François Pochart

Biography

François Pochart joined August Debouzy in 2011, after more than 15 years as a patent attorney. Together with Grégoire Desrousseaux and Lionel Martin, he leads a team of engineers and lawyers specialized in patent law. He assists French and foreign clients in all matters relating to patents:

- Litigation before national courts and the Unified Patent Court, coordination of cross-border patent litigation: infringement, invalidity, trade secrets, unfair competition and parasitism;

- Opposition proceedings: representation before the EPO and the French PTO (oppositions and appeals), as opponent or patentee, including oral proceedings in Munich or The Hague;

- Prosecution: drafting of patent applications, assistance with filing and examination procedures ;

- Consulting: analysis of freedom to operate, infringement, validity, licensing strategies;

- Contracts: negotiation and drafting, in particular R&D, collaboration, co-development and co-ownership agreements, assignments, licenses, NDA ;

- Assistance to M&A teams on the intellectual property aspects of M&A operations ;

François is one of France's leading players in patent litigation concerning life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. His diversified experience (small molecules, biologics, formulas, medical devices, secondary therapeutic applications, etc.), combined with an in-depth knowledge of drug and medical device regulations and close collaboration with August Debouzy's Public and Regulatory team, enables him and his team to handle the most complex matters with great efficiency, particularly on regulatory issues and questions relating to supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).

He contributes to the transmission of knowledge by lecturing on patent law to professional associations, training organizations and universities (including Politecnico di Milano, C5, Life Science Patent Network, MIP). Convinced that sharing experience stimulates individual and collective talent, François and his team also organize patent workshops for their clients.