Soteris Pittas & Co L.L.C

Soteris Pittas & Co LLC is pleased to share the successful outcome in a high-stake legal matter handled before the District Court of Limassol. Our litigation team has successfully secured, inter alia, the ex parte issuance of an Anton Piller Order and extensive Freezing Orders in civil proceedings for the infringement of rights pertaining to intellectual property. Our clients, copyrights’ owners of a sophisticated AI software’s source code, had their source code repositories accessed, stolen, copied and used in, as it later appeared, other AI startup companies in the same field. Since copyright protections in the source codes underlying Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems require extensive evidence to be adduced by a plaintiff, the preservation of any evidence that establish the nature and extent of conduct constituting infringement, is critical. The Anton Piller Order, constituting a powerful and draconian legal remedy, was granted ex parte by the District Court of Limassol to protect our clients’ rights by permitting the Applicants to conduct a search of the Respondents’ premises for the purposes of seizing any incriminating evidence in the Respondents’ procession. In order to ensure that any evidence of vital importance to our clients’ case would not have otherwise been destroyed, nor tampered with, prior to being brought before the Court to be examined, a designated team of independent IT Forensic Experts, accompanied by independent supervising lawyers, authorised by the Court, managed to effectively identify, collect and secure any evidence of digital/ electronic nature. Once the evidence was preserved, the IT Forensic Experts carried out an in-depth analysis of the gathered documents, data and materials, which, involved the review and examination of, inter alia, a large volume of electronic files, system logs, emails and messages to extract valuable information that would assist in determining the extent of the infringement and in identifying any additional parties that may be also involved in the wrongdoings. This outcome highlights the meticulous preparation of our litigation team and underscores our commitment in delivering top-tier legal services to our clients while navigating the complexities that modern litigation entails.

SOTERIS PITTAS & CO LLC is pleased to announce that as of the 1st of January 2024, Mr. Christodoulos Neophytou, Mr. Alexandros Mavrommatis and Mr. Kyriakos Pittas have been promoted as partners in our Firm! Mr. Christodoulos Neophytou joined our firm for his legal training in September 2017 and he mainly specializes in Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Tort Law and Administrative Law, while he is also dealing with cases of the banking and financial sector. He has many years of court experience in related cases, representing clients on corporate and commercial disputes before the Cypriot courts, as well as companies and individuals in cases involving, inter alia, shareholders’ disputes, conspiracy matters, fraud and breach of fiduciaries duties, as well as cases concerning petitions for the appointment of Interim Receivers, Winding Up Petitions and applications for the issuance of discovery and gagging orders. Mr. Christodoulos Neophytou has obtained an LLB from Frederick University of Cyprus. Mr. Alexandros Mavrommatis has been a member of our Law Firm since 2015, joining the litigation team in 2019. He mainly deals with dispute resolution proceedings, the handling of court cases on corporate and commercial disputes and international proceedings for the recovery of debts and the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, as well as the handling of court cases for the issuance of discovery orders and other interim measures. He has many years of court experience in cases pertaining to the aforementioned issues, representing domestic and international clients with a range of disputes before the Cypriot Courts. Mr. Alexandros Mavrommatis has obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Philology from University of Ioannina, Greece and an LLB Degree from Neapolis University of Cyprus. Mr. Kyriakos Pittas joined our litigation team in 2019 and specializes in cross-border commercial disputes and corporate law matters. He has court experience in representing clients in complex commercial disputes with an international element, as well as in representing clients in proceedings for the issuance of interim orders in aid of inter alia foreign proceedings. Mr. Kyriakos Pittas also frequently advises clients in matters pertaining to shareholders’ disputes and insolvency matters. He is a graduate of the University of Newcastle and holds a Master’s Degree in Corporate and Commercial Law from Queen Mary University of London, with First Honours. We would like to congratulate our three colleagues on their admission, and wish them continuous success.

Our Firm, had the pleasure to attend the London International Disputes Week 2024 (LIDW24) which over the course of the week saw the participation of approximately 7,000 people from around the globe. This year’s LIDW was extremely successful, and was comprised of numerous seminars organized by leading London firms, including a one-day Conference at Westminster consisting of a number of discussion panels comprised of leading legal practitioners and judges, as well as keynote speeches by inter alia the Rt Hon. the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill - Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Meg Kinnear - Secretary-General of ICSID and Vice President of the World Bank, and by the Hon. Julia Gillard AC - Former Prime Minister of Australia. Our Partners Mr. Kyriakos Pittas and Mr. Alexandros Mavrommatis who attended this year’s LIDW, had the chance to attend various seminars and discussion panels relating to a variety of important and interesting topics, including inter alia on Artificial Intelligence (AI), ESG claims and on arbitration matters, as well as to meet and catch up with friends and colleagues from across the world.  

Our Partner, Mrs. Anna Lambrou, was amongst the speakers at today’s Conference organized by the Cyprus Arbitration & Mediation Centre (CAMC), which is currently, still, under way at the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia. Mrs. Anna Lambrou participated in Session III – ‘Exploring the Cyprus Mediation Framework: Legal Benefits, Reforms and Future Developments’, featuring Ms. Despo Andreou, Ms. Melina Karaolia and Mr. Evripides Xadjinestoros, and as a Moderator Ms Stefania Floraki, with the topic «The Cyprus Arbitration & Mediation Forum: An alternative (better?) way to resolve disputes?». This esteemed event is focused on the advancement of alternative dispute resolution methods in Cyprus, while also serving as a great opportunity for participants to connect with industry experts and discuss the latest key developments and challenges in dispute resolution.  

Soteris Pittas & Co LLC was, once again, delighted to be a Gold Sponsor of the 2nd Cyprus Arbitration Day (CAD), that was held between the 19th and 21st of May 2024 at Grand Resort Hotel in Limassol. The Cyprus Arbitration Forum (CAF) was successful in organizing this event for the second year in a row, following the success of last year’s conference, attracting more than 20 speakers and approximately 200 participants from jurisdictions all around the world, including renowned legal practitioners and experts in the field of international arbitration. This year’s conference featured three panel sessions packed with insightful discussions, concentrating on key topics in the area of arbitration, on the modernization of arbitration laws, the overlap of technology and arbitration and the changing role of expert witnesses in arbitration. Our Managing Partner, Mr. Soteris Pittas, was among the members of the Organizing Committee, with our Partner, Mrs. Anna Lamprou being one of the speakers at the conference on the Third Session – Expert Witnesses in Arbitration. Members of our legal team, Partners Mrs. Maria Pitta and Christodoulos Neophytou, as well as Thea Pitta and Eleftheria Pavlou, also attended the conference. We would like to congratulate all the speakers for their insightful and stimulating presentations and discussions, as well as everyone involved in the organization of this highly successful event.