Licks Attorneys > Brasilia, Brazil > Firm Profile

Licks Attorneys > Firm Profile

The firm: Licks Attorneys is one of Brazil’s most respected litigation law firms, having unparalleled commitment to clients worldwide. It focuses on complex litigation and its lawyers boast an outstanding track record in handling the highest-profile IP and regulatory disputes. The firm’s practice shapes the development and direction of IP, technology and regulatory law.

With offices in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Curitiba and Tokyo, the team combines industry knowledge with legal expertise to assist a wide variety of clients – from Fortune 500 companies to high- tech start-ups making their break in the Brazilian market.

The firm’s multidisciplinary attorneys have handled complex commercial and corporate claims over the past 20 years in major sectors, including technology, the internet, telecommunications, life sciences, medical devices and finance.

Licks Attorneys, doesn’t just solve problems; it anticipates and helps clients plan accordingly. This carefully crafted approach is why it is Brazil’s leading firm in litigation and patent matters. The firm puts its client’s interests at the forefront of every operation, always seeking the quickest and most cost-effective solutions. The firm also relies on the strengths of a multicultural team which not only speaks its clients’ language, but also understands their legal and business cultures.

Employing a litigation practice which combines legal expertise, technical industry knowledge and a pragmatic approach to dispute resolution, the firm has an overall success rate of 82.6% and has been engaged in most of Brazil’s highest-profile IP, life sciences and technology cases.

The firm has the most extensive patent litigation practice in the country. It is involved in almost every high-profile case concerning complex technologies in Brazil. With outstanding results, Licks Attorneys has the most successful telecom practice working for both patent owners and implementers.

Licks Attorneys’ patent prosecution group consists of professionals with a technical background and well- experienced lawyers. This combination has produced a 100% success rate in expediting patent prosecution before federal courts and 88% of allowance before the Brazil Patent and Trademark Office. Challenging established practices and pushing the boundaries of patentability in Brazil, the firm develops strategies to move Brazilian patent practice to the next level, ensuring high standards of protection for its clients.

ISO certifications and security ratings: Protecting client information and ensuring the highest standards of services, the firm’s management system is based on ISO 27001 and ISO 9001. Licks Attorneys is rated “A98” by Secure ScoreCard and rank 98.39% at the Microsoft Secure Score Center.

Main areas of practice

• Patent litigation
• Strategic patent prosecution
• Policy making and government relations
• Unfair competition
• Trademark
• Copyright
• Food and drugs
• Life science
• Cyber law, E-commerce and software
• Cyber security, privacy
• Counselling and transactional
• Regulatory
• Complex business litigation

Managing partner: Otto Licks
Number of partners worldwide: 17
Number of professionals: 290+
Languages: Portuguese, English, French, Japanese, Mandarin, Italian, German, Spanish

Legal Developments

Minor’s online safety: upcoming regulatory challenges for the tech industry in the US and Brazil

7th February 2024 On January 31, the US Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss minors’ online safety, which featured testimonies from CEOs of five tech companies – Meta, TikTok, X, Discord and Snap –, who were subjected to intense questioning by the Senators.

Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computers are coming – with legal challenges

1st February 2024 “AI and chatbots are a revolution in software and quantum computers are a revolution in hardware”[1].

Brazil´s Importance to a patent portfolio strategy

27th April 2023 Brazil represents a pivotal market for patent owners, thanks to its extensive consumer base and well-established pro-patent system, providing a reliable and efficient means of acquisition and adjudication. Still, many patent owners overlook the country when building and enforcing patent portfolios.

Licks Attorneys promotes two new partners.

28th November 2022 Licks Attorneys announced this Monday (November 21) the promotion of two attorneys at law to partners: Ciro Albuquerque and Rodolfo Barreto, both members of the firm since 2015. The news reflects Licks Attorneys' commitment to recognizing in-house talent and promoting the career development of its members.

Biomedical R&D in Brazil: who owns IP rights?

16th November 2022 Innovation in healthcare of all types is on the rise in Brazil. As this article will show, large investments have been made and are continuing to be made across all parts of the sector.  With continuing investment, it is more important than ever that all those involved give active consideration to intellectual property rights and in particular to the ownership of such rights.  Experience suggests that it is far better to deal with matters in advance to avoid the cost and uncertainty of future disputes.

New trends in patent infringement and invalidity litigation in Brazil

2nd October 2020 In certain jurisdictions, the defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit can raise an objection of invalidity to be jointly decided by the same court. In other systems, the validity of the patent must be challenged in a separate, independent proceeding, filed before a different court. This so-called “bifurcated system” is adopted, for instance, in Germany, where infringement is decided by the regional courts (Landgerichte), while validity falls under the jurisdiction of the federal patent court (Bundespatentgericht).

Brazilian Preliminary Injunction and Protection of IP Rights

22nd September 2020 The protection of intellectual property is key to innovation. Investments in the research and development of new technologies are even more important during the uncertain times we are experiencing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Such protection generates benefits that go far beyond the IP owners, as it allows for technology transfers that enhance markets in all continents.   Research in Brazil is performed mainly in Universities, making the country the 13^th largest producer of research publications globally, with an output that grows annually.[1] Innovation in Brazil can be fostered by placing greater emphasis on extracting value from the intellectual property system. The number of patent applications is a strong indicator of social and economic development[2], and there is plenty of room for improvement in Brazil. Fostering innovation and promoting intellectual property requires effective enforcement of the provisions set forth in the IP statute against infringement. The remedies provided by the legal systems against patent infringement in each country will vary, but there are certain paramount points common to any jurisdiction: The remedies available (i) must have the ability to deter and discourage further acts of infringement, (ii) must adequately compensate the IP owner, and (iii) must safeguard the utility of the legal proceeding in itself, ensuring that infringement does not “pay off”. The undisputed main remedy provided by IP law in Brazil is the preliminary injunction, chosen by the Brazilian Congress.[3] The different economic, social, and political realities in each country make it very difficult, if not impossible, to compare remedies available across different jurisdictions. No matter the remedy chosen by the law of each country, the predictability and legal certainty of effective enforcement of IP protection will have a crucial impact on innovation – as well as on the ability of the IP system to promote technical and social development. The preliminary injunction set forth by the BR IP statute (Article 209, first paragraph) is part of a legal framework that provides preliminary relief as part of any complaint, foreseen in Article 300 of the Brazilian Civil Procedure Code, which applies to any area of law. These statutory provisions require the grant of a preliminary injunction upon prima facie evidence of infringement The law also requires periculum in mora (risk of irreparable harm), not only for the IP owner, but also for the effectiveness and utility of the adjudication. The abundant number of appeals available (interim and final) creates the possibility of a scenario where, in the absence of a preliminary injunction, the infringer could be encouraged to promote severe delays in court proceedings. The remedies provided by the BR IP statute have been consistently granted by courts.[4] Brazil is a country of civil law and it is worth remembering that the balance of hardships and the public interest in the statute must not be disregarded. The remedies provided by the law of each country must be enforced without hesitation, in order to allow the IP system to develop its paramount role of promoting social and technological development. Written by Carlos Aboim (Partner), Renata Carvalho (Attorney), Rodolfo Barreto (Attorney) and Pedro Gomes [1]https://www.capes.gov.br/images/stories/download/diversos/17012018-CAPES-InCitesReport-Final.pdf [2]https://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/statistics/country_profile/profile.jsp?code=BR [3]Article 209, § 1º. The judge may, in the formal record of the same action, so as to avoid irreparable damages or damages that would be difficult to recover, grant an injunctive order to suspend the violation or act that has such in view, before summonsing the defendant, against, if judged necessary, monetary caution or a fiduciary guarantee. [4]STJ. REsp nº 1.315.479/SP.