Latest IP moves – Europe and Africa

Rouse Africa has been formed as a joint venture between Rouse and Von Seidels.

Headquartered in Cape Town and with an office in Windhoek, it will focus on sub-Saharan Africa and the directors are Maura Canavan and Bastiaan Koster.

Thies Boesling started boesling IP in Hamburg on November 1. The new firm will focus on litigation before German and European courts and IP offices. Boesling was formerly a partner of Harte-Bavendamm and before that worked for Lorenz Seidler Gossel and McDermott Will & Emery.

He expects to add more partners in the coming weeks.

German-based firm Bardehle Pagenberg and Singapore firm Yusarn Audrey have formed a strategic partnership for IP and technology transfer. The partnership was announced on November 3.

The aim of the cooperation is to promote technology transfer between Asia and Europe, as well as liaising on general issues of IP law.

Inventa International has partnered with Silvax Legal to open a new office in Lagos, Nigeria. The office will be managed by Angela Adebayo, who founded Silvax Legal in 2012 and will handle IP and related matters.

Inventa International also has offices in Portugal, Spain, UK, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Sao Tome & Principe, Macau and East Timor.

Ramberg Advokater and von lode advokat have agreed to merge. The two firms handle corporate law, M&A, It law and dispute resolution; von lode is also known for IP and regulatory work.

The new firm will be called Ramberg Advokater and will be created on January 1 2016. von lode is ranked in IP Stars.

London-based Collyer Bristow has recruited Karen Fong as partner in its IP practice, effective from November 1. Fong joins from international IP firm Rouse Legal, where she was partner for more than a decade. She is qualified in the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, and is an accredited mediator (CEDR) on WIPO’s Panel of Neutrals. Fong will support the firm’s international IP practice. Collyer Bristow is ranked by IP Stars, the guide to the leading IP firms and practitioners worldwide.

Patent litigator and life sciences specialist Rebecca Lawrence has joined Redd from Powell Gilbert as a partner in London. She qualified at Linklaters before joining Bristows and then moving to Powell Gilbert on its founding.

She is the boutique firm’s fifth partner and specialises in litigation, pharmaceutical regulatory issues and anti-counterfeiting work.

Tom Carver has joined J A Kemp’s 10-person litigation and dispute resolution group as a partner. He was formerly with Wragge Lawrence Graham.

The firm’s litigation group was launched at the start of this year with the hire of Alan Bryson.

Carver has experience in the life sciences, biotech and pharmaceutical areas and was involved in the Conor v Angiotech and Eli Lilly v Human Genome Sciences cases. He also spent three years working in Guanzhou, China.

Wood IP opened on October 1, focusing on trade mark, design and copyright matters in the UK and EU. It was founded by Aaron Wood, who was previously with Swindell & Pearson.

The firm will specialise in contentious registry proceedings in the UK and is based in Swinford, Leicestershire.

Koen Lenaerts of Belgium has been elected president of the Court of Justice of the EU, succeeding Vassilios Skouris of Greece. Antonio Tizzano of Italy has become vice-president. Both appointments run until October 6 2018. Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, Marko Ilešič, Lars Bay Larsen, Thomas von Danwitz and José Luis da Cruz Vilaça have been elected as presidents of the chambers, and Melchior Wathelet has been appointed first advocate general, at the Court.

The changes follow the partial replacement of members due to retirements. Eugene Regan has replaced Aindrias Ó Caoimh and Michail Vilaras has replaced Mr Vassilios Skouris as CJEU judges, and Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona has taken over from Pedro Cruz Villalón as an advocate general. Ian Stewart Forrester has replaced Nicholas James Forwood as a judge in the General Court.