliades & Co. LLC
Christodoulos G. Vassiliades & Co. LLC is a key name for international trade mark registrations. The team, which is led by Maria Kyriacou and Christodoulos G. Vassiliades, is also regularly instructed to produce due diligence reports on IP rights.
Practice head(s):
Work highlights
- Prepared a due diligence report regarding the IP rights of certain target companies which were part of an acquisition transaction.
- Advised a cloud brokerage provider on solutions to cloud service providers in the EU, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa, to handle the successful registration of a trade mark in a number of jurisdictions using the Madrid system, as well as filing separate national applications.
- Advised on IP strategy relating to the protection and development of a brand in a number of jurisdictions, including the EU, individual EU countries (such as Cyprus, UK, Greece) and South Africa. Also handled the registration of a number of trade marks in different jurisdictions.
Deloitte Legal | Hadjianastassiou, Ioannides LLC
Deloitte Legal | Hadjianastassiou, Ioannides LLC’s practice advises on trade mark, brand protection, and copyright issues. Kypros Ioannides leads the practice, which has seen increased instructions from clients in niche, IT-related sectors including mobile games, software development, and financial technology. The team is ‘technically very strong’.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘The partners are technically very strong and find solutions, which give them an advantage over competitors in resolving complex issues.’
‘By choosing this team, we were able to gain a clear understanding of what is going on with trademarks, what the procedure is, and all the relevant details which is something that easily helped us out making our decisions on how to proceed. One of their key characteristics is professionalism, which is quite rare to find in Cyprus generally.’
Key clients
Abacus Limited
Abris Capital Partners
Alfa Capital Holdings (Cyprus) Limited
Alpha Television Cyprus Limited
A. Panayides Contracting Limited
Astro Bank Ltd
Bank of Cyprus
Bank of Scotland plc/ Lloyds Banking Group
Bet365
CEE Equity Partners
Commercial Estates Group Limited
National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) Ltd
GQS Services Limited
Lanitis Bros Limited (Coca cola Hellenic Group)
Latomia Pharmakas Dimosia Etaireia Ltd
Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus
Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus
Nice Day Developments Limited
Work highlights
- Advised RJ Games Ltd on the protection of the names of the different games developed by the company and its group, including providing trade mark searches and opinions thereon.
- Advised Applife Limited on copyright protection, including assistance on copyright protection in terms of both upstream protection and downstream protection, as well as advise on main clauses to be included in software assignment agreements and intellectual property due diligence.
- Assisted with the IP due diligence of a company as part of an all-inclusive due diligence exercise undertaken on a cross-border level.
George Z. Georgiou & Associates LLC
George Z. Georgiou & Associates LLC handles a broad range of work across IP and provides a ‘personal approach on all matters’. It advises on trade marks, patents, copyright and industrial designs; handles IP-related litigation, assists with the drafting of IP-related contracts, and advises clients from various industries on data protection and privacy matters. Clients include artists, distributors, companies, municipalities, banks, and international software companies. Managing partner George Z Georgiou heads up the practice.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘Very professional approach on all aspects of consultation and quick turnaround on assignments. Specifically on human capital support, the team has shown to be very knowledgeable and well-placed to provide the necessary responses.’
‘Even though it is a large firm by Cyprus standards, it still offers the personal approach on all matters and this makes a difference when it comes to customer experience and compared to other similar-sized firms where trainees and new advocates usually take small cases.’