The practice at Bird & Bird focuses primarily on matters in the technology, telecommunication, life sciences, healthcare, media, and entertainment and sports industries, a mimicking of the wider firm's core sectors that allows the Paris practice to ensure its French clients receive in-depth sector knowledge both in France and abroad. Able to assist with advisory and contentious matters, the IP team of practice heads Yves Bizollon, Anne-Charlotte Le-Bihan and Géraldine Arbant (the key contact for brand management and litigation), regularly attracts the market's most challenging disputes and strategic trade mark and design development instructions.

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés assists with litigation, transactional work and trade mark and design portfolio development and management. With its wide sector offering and experience in advising French and international clients, the well-rounded practice -led by Louis de Gaulle, Francine Le Péchon-Joubert, Julien Horn and Serge Lederman- offers clients flexibility on the staffing of each case to ensure optimal outcomes. Additionally, the firm also offers an AI tool, LitiMark®, to assess the likely outcome of trade mark infringement proceedings before the French courts; similar tools are in the pipeline for design and patent infringement matters. The practice can also call on the expertise of colleagues across the firm's wider service offering on an as-required basis. However, Jean-Sébastien Mariez left in September 2020 to co-found Momentum.

With a versatile team that offers both soft and hard IP skills, Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. focuses primarily on contentious work. Arnaud Michel, Emmanuel Larere and Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier all offer extensive experience in trade mark and patent disputes; while Grégoire Triet and Jean-Hyacinthe de Mitry concentrate on patent work. In addition to the strong litigation practice, the team also assists with trade mark prosecution services, including the filing of trade mark applications and representation in the corresponding proceedings before relevant intellectual property offices both in France and abroad. Moreover, as part of a full-service operation, the practice is able to leverage the firm's comprehensive legal offering when expertise in other practice areas is required. In addition, Gide 255, the firm's dedicated digital transformation offering, assists clients with the challenges and opportunities brought about by the on-going digitalisation of businesses.

The trade mark and design practice at Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP is an integral part of the office's wider IPMT team, making the group a firm of choice for matters requiring soft IP expertise in addition to media and technology law knowledge. On the contentious side, the team is especially sought after for multi-jurisdictional matters because of its dedicated international IP set-up. The arbitration, mediation and customs-retention experience of the group ensure informed strategic decisions for each individual case. On the advisory side, the group is active in transactional matters, including audits and due diligence, but also assists with brand management issues. The experienced domain name practice, the offering of which includes the dedicated domain-name tool Anchovy®, is another asset. Marie-Aimée de Dampierre, David Taylor and Jane Seager are at the helm of the practice. Counsel Olivia Bernardeau-Paupe provides key support.

Jones Day demonstrates particular strength in French and pan-European trade mark litigation and transactional matters. With the firm's presence in six European jurisdictions, the Paris practice is able to assist with cross-border disputes, including customs seizures, smoothly. A stand-out feature is the team's specialisation in the wine and spirit sectors where the strength in trade mark matters interlocks productively with the group's experience in geographical indications, regulatory matters, distribution issues and licensing agreements. Emmanuel Baud directs the team. Edouard Fortunet was promoted to of counsel in 2020.

At Laude Esquier Champey, practice head Sophie Havard Duclos runs one of the country's most successful litigation practices. The long client list of major French and international corporations and prestigious small and medium-sized enterprises that frequently seek the team's assistance attests to the group's strength in domestic and international disputes. The fashion, luxury goods, hospitality, cosmetics, social media and beverage sector account for a very significant part of the caseload.

Altana offers a combined litigation and transactional practice, with complex disputes -including infringement, cancellation, opposition and invalidity proceedings- as the team's most visible strength. Experienced practice heads Pierre Lubet and Jean-Guy de Ruffray also excel in the development and implementation of anti-counterfeiting programmes, including assistance with the necessary customs aspects. With additional experience in alternative dispute resolution methods; a proven track record of successful trade mark portfolio management; and a busy audit, licensing and due diligence practice, as well as expertise in domain name-related matters, the group impresses with its comprehensive skill set. It also demonstrates in-depth knowledge of cross-border matters. The firm's other departments, most notably the corporate, tax and white-collar groups bring additional breadth to the practice's remit. Frank Valentin and counsel Charlotte Hébert-Salomon joined DLA Piper in February 2021.

IP boutique Bardehle Pagenberg combines an experienced prosecution practice with a powerful litigation team that regularly secures headline-grabbing victories for its clients, both in France and in the firm's other locations in Germany, Spain and Italy. Additionally, a cooperation agreement with Singapore firm Yusarn Audrey, gives the firm strong ties to markets in Asia. Primarily focused on the automotive, fashion, retail, pharmaceutical, and media and entertainment sectors, the practice has seen a number of prestigious French, British and US clients join its client roster over the course of the last year, further attesting to the group's quality. The team is co-led by Rebecca Delorey and Axel Munier.

At BCTG Avocats, practice head Gaëlle Bloret-Pucci leads on advisory and contentious work across a broad array of sectors, with retail sports, fashion, food, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and software all core components of the practice's caseload. Bloret-Pucci's complementary expertise in unfair competition law, parasitism issues and marketing matters is particularly advantageous for retail and sports clients. A member of 'Alliance for Nike', an ad hoc network of law firms based in EMEA that assist the client, as well as a member of a global alliance of law firms that act for G-STAR, the French practice also is well versed in international matters.

CMS' addition of a trade mark and design portfolio-management practice to its established litigation practice has considerably broadened the Paris-office IP offering. The firm approaches the market by industry sector -notably, cosmetics, automotive manufacture, healthcare, media and hospitality- ensures the team possesses in-depth knowledge of the frameworks within which its clients operate, allowing for tailored solutions. With Chinese, German and African desks underlining the team's international outlook, clients also benefit from the practice's experience in the restructuring of IP portfolios as part of wider corporate restructurings on which the IP team joins forces with its bankruptcy, corporate and tax colleagues, among others. Counsel Sabine Rigaud is the key contact for the trade mark and design practice, in turn part of the broader IP and technology department led by Anne-Laure Villedieu.

At Dechert LLP, practice head Marie Fillon is especially active on behalf of life sciences clients, but also handles a busy caseload in the financial services, fashion and luxury-goods sectors. The trade mark practice includes advisory, transactional and litigation work, with the IP aspects of international transactions and antitrust matters as clear areas of strength. Honouring the firm's US roots, the practice is well versed in assisting US clients with their soft IP needs in France. Fillon also offers expertise in hard IP.

FTPA impresses with a comprehensive soft IP practice that includes a strong trade mark and design offering. Under the lead of Boriana Guimberteau and Antoine Gautier-Sauvignac, the team acts as strategic advisor on the IP aspects of its clients' projects and has developed an impressive and substantial track record in the fashion, perfume and cosmetics sectors; it also has extensive litigation experience, and advises on both domestic and cross-border disputes. Commercial IP work, including assignments, coexistence agreements, settlement and licence agreements, also constitute part of the practice's typical caseload. Guimberteau initiated the firm's blockchain offering in 2019, so as to better assists clients with the protection of their assets, for example through recording designs, creation dates and contracts.

Gowling WLG knows how to leverage the firm's international footprint to the benefit of its clients. The Paris team of practice heads Céline Bey and Philippe Rousseau is experienced in contentious and non-contentious work across a broad sector spread and demonstrates particular strength in cross-border litigation, in parts thanks to its established trade mark practices in Canada and the UK with whom the Parisian group frequently collaborate. Advisory work includes portfolio management and commercial matters, especially licencing negotiations and agreements. The firm's life sciences group, focusing on biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and the dedicated luxury goods group that focuses on brand enforcement issues are both set up across borders and a notable benefit for clients of the French practice.

Taylor Wessing's team stands out for its specialisation in matters at the intersection of soft IP with cybersecurity and data protection. Practice head Marc Schuler is experienced in both litigation and transactional work, as well as in brand management matters, which fits in well with the firm's wider international offering that facilitates wide-ranging geographical coverage. The group has multiple analytic tools at its disposal to assist clients through the challenges they face with the protection of their assets, both in France and abroad.

Aramis is highly experienced in complex cross-border matters from a variety of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, food and retail. Infringement proceedings account for the bulk of the caseload, but practice head Benjamin May and his team are also active in cancellation and invalidity proceedings and seizures. Additionally, the practice assists with licensing matters, for example in the context of distribution contracts, and also has experience advising on portfolio management. Louis Jestaz was promoted to counsel in 2020.

August Debouzy offers a comprehensive trade mark and design practice, ranging from litigation, prosecution and portfolio management work though to transactional assistance such as audits and due diligence. Indeed, other firms frequently rely on the team for the IP aspects of major international transactions, while the group's experience in customs litigation is a strong complement to the practice offering. The team co-led by Grégoire Desrousseaux and counsel Véronique Dahan also includes several members with extensive in-house experience. With fashion, retail and IT particularly prominent in the caseload, the team is also active in areas including food and beverages, automotive manufacture, entertainment and consumer goods.

The Dentons team is particularly well suited to multi-jurisdictional disputes. Former Clifford Chance counsel Loïc Lemercier took over as practice head from David Masson, who left for an in-house position at the end of February 2021, and is now the key name in the practice alongside senior counsel Isabelle Leroux, a seasoned trade mark expert and litigator. The duo's sector range includes the life sciences, pharmaceuticals, automotive, fashion, electronics and publishing sectors, with the client list consisting of major French and international companies, but also of small companies and inventors. As the firm has grown its European capabilities since 2018, the Paris practice has gained greater cross-border clout across the continent while also offering strong teams based in Asia, the Americas and Australia. Given the wide geographical range of the teams and the matters they cover, Dentons Direct, the firm's online 24/7 collaborative platform is a useful tool for clients to keep track of their matters.

Boutique firm DTMV & Associés is particularly well known for its trade mark and design litigation practice, thanks to its frequent representation of prestigious clients from the entertainment, luxury goods, media, publishing, energy and travel sectors. The practice assists with name clearing matters in France and abroad, is very well versed in proceedings before the French and European intellectual property offices, and also assists with customs matters.  The key soft IP contacts are Eléonore Gaspar, Laurine Janin-Reynaud and Thomas Cuche; with Pascal Lefort, Thierry Mollet-Viéville and digital entertainment law specialist Julien Grosslerner (who joined the practice from his own firm in October 2019), as the firm's other experienced practitioners.

At Eversheds Sutherland (France) LLP, practice head Gaëtan Cordier and his team have a strong focus on the luxury-goods sector, acting for an impressive list of French and international players in an advisory function, or representing them in contentious proceedings. The group's international positioning is particularly visible due to Cordier's role as the head of the firmwide luxury-goods practice.

Taliens' set-up as a European IP boutique makes the team an excellent choice for cross-border work, both for advisory matters and disputes. The practice enjoysa very good reputation for its strength in litigation as well as for its transactional work, including due diligence, but is also active in less visible trade mark and design prosecution matters, including portfolio development and management, clearing searches and the representation in proceedings before the INPI and the EUIPO. Clara Steinitz and Jean-Frédéric Gaultier lead the team.

At UGGC Avocats, the July-2020 merger with Aturquoise brought the arrival of the renowned IP experts Anne-Marie Pecoraro and senior counsel Rodolphe Boissau, significantly strengthening the firm's trade mark capacities. The practice impresses with its combination of IP, IT and entertainment law and with its experience in cross-border matters, including work for clients from the Americas and Africa. Complex litigation mandates are as much part of the group's portfolio as transactional work and strategic portfolio development matters. The experience in anti-counterfeiting work is another asset. Pecoraro joined Elisabeth Logeais and Corinne Khayat as practice head.

The former Passa Varet Avocats split in autumn 2020, with Jérôme Passa exiting to establish Cabinet Passa Avocats, while Vincent Varet has associated with Xavier Près (formerly of De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés), to establish VARET & PRÈS AVOCATS, which opened its doors in November. The boutique focuses on IP, media and IT law, with an IP focus on trade mark, design and copyright matters. The caseload includes advisory work, particularly as regards licencing agreements, as well as litigation, with the firm drawing clients from a broad range of sectors including luxury goods, publishing, culture and -increasingly- the cinema and radio sectors, as well as sports and IT.

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