Sweden

Firm overview

Sandart is a business law firm with expertise primarily in litigation and intellectual property law. The firm also provide advice and represent our clients in contract negotiations, marketing law matters and regulatory matters.

Main Areas of Practice:

■ Intellectual Property
■ Dispute Resolution
■ Commercial Contracts
■ Marketing Law
■ Regulatory

Intellectual Property:

The firm works in all fields of intellectual property: patents, copyright, designs, trade marks, and company names. It is one of the few law firms in Sweden that regularly handles disputes throughout the entire IP field. In addition, the firm has extensive experience of dealing with contracts regarding IP. Therefore, the firm is constantly ranked among Sweden’s leading law firms within this discipline. The firm’s successful recruitment strategy and its lawyers’ active role in IP associations, legislative committees and the academy ensure that the firm will maintain this position also in the future. Many of the firm’s clients are large and medium-sized companies, inter alia in the fields of medicine, biotechnology, telecommunications and other high-end technology. Further, the firm represents rightsholders when it comes to music, art, and literature.

Dispute Resolution:

The firm represents clients in courts of law, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution procedures such as mediation. It holds extensive experience in handling complex commercial disputes on a national and international scale. The firm is one of the few law firms in Sweden that regularly handles disputes throughout the entire intellectual property field. It also represents clients in other business disputes, such as contractual and claims disputes. Many of the firm’s lawyers have previously served as law clerks and held other positions in Swedish courts.

Commercial Contracts:

Sandart assists clients in business transactions, by drafting, reviewing and negotiating agreements. The firm advises technology and innovation-intensive companies and organisations, in transactions entailing intellectual property considerations. Further, it often participates in the preparation and negotiation of licensing, distribution, cooperation, research, and development agreements as well as agreements in the field of IT and telecom. Agreements and business transactions often involve company law in one way or another, e.g. when a new company is formed or new partners enter into an already existing company.

Marketing Law:

The field of marketing law is expanding and constantly changing. The firm represents clients in a variety of industries — including pharmaceutical and food industries — in regulatory matters and marketing law litigation. Several of the firm’s lawyers have long experience of marketing law issues. The firm is often engaged at the planning stages for new advertisement campaigns and product launches, in order to constructively contribute to the adherence of relevant regulations. Marketing law is becoming increasingly important in the online environment. When new marketing methods are to be assessed, it is crucial to have sound knowledge of the functioning and structure of marketing law.

Regulatory:

Sandart regularly assists clients in matters relating to regulated products and services such as inter alia pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetic products, food and alcohol, as well as in matters related to data protection and privacy. The firm also has extensive experience in assisting clients in regulatory matters within the energy sector.

Firm overview

The Fenix Legal team consists of a unique combination of patent and trademark attorneys, patent engineers, lawyers, business consultants and branding experts, providing clients with business-focused IP rights management.

We not only give our clients full service around intellectual property registration and protection, but also legal assistance in related to IP, company law matters and how to expand business based on IP rights.

Patent:

We are handling patent cases in all technical fields. We assist filing and prosecution of European, Swedish and Patent Cooperation Treaty patents, together with patent litigation and validation of European patents in Sweden. Our European patent attorneys have long experience of European patent prosecution including oral proceedings with the EPO. Some of our patent attorneys have been examiners with the Patent Offices. Our practice covers all technical fields, including: Separation technology; digital signal processing and IT solutions; Artificial Intelligence (AI); building and construction; medical equipment; biochemical and biotech; pharmaceuticals /health and wellness; industrial tools; telecoms; aerospace technology.

Unitary Patent:

Our team of UPC Litigators and Unitary Patent Representatives assist clients in strategic Unitary Patent filing, and litigation before the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

Business intelligence:

Our annual IP due diligence and IP watching service is recognized and used as a business-focused IP rights management for the boardrooms.

Designs:

Our registered European design representatives before EUIPO assist in the prosecution of Community design and national design applications, renewals, assignments, pre-searching and watching, as well as international protection via the Hague system.

Trademarks:

We are registered European Union trademark representatives before the EUIPO. Covering: protection strategies, M2/EUTM Link, classification consultation, relations between trademarks - domain names - design; pre-filing searches; filing and prosecution of national, international and EU applications; renewals; assignments; watching services; provisional refusals (M2); oppositions worldwide, special experience: EU trademark oppositions; customs watch; corporate image manuals.

Trade names and company law:

Assisting in establishment of new companies in Sweden and other countries, providing all necessary searches, documentation and contacts with the local authorities.

Cyberlaw:

Covering protection strategies and creation, renewal and assignments of domain names; domain name registrations in all top-level domains; privacy law; Internet copyright; domain name disputes (UDRP, URS, PDDRP, RRDRP and SDRP), in court or via alternative dispute resolution, such as before the WIPO, the US-based Forum and the Czech Arbitration Court.

Copyright:

Assisting in the valuation of literary and artistic works, certified depositions of works, formation of agreements and dispute resolution in case of copyright infringement.

Dispute resolution:

We are well prepared to defend and enforce clients rights at all levels of the judicial system, in Sweden and the European Union. We have internationally trained and well-experienced mediators and arbitrators qualified and certified by International Trademark Association (INTA), the US based Forum, and as by the Swedish courts listed Special Mediators.

Commercial law and market communication:

Conducting national/international legal market investigations, evaluate contracts (such as coexistence agreements, license agreements, business contracts, settlement agreements, cooperation agreements, franchising agreements, joint venture agreements, production and distribution agreements and non-disclosure agreements), assisting in dispute resolution.

Firm overview

Built on solid foundations dating back to 1891, today Barker Brettell is a modern and vibrant intellectual property (IP) practice, the cornerstone of which continues to be patents, trade marks and designs and copyright and, ultimately, putting IP on its clients’ board room agenda through IP strategy and management, and additional services such as IP audits and valuations.

The firm’s clients benefit from over 60 attorneys and trainee attorneys with a variety of academic backgrounds, as well as a large and highly regarded support network of paralegals and administrators.  It’s UK practice, based in Birmingham and Southampton, is also supported by a team of attorneys in Sweden, which means the firm can offer a seamless and consistent service for clients in Europe and, in respect of trade marks, before the EUIPO.

Barker Brettell’s UK-based and international client portfolio spans independent inventors, start-ups, SMEs, universities, university tech transfer and spin-out organisations and other research institutions and government agencies as well as large, multi-national, global corporations.

When it comes to patents, Barker Brettell operates and has strength and depth in all of the major (and EPO recognised) technical fields (including Biotechnology, Computer implemented technology, Electronics & Semiconductors, Engineering & Manufacturing, Fintech, Life Sciences & Chemistry, Medical devices, Pharmaceuticals and Physics & Materials) and practice-wide, the firm overlays its technical expertise with a sector-focused approach that spans the Aerospace, Automotive, Computing & Software, Cosmetics, Energy, Food & Drink, Medical and Universities sectors.

Types of work undertaken:

Patents: Our patent team continues to acquire and support the procurement and management of over 1,700 new patent applications annually, with particular experience in managing intricate patent portfolios. One service that helps us stand out in the IP market is our ‘IP Valuation’ package: designed for clients considering M&A, investment, or floatation; optimizing tax-efficiency, or calculating royalties.

The firm's patent specialisms include pre-filing advice and patentability searches, invention mining and the drafting of applications for new inventions, the filing and prosecution of patent applications, advice on contentious issues, EPO opposition work, freedom-to-operate opinions, landscape searching, transactional work relating to licensing and IP-related due diligence and recently added IP valuations and audits.

The firm has a strong secondment program seconding patent attorneys to internal in-house patent departments.

Trade marks: We routinely handle filing and prosecuting of 2,700 trade marks annually, which we are confident exceeds many of our competitors. We tailor filing and enforcement strategies for clients, handling oppositions, revocations, cancellations, cease and desist letters, internet takedowns, company name and domain name complaints and customs actions. We are also experts in the negotiation of settlements.

From advising to enforcement, our trade mark practitioners have extensive experience in all trade mark aspects. Our team acts directly before the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO); we continually rank among the top filers of UK trade marks (and formerly EU trade marks, until this work transferred to our Sweden office).

The firm's trade mark specialisms include IP strategy, the searching, filing and prosecution of applications, oppositions, cancellations, enforcement programmes, the negotiation of settlement agreements, renewals, assignments and licensing, domain name issues, internet takedown actions, customs and excise actions, due diligence exercises, portfolio management and counterfeiting issues.

Designs & Copyright:  Designs continues to be a real specialism within Barker Brettell's practice, and the firm is routinely ranked as one of the highest filers of UK and EU designs of any UK firm.  With much interplay between designs and other IP rights, its designs team comprises patent and trade mark attorneys who provide robust and cost-effective strategies for design protection. Over the years the firm has built a strong reputation for designs advice and strategy.

In addition to its core services, the firm has a strong oppositions and appeals record and offers additional services including IP audits and IP valuations.

Firm overview

Areas of specialism
EIP is a leading IP law firm advising on high-value and complex patent matters. Our multidisciplinary team combines patent attorneys, litigators and commercial IP lawyers. EIP is located in key strategic markets – Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The benefit of combining attorneys and litigators is well illustrated by EIP’s successful representation of clients in high-stakes patent litigation before the UK High Court, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, and before the German district and federal courts.

Aside from the more mainstream drafting and prosecution practices, EIP’s patent attorneys work closely with the litigation team in the United Kingdom and Germany, providing additional technical expertise on large-scale international patent litigation matters. We also have a dedicated, experienced and technically skilled team supporting clients before the new Unified Patent Court (UPC). EIP brings together highly recognised litigation lawyers and European patent attorneys that are experienced in English and German across all technical fields and since the UPC opened its doors also has experience from a number of cases before different venues of the new court.

EIP is increasingly involved in advisory and strategic project work in relation to the enforcement of patent rights, including portfolio analyses, infringement and validity analyses and claim charting, as well as strategic IP advice such as due diligence related to acquisitions and joint ventures. Team members often counsel clients on strategic patent portfolio management and development matters, and EIP has been retained to assist in developing high-level IP strategies for some of the world’s largest companies. Recently, after strategic hire, the team can also advise on China related matters.

To complement the high-value patent advice we already provide to our clients, we give commercial advice on the exploitation and use of IP rights and ancillary issues arising in relation to data protection and rights of privacy.

EIP has represented clients in hundreds of oppositions before the EPO over the past two decades and represent clients in person at hearings at the EPO in Munich, The Hague and Berlin, as well as via videoconference hearings.

The firm’s integrated team of patent attorneys, litigators and paralegals can act in national court litigation alongside EPO opposition proceedings for a seamless, consistent and effective service.

Clients
EIP has a diverse international client base, advising blue-chip companies through to small and mid-sized enterprises. Clients include Nokia, VISA, Airbus, AP Moller-Maersk, Pulpex, Sonos, Broadcom and Optis.

Clients choose EIP for its commercial outlook, in-house experience, honest opinions and pioneering approach to dealing with patents. Our attorneys and lawyers have considerable technical knowledge in the areas of high tech, advanced engineering, chemistry, life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, medical technology and energy.

Firm overview
EIP was established in 2000 and has rapidly grown to be a leading IP firm with 36 partners and more than 180 staff practising from its four UK offices in Bath, Cardiff, Leeds and London, its German office in Düsseldorf, its Sweden office in Stockholm and its US office in Denver, Colorado.

In 2024 EIP was named “European Patent Disputes Firm of the Year” at Managing Intellectual Property EMEA awards for the third time. EIP is a Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, IAM Patent 1000, IP Stars and JUVE-recommended firm, as well as being one of four firms achieving gold rankings all six categories in the Financial Times' Europe's Leading Patent Law Firms award list: Biotechnology, Food & Healthcare, Chemistry & Pharmacy, Electrical Engineering & Physics, IT & Software, Materials & Nanotechnology, and Mechanical Engineering.

Notable cases
EIP has built an enviable reputation in patent litigation and has won the following high-profile cases for clients:

• EIP secured a landmark victory in the UK Supreme Court for its clients Unwired Planet and Conversant Wireless, in Unwired Planet v Huawei and Conversant Wireless v Huawei & ZTE – the most eagerly anticipated telecoms cases in years. The Supreme Court’s combined ruling defines the licensing of patented technology considered essential to the international standards for previous and future generations of wireless telecommunications technology.
• EIP secured a significant victory for client Conversant Wireless in Germany. EIP successfully asserted a standard essential patent (SEP) for Conversant against Stuttgart carmaker Daimler in a dispute that will have repercussions across the sector.
• EIP obtained a victory in the Düsseldorf District Court for its client Conversant Wireless in two patent infringement decisions against Huawei and ZTE. The court affirmed infringement of two 3G-related SEPs by Huawei and ZTE products. Subject to enforcement, the ruling awarded, among other things, an injunction against both companies, confirming a previous but non-accepted licence offer by Conversant as fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory.