Benelux

Firm overview

V.O. is one of the larger independent Intellectual Property firms in Europe. We offer services in patent and trademark protection, as well as market and engineering intelligence in terms of IP. These include, for example, prosecution and litigation support before the national and European patent offices and courts, such as before the Unitary Patent Court by our team of European patent litigators.

We have wide expertise and many years of experience in Chemistry, Electronics, Life Sciences, Mechanics and Physics. More than 70 attorneys support clients worldwide to maximize the value of their intellectual property.

Clients range from tech starters and midsized innovators to knowledge centers and multinationals. They include leading national and international companies and institutes. With eight offices in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, we operate in a global network of professionals.

Firm overview

NLO Shieldmark

Designs and trademarks are valuable assets for a business. They reinforce its distinctive capacity, create more commercial strength, enhance its competitive position and make it more attractive for investors. Intellectual property therefore plays a prominent role in business strategy, which can be supported by the knowledge and experience of the trademark and design attorneys at NLO Shieldmark.

The European trademark and design attorneys of NLO Shieldmark are committed to protecting and reinforcing their clients’ ideas, designs and trademarks, while bearing in mind the markets in which they are actively involved. They offer availability searches, registration, oppositions, infringement advice, cancellations, watch services, renewals, in-use search and mutations.

NLO Shieldmark and NLO

NLO Shieldmark is part of one of the largest full-service European IP consultancy firms in the Netherlands and Belgium. We offer a unique combination of technical and legal expertise with insight into the business environment in which clients operate. This distinguishes the 15 trademark and design attorneys at NLO Shieldmark and the 70 patent attorneys at NLO. The specialists of NLO and NLO Shieldmark also have the most up-to-date knowledge of the IP market at their disposal, which they use in order to provide optimum management for clients’ IP portfolios. By combining our expertise, NLO Shieldmark can provide clients with the most comprehensive advice possible.

Last updated 28th September 2021

Firm overview

AWA is a leading IP firm with over 370 employees across 22 offices in Belgium, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

We believe tomorrow is today’s emerging business – rising up from untapped potential within established industries and start-ups. No matter the size or industry, we help our clients create business out of their ideas and innovations.

AWA was founded in 1897 by Swedish engineer Anders Wilhelm Anderson. His initials form our company name and remind us of our proud history.

We supply a full-service offering of IP law services in prosecution, dispute litigation, aftermarket services, legal advice, strategy and commercialisation. Our IP professionals are experts in patents, trademark, design, copyright and domain names.


What sets up apart

Global: AWA has a presence in Europe and Asia with an extensive network of qualified preferred partners all over the world. We can handle your IP needs globally and follow-up in real-time.

Diversity and Colloboration: Our people come from diverse backgrounds with practical industry knowledge. Their technical capability means they understand the small details and how this differentiates you in the marketplace. Our teams comprise engineers working closely with attorneys at law and vice versa. This seamless collaboration ensures that the right skillset and legal knowledge is available and utilised for our client’s innovations. We pride ourselves on our comprehensive trainee programme for future IP leaders.

Strategy: We focus on the long-term – building a business is a journey that requires strategy. We support companies throughout the corporate cycle to protect and enforce IP rights, but to also identify and capture the value of intellectual assets.

Digital Innovation: We live in the digital era and are constantly looking at tools that reduce workload and save time. From the AWA Client Porta, to our domain management services – we are innovating the IP tools of the future.

Employee Owned: AWA is 100% owned by the employees with more than 50% of us choosing to invest or hold shares in the Group. This reflects our personal and long-term commitment to both our firm and our clients.

AWA Asia

Part of the AWA Group, AWA Asia supports and manages international clients’ IP needs throughout the region with a head office in Hong Kong – a location known for its successful business environment, world-class infrastructure and effective legal system.

Our Beijing office is our wholly owned licensed trademark agency, allowing us to file and enforce trademarks directlybefore the China Trademark Office and the administrative authorities, without the need to use local third-party agents.

Today, China is one of the largest IP markets in the world and is increasingly being selected as a key venue for IP litigation by foreign and local entities alike.

AWA Asia has strong value proposition that consists of an East-meets-West approach, with a bilingual and bicultural team of IP professionals (trademark lawyers, patent attorneys and IP strategists). Our international-level service delivery comes with deep local knowledge and is business minded, pragmatic and tailored.

Network memberships: AIPPI, APAA, ECTA, epi, FICPI, INTA, The Lawyer Network, LES Scandinavia, MARQUES, Union-IP

Firm overview

Over the last century we’ve been lucky enough to have played a part in protecting some of the world’s most ground-breaking inventions and high profile brands. You can trust us to know IP law inside out, to be curious, and to connect the dots to reach solutions others don’t.

We will provide you with a team, rich in real-world experience, comprising experts who have worked at the forefront of pioneering technologies. A substantial number of our lawyers hold qualifications in scientific or technical fields, meaning we are often called upon for our specialist knowledge and insight on large international mandates. We are respected for our creative and original solutions.

We offer both litigation and transactional support in relation to all IP rights, from small innovative projects to the largest, most complex and ground-breaking transactions and disputes.

Our approach has always been centred on client service, collaborating and innovating with our clients to create bespoke solutions that make their lives easier. This includes: our 'twobirds Pattern' product, a proprietary, in-house patent valuation and analysis tool, that allows us to landscape, analyse, and value patent portfolios in an automated and sophisticated way; and our innovative and dynamic Brand Protection Reporting Portal, which uses dynamic charts that give clients an up-to-date overview of their risk profile at any given time.

Talk to us to find out how our tools, experience and our genuine passion for IP can help you devise a strategy that will help to maintain your competitive edge, whilst protecting and optimising your IP in the best way possible.

Internationally Bird & Bird has over 400 IP lawyers, attorneys and legal professionals across our 29 offices, many of whom have known each other and worked together for years, meaning we're all on the same page and offer consistency and quality that runs through all levels of seniority. We are therefore ideally placed to devise and coordinate multi-jurisdictional litigation strategies and,in the future, to represent clients before the Unified Patent Court.

Office Locations: Australia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic & Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and United States of America