The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > Switzerland > Intellectual property

‘Efficient management of cross-border cases, great knowledge of the industry.‘

‘Eva-Maria Strobel – trade marks – very rapid response, excellent strategic approach to complicated cases, very good allocation/cost efficient management of resources.‘

‘Brand enforcement services are offered globally, able to advise on complex brand strategy questions, strong reputation in anti-counterfeiting matters.‘

‘Outstanding expertise, very fast response times, comprehensive legal advice on complex issues.‘

‘High level of legal knowledge in combination with a pragmatic approach. They put themselves in the shoes of the client and help solve the issues efficiently.‘

‘Eva-Maria Strobel: highly qualified, fast response times, a strong leader with a well trained team. Sandra Marmy: highly qualified, great business approach.‘

‘The IP team in Zurich is relatively small, so there is a more personal approach to handling matters; however, the team also understands that the client’s demands are less local and is actively working on ensuring that the service is personal but also global. In that context, the main strength for us is and remains the global IP portfolio management system and the back-up organization that Baker McKenzie has built up, and that the local team helped to further develop and adapt to our needs.‘

‘Eva-Maria Strobel is our main contact and she stands out for me in the IP team in Zurich. Eva is responsive and always interested in finding a good and practical solution that fits client’s needs well. She is open to discuss and find different solutions or options to matters and also thinks ahead; since we have had the chance to build a very good long-term relationship over some time now, she can often anticipate the needs or questions from her client.‘

‘Very strong team with excellent local and global IP expertise and experience especially in the context of licensing and IP generation and protection.‘

‘Georg Rauber here clearly stands out as the senior partner. We engage with him on any IP/licensing matter and he clearly adds value to everything he is involved with. He has a strong team of lawyers to support him and work with us on more standard matters, with him doing the quality control and final oversight.‘

‘I worked with Lenz & Staehlin’s IP team for more than two decades. They have handled numerous cases predominantly in the trademark area or our (in this case mostly German) clients in Switzerland. Their services are simply excellent, competent and highly professional.‘

‘I have known Prof Dr Jurg Simon for more than a quarter of a century. To my mind, he is among of the best (if not the best) IP practitioners in Switzerland. He is particularly impressive in the trade mark area (he was involved in the privatisation of the Swiss Intellectual Property Office as its then director some years ago and thus also has an intimate knowledge of this institution and its workings. He has a profound understanding of Swiss (but also of EU!) trade mark law. He is simply a pleasure to work with.‘

‘Very commercial and considered in their approach. Communication is always clear and complete. Excellent understanding and knowledge of IP law but always with an eye to the commercial goals.‘

‘Lara Dorigo – a pleasure to work with. You really feel that she is on your side and she always gives an honest and considered opinion. Great responsiveness and nothing is ever too much trouble.‘

‘Thierry Calame and Lara Dorigo were extremely knowledgeable about all the aspects of the law, and they engaged and worked well with subject matter experts and worked very well with me and other members of my company (both in our Swiss subsidiary and in the US patent company). They provided me with excellent advice, and gave advanced and detailed instructions. They also worked extremely well with the other legal teams handling the related matters in other countries, which was very important due to the multi-jurisdictional nature of the case. In fact, some of the members of the other legal teams told me how impressed they were by them. I can’t praise them highly enough.‘

‘Good communication, good strategy, clear and straightforward billing practices.‘

‘Thierry Calame and Barbara Abegg have been excellent. They have good strategy and have gotten us excellent results.‘

‘All the lawyers we work with at Lenz & Staehelin are personally committed to us and always interested to meet with us, hear about our views and business developments, and discuss ways of how we can improve our collaboration and the service that they are offering us. They are genuine experts in their fields, knowledgeable about the issues we are currently facing, and pro-active in identifying potential new legal threats that may lie just around the corner. They are great at listening to us in order to manage our expectations, understand our needs and deliver value for us. We were further impressed with the firm’s sense of communication and urgency. These are all traits of successful law firms.‘

‘Lara Dorigo and Adrian Wyss are both: extremely efficient and professional and have a straightforward approach to a cost effective outcome; very knowledgeable in their field; possess extraordinary skill in trade mark law matters and are very client-sensitive and responsive; very hands on on every aspect of our matters and very thorough with never-ending paperwork. They always keep us well informed and welcome any and all of our questions, are always available to answer questions and very easy to work with. They take their clients very seriously.‘

‘Clear, concise and practical advice.‘

‘Lenz & Staehelin is quite possibly the fastest law firm our company uses in the world, with respect to delivering favourable outcomes on IP enforcement matters. Barbara Abegg and Thierry Calame are both very quick to respond to emails and have worked tirelessly on our behalf to ensure a market in Switzerland that is clear of any inauthentic versions of our products.‘

‘Both Barbara Abegg and Thierry Calame have been a joy to work with. They are both very quick to respond to our requests, quick to provide advice, and quick to deliver the results that we request.‘

‘Thierry Calame is an outstanding professional for IP litigation. Very nice to work with. Peter Ling and Lara Dorigo in Thierry’s team are among the best in field as well. Unstoppable team.‘

‘I worked with Kilian Schaerli on a complex transaction implying patent transfer and license with a pre-contentious background, for one of my French clients. He advised the client on the Swiss law aspects of the matter and I have been impressed by his very reactive, clear and serious advice throughout this matter, which resolved successfully for our client.‘

‘For every question, there are the right people in-house available to perform very good, cost-efficient and timely work.‘

‘MLL participated in regular (sometimes weekly) strategy calls with the client and up to 8 other European litigation firms providing similar advice and services to us and the client. The firm was very responsive and always acknowledged our requests promptly, which gave considerable comfort in the high-pressure environment in which we were working. They also always met the (often very tight) deadlines for delivering advice or work products set by us and the client. The firm also has a deep knowledge of Swiss patent law which allowed it to provide the extensive advice it did, as well as set out appropriate steps to mitigate the risks our client potentially became subject to as it pursued its commercial objectives. It was very responsive. Understood our business extremely well.‘

‘Very easy to work with, responsive, trustful.‘

‘Simon Holzer is remarkable by his understanding of the issues at stake, his availability and responsiveness. He provides practical and clear advice which is very much appreciated when time is of the essence.‘

‘Reactivity and, clear, straight to the point, constructive and business-oriented opinions, and solutions.‘

‘Legal knowledge, reputation, able to act in cross-border also on German cases, pragmatism.‘

‘Peter Schramm: very engaged strategic thinker, good availability and good team around him. Hard worker.‘

‘Flexible, task-oriented, very good active listeners to evaluate what the target task should be.‘

‘Partner Kilian Schaerli has an astonishing ability to evaluate legal security vs. business practicality. The service level is just extraordinary!‘

‘Strong knowledge and experience in the IP sector.‘

‘This firm is enormously experienced in all matters of pharma IP litigation and as a marker of their quality that the current president of the Swiss Patent Court came from the IP litigation team.‘

‘Michael Ritscher is a senior partner in the pharma IP team. He is extremely experienced, knowledgeable and has excellent knowledge of the pharmaceutical sector. He also knows everybody! Ulrike Ciesla is a patent attorney and a new recruit from Hoffmann Eitle. I have worked with Ulrike for a number of years and know her to be an excellent patent attorney and advocate. She brings real strength to the team. Kilian Schaerli is a recently promoted partner in the team and also possesses a wealth of experience in this sector.‘

‘I’ve mandated the team around Dr Holzer at Meyerlustenberger Lachenal Ltd in two different companies in a couple of cases involving IP-related matters with quite difficult and tricky issues. The level of knowledge, competence, professionalism and customer orientation is outstanding and second to none.‘

‘The team at Myerlustenberger Lachenal Ltd has an exceptional quality of team players. Although I would like to recommend the whole team I would single out Dr Simon Holzer. He stands out in all aspects I’ve mentioned in the above section (knowledge, competence, professionalism, customer orientation, availability and engagement), but also when it comes to translating very difficult matters into a non-legally/non-IP trained senior executive language. He is the reason why I dared to change the legal support firm in my role as CEO in a my new company after not being convinced on the quality of the former law company dealing with IP matters.‘

‘I am impressed by the level of knowledge combining patent and regulatory laws.‘

‘Broad legal skills in the intellectual and overlapping marketing area combined with high commitment in our company’s affair and business. They have a high availability and effective advice where needed and we can trust them in more complex issues as well.‘

‘We have worked closely with Simon Holzer and Kilian Schaerli and I would say they both stand out from competitors due to their commercial way of thinking and supporting our company with legal advice – naturally combined with great legal skills making their advice trustworthy and helpful for our business.‘

‘An outstanding IP team – or maybe better: THE outstanding IP team in Switzerland.‘

‘Reinhard Oertli is just great – experienced, knowledgeable, friendly.‘

‘Very cost-efficient and fast.‘

‘Mario Strebel is very sociable and uncomplicated. Furthermore he is always reachable and provides the most effective support with hands-on advice.‘

‘MLL’s IT practice is a team with an extraordinary responsiveness, clearness and preciseness in handling clients matters. Even as a probably very small client of MLL, we receive legal services which exactly fit our requirements. With MLL we feel in best hands.‘

‘A complete team with different competencies covering a 360 panorama.‘

‘I appreciate their professional approach and very supportive, customer-oriented way of working.‘

‘I had the privilege to witness Kilian Schaerli’s dedication to excellence, in achieving goals and accomplishing tasks. He is a focused and result-oriented person you can always count on. I appreciate his professional approach, his positive and proactive attitude and his strong orientation customer needs and business performance.‘

‘Very knowledgeable team, professional, hands-on and available.‘

‘Flexibility, ready to go extra mile, quality, knowledge, team spirit.‘

‘Mll has a real team spirit – partners, associates and secretaries are a team to serve the client with their respective part of the work. They have the capability of addressing all request by means of an expert in the relevant field.‘

‘Michael Ritscher – an excellent lawyer with great knowledge and great networker.  Kilian Schaerli – new partner with excellent knowledge of IP cases and upcoming fintech area (e.g. cryptocurrencies).  Helene Heinecke – associate with excellent knowledge of transactions.‘

‘The team was very knowledgeable, practical, effective, responsive, and efficient. Their work quality was excellent. They were familiar with US market practice, as well, which was particularly helpful.‘

‘Very experienced in IP litigation; good technical insight; always keeps the client’s needs in view.‘

‘Markus Wang is highly experienced in IP litigation.‘

‘Expertise, reactivity and business approach.‘

‘Christoph Gasser: IP expertise, reactivity, pragmatism and excellent human qualities. I can trust him and the quality of his work at anytime.‘

‘Very deep understanding of patent licence litigation/arbitration. Deep understanding of clients’ problems and high capabilities in providing relevant strategy.‘

‘Christoph Gasser is highly available and able to grasp and advise on very complicated issues in a short period of time.‘

‘We have been working with BianchiSchwald LLC for years and I consider that their services provided are with the highest quality, giving complete and specific opinions. I would like to remark on the exceptional dedication and commitment that the firm has to their clients and how well prepared their members are to deal with their client’s needs. Their trade mark practice is outstanding and always provide us with solutions and high standards. They offer accessible prices and personalised attention. Best option in Switzerland.‘

‘I would like to highlight Christoph Gasser. He is expert in the IP field particularly in trade marks. As a longtime colleague, he is always available and committed to seek the best interest of our clients. He is well-known in the IP world for his remarkable work and experience.‘

‘The practice of the firm is outstanding for its efficiency and quality of its advice. Their pragmatism, speed and responsiveness are truly fascinating. When working with the firm, clients get personal attention and tailor-made assistance. They manage IP matters with a strong strategic vision and are highly intuitive, yet thorough and assertive. What impresses me the most about the firm is their personal approach to clients and the ability to manage complex matters meticulously and flawlessly. Their broad experience and knowledge ensure the best service covering all necessary points.‘

‘Mr Christoph Gasser is an outstanding experienced attorney heading the IP department of BianchiSchwald LLC. His pragmatism and approachability guarantee the best possible outcome for clients. What is particularly impressive is his business-tailored approach and capability to see beyond the bounds of legal background of the case. He has a perfect sense for strategy, thus he provides not only the legal support but also the precise and functional guidance at the same time. It is a real privilege to enjoy such confident, effective and encouraging service. His inspiring enthusiasm for IP is what makes him truly exceptional.‘

‘Christoph Gasser has an incredible knowledge of IP matters and is extremely experienced in litigation, especially before the Swiss Federal Patent Court. I am particularly fascinated by his way of quickly understanding even most complex issues, being available for discussions and legal advice at any time (24/7), and always being able to communicate in a clear and understandable manner. All this makes him an outstanding lawyer by all accounts.‘

‘Excellence in all fields of IP law.‘

‘Christoph Gasser: brilliant mind, impressive knowledge and capable of using it for practical advice.‘

‘High efficiency, deep legal knowledge, to the point and practical assessment, reliability, responsiveness.‘

‘I work closely with Dr Christoph Gasser. He is a brilliant IP attorney, one of the best I have ever met. He understands trade mark law issues in depth and provides practical and dynamic solutions. A brilliant strategist, his advice is acute, prompt and thorough. Extremely reliable, highly efficient, impressively responsive.‘

‘Very professional, very close to the business, always available and with huge experience.‘

‘They are highly qualified and competent and work really fast.‘

‘Dr Christoph Gasser: he is available 24/7 and responds very quickly. He has an excellent understanding of the business requirements. Explains difficult topics in a short and easy way.‘

‘Dr Christoph Gasser, LL.M. of BianchiSchwald, the head of the firm’s excellent IP team, features an impressively broad legal knowledge which testifies for his vast legal experience. He excels by his outstandingly fast pace in terms of responsiveness and intellectual grasp of complex legal and factual issues. Apart from mastering legal practice he exhibits an unsurpassed brilliance in thought allowing him to reflect on multidimensional legal matters in the precisest of terms. The quality of his pleadings is accentuated by an eloquence, which is rare even compared among the peers. His tactical sophistication and distinguished evaluation skills round off the profile of a first-rate lawyer among the very “cream of the crop”.‘

‘Very responsive team; advice is comprehensive and typically commercially-minded.‘

‘Nicolas Birkhauser (partner) is very diligent, provides timely and comprehensive advice, even if he is on holiday.‘

‘Michele Burnier has great experience and expertise in trade mark matters. We asked for legal advice regarding intellectual property matters and problems related to the distribution of our products worldwide (competition rules, e-commerce law and contract law). She quickly understood our needs, individualized the problems to be solved and their respective urgency, and gave us sound advice which has been very useful when put into practice. Ms Burnier is always trying to find a practical solution. She is very result-oriented.‘

‘Ability to deeply understand client’s needs and objectives in a negotiation. Excellent command of law. Human approach also towards counterparts.‘

‘Lorenza Ferrari-Hofer, partner: ability to deeply understand client’s needs and objectives in a negotiation. Excellent command of law. Human approach also towards counterparts.‘

‘Availability, knowledgeable and willingness to work with other IP lawyers. Very protective of our interest as a small company (costs).‘

‘The ability to track all our intellectual property worldwide, with full knowledge of the facts. Both in their field of name and intellectual property protection and in our field, namely cosmetics and medical devices and our family company.‘

‘We have known each other for years now. What makes the big difference with competitors is that we always have the same interlocutors. These people are extremely attentive and adapt their advice to our company, our financial resources and our needs. These are not boat tips but handmade, tailor-made advice. Ms Michele Burnier is our main contact, it is always with her that we discuss and who gives us the right advice and manages our portfolio with empathy and professionalism.‘

‘The practice works with us for a long time and perfectly know our needs and understand our priorities.‘

‘Efficient support and smart advice – offer a very comfortable communication style, available and quick in response.‘

‘A very knowledgeable, competent and client-focused group of lawyers. They have key skills and insight into matters concerning intellectual property; they obtained IP protection in Switzerland, the EU and another 20 jurisdictions within 5 months on two occasions.‘

‘We have been working with Ms Anne-Virginie La Spada for a number of years. She is not only agreeable to work with, but also most competent and well-experienced in IP. She is supported by a very client-focused team.‘

‘Dynamic small team of great IP professionals with an excellent international network.‘

‘The whole team of IP lawyers and paralegal are very much reactive and have huge experience in the exercise and defence of the IP rights in Switzerland and abroad.‘

‘Nicola Benz, James Merz, Cornelia Mattig, Daniela Walchli and Ronald Kogens are professional, solution-oriented and fast.‘

‘On several occasions, James Merz provided our law firm (specialised in construction and real estate) and/or our clients with legal support in the field of intellectual property. James’ response time is consistently fast, his legal analyses thorough and his recommendation clear and useful. As a matter of fact, all his recommendations lead to a successful outcome of the cases for which we consulted him. Overall, we appreciate James for his friendly and professional attitude and, in particular, for his ability to understand and focus on what really matters to his clients.‘

‘HOUSE Attorneys is the go-to firm for intellectual property on the French-speaking side. They have a deep knowledge, a pragmatic approach and an excellent understanding of the business of their clients.‘

‘Frédéric Serra stands out when it comes to managing key projects and designing legal strategies in complex situations. He is extremely knowledgeable, sharp and highly professional. He is definitely the go-to person for complex negotiations and his capacity to think outside the box is just fantastic.‘

‘Boutique IP firm, highly specialised in IP-related agreements and trademarks/design/unfair competition issues.‘

‘Mr Frédéric Serra, competent, good network.‘

‘Pragmatic, creative, responsive.‘

‘Frédéric Serra is a talented negotiator, finding the right solutions.‘

‘Michel Jaccard is an outstanding lawyer and personality. Not only does he have exceptional expertise in corporate law and IT law, he also has a very good understanding of technical situations in order to provide practice-oriented and economically viable solutions for his clients. Absolute recommendation.‘

‘I only correspond with one person of the Lalive team. I’m very pleased and satisfied to work with him on the matters for several reasons: responsiveness, expertise, good comprehension of the business, ability to suggest several options.‘

‘We enjoy a long-standing cooperation with Lalive and especially value their expertise regarding arbitration proceedings and ADR. They are very responsive and their advice is constructive, thorough and helpful. As regards billing, they are flexible and very accommodating.‘

‘We especially value Andre Brunschweiler and Melissa Magliana for their good cooperation, high responsiveness and dedication. Clever Andre Brunschweiler is very pleasant to work with. Melissa Magliana’s experience in international arbitration was a very valuable asset to our cooperation. Other outstanding team members are Michael E. Schneider and Noradale Radjai, whose expertise in procedural matters was very helpful to us.‘

‘Excellent firm who provides sharp, relevant and skilled advice. Litigation insight and dispute resolution is excellent. Communication is outstanding.‘

‘Highly skilled professionals with excellent communication skills who provide relevant advice.‘

‘The Lalive team is a dynamic, highly professional team.‘

‘Thomas Widmer with whom I work regularly is a lawyer with very good skills. He gives very good advice and handles the files entrusted to him with professionalism.‘

‘Mathis Berger is an outstanding expert in trade marks, like very much working with him.‘

‘The Nater Dallafior team is extremely reliable in its findings, decisions and advice. There is heavy partner involvement and yet a high responsiveness.‘