Leading law firm in intellectual property law

Intellectual Property Law: A Longstanding and Recognized Expertise

For over 40 years, FAJGENBAUM has been supporting its clients in all areas of intellectual property law and offering a global approach, from strategic advice to defending their rights in court.

The Firm assists creators, companies, territorial authorities, public institutions, and prestigious industries in creating, protecting, promoting, and defending their intangible assets. Its expertise covers copyright, trademarks, patents, designs, domain names, and protected geographical indications (PDO, PGI, PGIAP).

In particular, FAJGENBAUM has built its reputation on its decisive interventions in strategic cases involving major actors in the luxury, fashion, sports, industrial, food industry, audiovisual, and publishing sectors.

The Firm has developed a specific expertise in protecting the intangible assets of local authorities and public institutions, whose name is one of their main intangible assets.

Intellectual property law: our areas of expertise

Literary and artistic property

Media law (press, television, radio, publishing)

Writing and negotiating audiovisual contracts (contracts for authors, directors, presenters etc.).
Protection of broadcast formats and audiovisual concepts.
Acquisition of television broadcasting rights and management of press rights.
Management of image rights for individuals and goods.
Status and responsibility of journalists and publishing directors.

Fashion, artistic and industrial design

Implementation of internal strategies to protect creations (assignment of rights agreements, confidentiality agreements, design registrations).
Drafting employment or service contracts for creative professionals.

Art market

Defense of artists’ property rights and moral rights (photography, sculpture, painting, etc.).
Drafting of agreements for the use of works of art.
Liability of auction houses.

Advertising & communication

Validation of advertising campaigns in light of consumer law and specific regulations (lotteries, contests, alcoholic beverages etc.).
Writing and negotiating advertising and sponsorship contracts.

Litigation

Assistance in proceedings relating to infringement, unfair competition, parasitic competition, and defamation, libel, privacy violations.
Civil and criminal proceedings in defense of intellectual property rights.
Summary proceedings, fixed-date proceedings, accelerated procedure on the merits, infringement proceedings, proceedings in futurum. (Article 145 of the Civil Procedure Code), customs seizures and reports by judicial officers (formerly bailiffs).

Industrial property

Acquisition and management of rights

Prior rights search and analysis of the availability of distinctive signs.
Support with the registration of rights and advice.
Filing and renewing trademarks, designs, models, and official quality marks (PDO, PGI, IGPIA etc.).
Registering changes affecting rights.

Valorization and monitoring of rights

Audit and optimization of rights portfolios (trademarks, designs, domain names, etc.).
Establishing protection, valorization, and international expansion strategies.
Trademark monitoring and customs procedures.

Administrative and judicial litigation

Administrative opposition proceedings (INPI and EUIPO) against trademarks infringing prior rights.
Administrative invalidity or revocation proceedings (INPI and EUIPO).
Domain name litigation (UDRP, ADR, Syreli, etc.).
IP rights infringement and/or unfair and parasitic competition proceedings before the competent civil, commercial, and/or criminal courts.

IT, new technologies & digital

Contracts & e-commerce

Drafting software development, licensing, maintenance, and IT management contracts.
Drafting terms and conditions, terms of use, legal notices, user agreements, and e-commerce contracts.
GDPR compliance (database management and data transfers).

Litigation & cybersecurity

Defending rights holders in their relations with hosting providers, editors, and technical intermediaries.
Litigation related to cybersecurity, cyberattacks, and personal data breaches.
Actions for infringement and unfair competition, parasitic competition, applied to digital technology.

Intellectual property law :
our landmark cases

ARTHUR and FELICIE case: FAJGENBAUM obtained an important decision from the CJEU concerning the infringement of IP rights, which ruled that “a sign is identical with the trade mark where it reproduces, without any modification or addition, all the elements constituting the trade mark or where, viewed as a whole, it contains differences so insignificant that they may go unnoticed by an average consumer.” (CJEU, March 20, 2003, case C-291/00).

Olympic Properties: For over 30 years, NFALAW has been defending the Olympic Properties before French civil and criminal courts. The solutions adopted by the courts — which have consistently handed down decisions in favor of the CNOSF — have been taken into account by French lawmakers, who have directly enshrined them in Article L.141-5 of the French Sports Code, adding, for instance, the term “OLYMPIC” and the acronym “JO” to the list of Olympic Properties.

French Red Cross ("Croix-Rouge française"): Protection of the Red Cross emblem in France, with unprecedented recognition in 2024 by the INPI (French National Institute of Industrial Property) of the exceptional legal status it enjoys under the Geneva Conventions.

Recognition of the legal status of territorial authorities: Assistance to French cities and regions in protecting their names against unauthorized commercial use. FAJGENBAUM is the author of the article Motifs relatifs de refus – Noms de personnes morales de droit public (LexisNexis 2022).

The battle of the commune of LAGUIOLE: Defense of the commune against the abusive use of its name as a trademark, leading to the creation of Geographical Indications for Manufactured Products ("Indications Géographiques pour les produits manufacturés") (Hamon law of 2014) and inspiring Regulation 2023/2411 of 18 October 2023 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products.

Legal status of geographical indications for craft and industrial products: First court rulings confirming the existence and protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products (“Porcelaine de Limoges” and “Pierre de Bourgogne”).

Intellectual property law: a team of excellence

Fabienne FAJGENBAUM

Founding partner of FAJGENBAUM, Fabienne Fajgenbaum has been leading the Intellectual Property Law, Competition Law, and Sports Law departments since 1989.

She holds certificates of specialization in Intellectual Property Law and Economic Law and has taught for many years at CDES Limoges, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Paris II Panthéon-Assas. She has also been chairing the Open Commission on Intellectual Property Law of the Paris Bar Association since 2000.

Fabienne Fajgenbaum is an examiner for the specialization in Intellectual Property Law mention. As an expert advisor to the French Bar Association in Brussels, Fabienne Fajgenbaum advises on European regulatory issues.

She is the author of several publications, including the papers Motifs relatifs de refus – Noms de personnes morales de droit public (LexisNexis, 2022) and Marques et sport (LexisNexis, 2023), co-authored with Thibault Lachacinski.

Thibault LACHACINSKI

Thibault Lachacinski has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2006 and is a partner at FAJGENBAUM. He holds a certificate of specialization in intellectual property. He provides advice and assists the Firm’s clients in litigation services before French and European courts in intellectual property law, competition law, and sports law.

Thibault Lachacinski assists sports federations, territorial authorities, and companies in promoting and defending their rights. He has also developed a specific expertise in the area of combating parasitism and protecting designations of origin and quality marks (PDO, PGI, IGPIA).

Co-author of the report Study on sports organisers’ rights in the European Union (ASSER Institute, 2014), of several publications for WIPO and of the papers Motifs relatifs de refus – Noms de personnes morales de droit public (LexisNexis, 2022) and Marques et sport (LexisNexis, 2023) co-authored with Fabienne Fajgenbaum, he is a regular speaker at academic and professional training courses, notably at the École Nationale de la Magistrature, the CDES Limoges and Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (Master’s in Sports Law).

Judith HARARI

With extensive experience in criminal law and civil and commercial litigation, Judith Harari draws on her cross-disciplinary expertise to assist the Firm’s clients with complex issues. She is particularly involved in litigation concerning individuals, whether to initiate legal proceedings or to defend them.