Czech Republic

Firm overview

Taylor Wessing has one of the strongest and largest IP teams in Europe and internationally. With more than 200 professionals across Europe alone, the size and scale of our practice means we rarely deal with issues that we have not come across before. What makes us unusual is that we are highly-rated across all IP specialisms. This includes patents; brands and trade marks; copyright; designs; domain names and e-commerce; media law and reputation management, advertising and sponsorship, franchising and broadcasting.

We advise on matters throughout the IP lifecycle from development of IP protection strategies; filing and portfolio management through to maximising value by licensing; and when matters become contentious, protecting your assets through litigation in the courts.

All of our teams are technically excellent and many members have previously worked in-house, giving us a deep understanding of our clients’ needs and issues.

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

Firm overview

Zivko Mijatovic & Partners (ZMP) is a full-service IP law firm, established in 1939 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, as a general practice law firm. It has grown progressively and today consists of 15 offices in 14 European countries. The overall protection of all IP rights, including prosecution, enforcement and litigation, is provided through the network of ZMP offices covering the Balkan Peninsula and Central and Eastern Europe, with a liaison office in Alicante, Spain, providing legal services in relation to European trademarks and designs and IP legal services in Spain. Over the last 30 years, ZMP’s primary activity has been the protection, via prosecution and litigation, of all IP rights.

The firm has gained reputation for having stellar and efficient services in the region. ZMP is known for being a creative, open and straightforward firm, with a meticulous approach tailored to the client’s needs. ZMP’s constant presence in Central and Eastern Europe means that clients receive immediate and simultaneous service across the region, simply by contacting one of the offices. That is why the service provided by ZMP is unique in the region.

ZMP offers a full range of IP services, providing legal assistance and advice on the protection of IP rights and management and enforcement of the same across Central and Eastern Europe. Services include filing and prosecution of IP rights; searches and watching services; IP portfolio management; dispute resolution; advice and representation in infringement and enforcement matters. ZMP and its attorneys are authorized to represent clients before judicial authorities, IP offices, customs offices and different administrative authorities of the countries in which the firm’s offices are located.

ZMP is particularly active in matters of counterfeiting and piracy. Given that the Western Balkans, due to its geographical location, is a gateway to the EU market and a fertile ground for the production and distribution of counterfeit goods, Rights' holders are advised to consider the measures available across the region and contemplate implementing a strategy that recognizes the root of the problem and provides a long-term solution. Countries of the Western Balkans should be considered as a single region. ZMP is uniquely positioned to provide this service through its network of tightly linked local offices. The firm has therefore introduced a “Customs Package” whereby it handles customs applications, seizures and destruction of all counterfeit products flowing through the countries of former Yugoslavia and Albania (eight jurisdictions in total) through only one point of contact, thus saving costs, avoiding heavy administrative burdens and consolidating customs matters with one agent.

As part of the firm´s business growth strategy, ZMP is more active on social media, dynamic, approachable and always on alert on the virtual space to detect any kind of unfair competition in the market through typo squatting, metatags, spamming and cybersquatting because we focus on our clients and consumer protection. ZMP strives towards corporate responsibility, through sponsorship activities and the number of professionals employed in our offices has increased by a minimum of 10% annually, with constant investment in education.

Network Memberships:
INTA, ECTA, AIPPI, MARQUES, PTMG

Firm overview

HAVEL & PARTNERS, with offices in Prague, Brno, Pilsen, Olomouc, Ostrava (Czech Republic), Bratislava (Slovakia) and a new representative office in Frankfurt (Germany), has a team of 350 lawyers, tax advisors and patent attorneys, approximately 200 associates and a total of 500 employees, and is the largest independent law firm in Central Europe.

This has allowed us to build the largest intellectual property team with unparalleled specialization and experience in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 25 specialized IP lawyers offer an unbeatable degree of specialization in individual fields, with detailed knowledge of the market and the latest trends.

We advise the largest multinational corporations, established family-owned businesses and individuals; in a number of cases we have set the policy for the protection and monetization of intellectual property in start-ups, helping them to succeed and grow.

HAVEL & PARTNERS provides a complete service in the area of patent protection in all technical fields, validation of European patents, supplementary protection certificates, utility models and designs.
HAVEL & PARTNERS has also created a fully dedicated IP litigation team, specialized in all types of IP litigation before national and international courts and arbitration tribunals.

HAVEL & PARTNERS also has experts dedicated to IP transactions and technology transfer on a global scale, using various structures and vehicles, as well as designing licensing and other exploitation of internal or acquired IP. We are also very active in the venture capital and start-up world.

We are proud of our expertise and share our know-how on many occasions through our own training initiative, HAVEL & PARTNERS Academy, or by organizing workshops for students at universities, for start-ups or for the scientific community to increase their IP awareness.