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.

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.

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.