Our expertise in Intellectual Property
Our practice
Over the years, our attorneys have gained a rare fluency in all areas of intellectual property and unfair competition, protecting our clients’ value in matters involving patents, trademarks, copyright and related rights, and designs.
We assist a wide range of Swiss and international clients in the pre-litigation phase, such as protection of rights, intellectual property portfolio management, and drafting contracts and legal opinions. Our experienced attorneys help you protect your interests in the state administrative system, in civil, criminal and administrative state courts, and in arbitration tribunals.
Our firm serves companies – from start-ups to multinationals – and individuals – whether they are an inventor, author, artist or a beneficiary – in the management, protection and exploitation of their rights in Switzerland and abroad. We also help our clients draft and negotiate contracts. Our practice includes advising film and documentary producers and directors and guiding our clients when dealing with copyright and related rights management organisations.
We are proactive in a number of associations that specialise in intellectual property. Our IP experts have spoken at countless seminars and regularly publish influential articles, making vital contributions to the intellectual property legal landscape.
Our expertise
We represent you in judicial and arbitral matters, including:
- Actions in infringement and declaration of invalidity involving trademarks, patents, designs, copyright, company names and other naming issues
- Disputes relating to know-how, trade secrets, unfair competition, copyright and domain names
- Contractual litigation, including licenses, R&D, franchises, technology transfers, distribution, and joint ventures.
Our attorneys offer expert assistance in the following fields:
- Filings and intellectual property portfolio management (trademarks, designs)
- Reviewing, drafting and negotiating contracts (licences, assignments, publishing, franchises, agencies, distribution, non-competition clauses, production, work commissioning, copyright exploitation, co-production, options, sponsoring)
- Performing and reporting on legal due diligence in intellectual property matters
- Reviewing, drafting and negotiating contracts for new technologies and R&D (licences, joint ventures, know-how, technology transfer, R&D)
- Unfair competition (parasitism, disparagement, violation of trade or business secrets)
- Media, sponsoring and advertising (image rights)
- Establishing and acquiring companies that own or exploit intellectual property rights
- Managing portfolios of licence and assignment agreements involving copyrights and related rights
- Interacting with management organisations for copyright and related rights.
Publications & Conferences
Innovation in Switzerland (2021)
On Friday 17 September 2021, our partner Lorine Meylan will co-organize with Marie-Hélène Revaz, Tax Expert and Executive Director at Mazars SA, an EXPERTsuisse seminar on Innovation in Switzerland ("L'innovation en Suisse : anticiper les défis juridiques, fiscaux et comptables"). On this occasion, Lorine Meylan will give a presentation on the rules and best practices for the protection of your intellectual property.
Damages for infringement, counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks (2009)
Damages for infringement, counterfeiting and piracy of trademarks (Report Q203, AIPPI Switzerland)
Droit de la propriété intellectuelle et droit fiscal (2020)
Droit de la propriété intellectuelle et droit fiscal : enjeux actuels d’une collaboration ou d’une confrontation autour de la licence box (with Joseph Merhai, in Steuer Revue – Revue fiscale, Cosmos Verlag, Bern, 2020)
EXPERTsuisse Seminar (2019)
EXPERTsuisse Seminar, "L’innovation en Suisse : les enjeux juridiques, fiscaux et comptables", co-organised with Marie-Hélène Revaz, Mazars SA
Jurisprudence suisse (2019)
Jurisprudence suisse rendue en 2019 en matière de marques, designs, droit d'auteur et concurrence déloyale (AROPI)
Droit des marques sur internet et droit international privé (2019)
Droit des marques sur internet et droit international privé (CEDIDAC)
Les mesures provisionnelles en matière de propriété intellectuelle (2019)
Les mesures provisionnelles en matière de propriété intellectuelle (AGDA)
Jurisprudence suisse (2018)
Jurisprudence suisse rendue en 2018 en matière de marques, designs, droit d'auteur et concurrence déloyale (AROPI)