Intellectual property
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Hall of fameHogan Lovells International LLP
A true litigator with a passion for new and cutting-edge technology, Giovanni Ghirardi has been at the forefront of some of the most complex cases in the patent field. Most of these have resulted in decisions of seminal importance on issues such as FRAND, availability of injunctions in cases involving essential patents, infringement by equivalence, contributory infringement and others. He is particularly sought after for litigation and IP issues with cross-border implications, often involving complex pan-European issues.
Hall of fameBonelliErede
Partner, Giovanni Guglielmetti specialises in intellectual property with particular focus on patents and know-how, trademarks, design, copyright and unfair competition as well as false and comparative adversiting and privacy. He also provides assistance in complex litigation, including cross-border cases and advice on agreeements relating to licensing and transfer of technology, R&D, distribution, software, e-commerce, data processing, media, rights of publicity and advertising. He is member of the Healthcare & Life Sciences, Luxury and Sports Law Focus Teams.
Hall of fameADVANT Nctm
Equity Partner. Paolo Lazzarino advises on IP rights, including trademarks, patents and copyright, and has extensive litigation experience. His expertise covers both IP litigation and commercial IP, and he has been involved in some leading cases in the Italian IP arena, such as the Hotel Cipriani trademark dispute and the enforcement of the Supreme trademark in Italy. Paolo also has coordinated the Milan IP team in major acquisitions of Italian brands on behalf of luxury groups (e.g. LVMH). He currently advises brands in the fashion, design and automotive sector on intellectual property protection and enforcement internationally. Paolo Lazzarino has authored articles on IP reviews. He is also lecturer at at IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) and SDA Bocconi master courses in Milan.
Gualtiero Dragotti
Hall of fameDLA PiperRoberto Valenti
Hall of fameDLA PiperLeading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
ADVANT Nctm
Equity Partner, based in Rome. Lorenzo Attolico specialises in the field of intellectual property and particularly copyright, trademark and patent protection, communication law and unfair competition, with a focus on new technologies. He assists clients in litigation arising from intellectual property rights infringement in various jurisdictions.
Particularly in the area of copyright, Mr. Attolico has a wealth of experience and is a specialist in entertainment and media law, in which field he is commonly acknowledged as one of the leaders in the market, assisting key multinational and national companies especially in the music, cinema, audio-visual, videogames and radio-and-TV sector. He also has a great experience in the field of fashion law as well as in all aspects of the new frontier of IP law as Artificial Intelligence.
Lorenzo Attolico is member of the Board at Nctm.
Chiomenti
Paolo advises Italian and international clients on intellectual property and information technology matters with a particular focus on cross-border profiles of such matters and patent disputes. He advises clients on patents, registered trademarks, copyright and related rights, design and models, know-how and confidential information, unfair competition, advertising and communication law and data protection. He has over 20 years’ experience in intellectual property and information technology garnered as a member and head of major Italian and international law firms. Such experience brought him to face complex transactional and litigation issues in a wide variety of business sectors, with a steadily high amount of mandates in the fashion, automotive, design and furniture, food and hospitality, banking and financial institutions and healthcare fields.
LCA Studio Legale
Gianluca is a Partner and Head of LCA’s IP, Media, Tech & Data Department
BonelliErede
Partner, Tommaso Faelli specialises in intellectual property (trademarks, patents, copyright, design, unfair competition, e-commerce), IT/data protection (privacy, e-commerce, direct marketing, the Internet of Things, Big Data, internal investigations, cloud computing, negotiation and drafting of contracts, litigation, representation of clients before the authorities). He is Team Leader of the Digital Innovation Focus Team and member of the Insurance and Family Businesses & SMEs Focus Teams, as well as of the ESG group.
Osborne Clarke
Federico Ferrara has over 25 years’ experience in Intellectual Property law, acquired working alongside leading companies in a wide number of sectors and with a particular focus on media and entertainment.
Federico is the Head of the Italian Intellectual Property team. His practice covers IP rights, strategies, policies, and disputes.
He assists key operators in the Tech, Media and Comms, Tourism, Life Sciences and Retail sectors. Federico has accrued niche expertise in the areas of audio-visual works, publishing and music law. Breaches of third-party Intellectual Property are also frequently connected with issues of unfair competition, an area in which Federico has built up significant experience.
In matters of industrial property, he has acted on cases involving counterfeiting, exhaustion of rights (parallel imports), licensing and passing off. His practice involves both contentious and non-contentious matters and he has accrued an in-depth knowledge of time-sensitive procedures such as interim injunctions, search orders, and seizures.
Federico also has considerable experience as a corporate and commercial lawyer, advising on JVs and M&A transactions, in which Intellectual Property constituted a key element of the corporate assets. He advises on compliance issues relating to advertising, consumer and e-commerce law, as well as in the relevant proceedings before the Italian Advertising Standards Authority and the Italian Competition Authority.
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Pietro Pouché is a partner in the Italian IP Disputes team at Herbert Smith Freehills, with extensive experience in intellectual property disputes, including trademark, design, and patent litigation. He assists clients in exploiting and protecting valuable IP assets across various industries such as TMT, energy, consumer products, and fashion. Pietro has significant expertise in data protection, TMT regulatory issues, and transactional matters involving IP assets. He is known for his work in complex cross-border IP litigations, commercial transactions, and regulatory matters, representing clients before judicial courts and in international arbitrations in jurisdictions like China, India, and the US. His practice also covers general commercial dispute resolution, making him a well-regarded commercial litigator in the market.
Pietro is a lecturer at the Master in Fashion Law at the University of Milan and other courses on International Private Law. He regularly speaks at seminars on IP issues organized by associations such as Indicam, AICIPI, and the International Trademark Association, as well as on ESG matters and cultural appropriation issues.
Daniela Ampollini
Trevisan & CuonzoDonatella Capelli
Trevisan & CuonzoCarlo Alberto Demichelis
Withers Studio LegaleNino Di Bella
Gianni & OrigoniLuigi Fontanesi
Greenberg Traurig Santa MariaLydia Mendola
Portolano CavalloStefania Bergia
Simmons & SimmonsGiovanni Francesco Casucci
EY TAX & LAW ITALYGiovanni Casucci is a Partner on EY’s Intellectual Property team.
Giovanni’s practice has been exclusively dedicated to Intellectual Property law for 30+ years.
Giovanni has wealth of experience representing leading corporations before the Italian courts in complex cross border litigation cases on patent, design and trademarks also involving antitrust issues - as well advising on technology transfers and licensing.
Of note is the work Giovanni does as an external advisor for IP matters to the Republic of San Marino having contributed to the adoption of their IP Code in 2005 and advising on legislative updates.
Luigi Goglia
LGV Avvocati Studio LegaleFounding Partner - Lead of IP Department
Roberto A. Jacchia
De Berti Jacchia Franchini ForlaniRoberto A. Jacchia, co-founding partner of De Berti Jacchia Franchini Forlani, leads the Competition and Intellectual Property teams. He is also in charge of the Brussels office.
Vincenzo Jandoli
Lexsential Studio LegaleSimona Lavagnini
LGV Avvocati Studio LegaleFounding partner - Lead of IP Department
Giulio Sironi
Simmons & SimmonsNext Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Sara Balice is an Of Counsel in the IP disputes team at Herbert Smith Freehills, with over 15 years of experience. She specializes in IP law, advising both local and international clients on contentious and non-contentious matters. Her expertise covers patents, trademarks, design, copyright, trade secrets, and unfair competition. Sara is particularly focused on the life sciences industry, where she is involved in complex multijurisdictional patent and SPC litigations, often representing originator companies against generics.
Sara also has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating IP license agreements, clinical trial agreements, and material transfer agreements, and she advises on product advertising in the healthcare and life sciences sectors. She is known for her high technical knowledge and has built strong relationships with clients due to her legal acumen and litigation skills. Recognized by international and Italian legal publications, Sara's practice spans multiple industries, including healthcare, life sciences, consumer goods, fashion, TMT, industrial, and automotive.
Dentons
Federico Fusco is a partner in Dentons’ Milan office and a member of the global Intellectual Property, Data and Technology practice.
He specializes in intellectual and industrial property matters and has gained significant expertise in handling national and cross border litigation concerning European and national patents, EU, International and national trademarks, trade secrets, designs, copyright and unfair competition.
He also provides out-of-court assistance in connection with corporate transactions involving mainly intangible assets, licensing and technology transfer agreements, commercial collaboration and co-branding. He deals with copyright and related contracts, including software contracts, and represents companies in negotiations with collective rights management societies as well as in disputes before the Italian courts, civil and administrative courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning copyright levies, and in strategic advice concerning rights on press publications as defined by the Copyright Directive.
His expertise includes advising Italian and international clients in high-end technology industries, such as automotive, energy, life sciences, but also in the luxury and consumer goods, publishing and entertainment sectors.
Federico also gained relevant experience in advertising litigation and in advising Internet service providers in relation to possible infringements of third parties' rights by user-uploaded content.
Vittorio Cerulli Irelli
Trevisan & CuonzoLuca Pellicciari
Trevisan & CuonzoElena Varese
DLA PiperLeading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Martina Maffei is a Senior Associate in the Italian IP Disputes team at Herbert Smith Freehills,
with extensive experience in multi-jurisdictional cases, particularly in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and food sectors. She represents many of the largest pharma and biotech companies on a range of regulatory issues, including marketing authorizations for medicinal products and medical devices, data exclusivity, pricing and reimbursement, compliance with standards for interactions with healthcare professionals and organizations, and transparency obligations. Martina also advises on legal and regulatory aspects of digital health solutions, as well as borderline qualification cases between food, medical devices, cosmetics, and medicinal products.
Martina assists Italian and international clients with sophisticated IP and regulatory issues, including patents, trademarks, e-commerce, and the legal aspects of digital projects such as advertising strategy and social media use.
Francesca Fosson
Gianni & OrigoniVanessa Franchini
Gianni & OrigoniSpartak Kodra
Herbert Smith Freehills LLPFrancesca Milani
Mondini Bonora Ginevra Studio LegaleEmanuela Gaia Zapparoli
Nunziante MagroneMargherita Banfi
A&O ShearmanGiulia Beneduci
De Berti Jacchia Franchini ForlaniAlessandro Bura
LGV Avvocati Studio LegaleSenior Associate
Anna Colmano
Simmons & SimmonsLaura Gastaldi
DLA PiperGinevra Righini
DLA Piper