IP Law Galli

Chairman: Professor Cesare Galli
Managing Partners: Professor Cesare Galli, Mariangela Bogni
Number of partners: 3
Number of other lawyers: 10
Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish

Firm Overview:
Headed and founded in 2004 by Professor Cesare Galli, Full Professor of IP law at the University of Parma, who has been practising in the IP field at the highest level since 1986, the firm operates mainly in the field of intellectual property and also in general business law and competition/antitrust. Having its main office in Milan and branch offices in Brescia, Parma and Verona, the firm came into being as a boutique firm specialised in IP law, especially in patent and trademark litigation and strategies, and characterised by the personal imprint of its founder, instructing a highly professional team, able to move in a prevalently international context. The firm has maintained this strong reputation by combining it with a firmly market-oriented approach aimed at enhancing the procedural instruments in order to reach positive results in the shortest terms. Professor Galli has also been personally involved in the process that led Italy to taking part in the Unified Patent Court Agreement in 2013 and in the Enhanced Cooperation on the Unitary Patent in 2015 and flanked the Italian delegates in the drafting of the Rules of Procedure.

Publications:
General updates on developments in Italian IP legislation and case law are regularly released on the website of the firm (in Italian and English). Professor Galli is also the author of numerous publications in the IP law field, including the most well-known Commentary on all the IP rules in force in Italy (4,000 pages) published by UTET-Wolters Kluwer (2011) and the following further books: ‘Transitory Problems in Italian Trademark Law’, 1994; ‘Functions of Trademarks and Scope of Protection’, 1996; ‘The Domain Name in the Case law’, 2001; ‘The New Frontiers of Patent Law’, 2003 (editor and author of one of the essays); ‘The Italian Code of Industrial Property: The 2010 Reform’, 2010 (editor and author of some essays); ‘Guide on industrial and intellectual property rights guarantees’, 2011; ‘3D Printing’, 2014 (co-editor and author of one of the essays), ‘Brand competition in the global market’, 2017 and ‘The new know-how and trade secrets law’, 2018). Since 2001 he also organised and chaired some of the most important Italian IP law conventions, including the following: ‘The Future of Trademarks Faced with the Challenge of Globalization’, 2001; ‘IP Law and the Agricultural Product Proceeding Sector’, 2003; ‘How to compete through the Patents on the Global Market’, 2009; ‘Fashion and the IP law’, 2012; ‘Furniture Products and IP Law in China’, 2013; ‘European developments on the innovative technology Law’, 2015; ‘The strength and weakness of know-how protection’, 2017; ‘Social networks, intellectual property and competition’, 2018 and ‘Artificial intelligence, data analysis and blockchain technology: the role of IP law to govern change’, 2019. Lastly, Professor Galli was a speaker at important conferences on some key-issues in the IP field, like ‘Raising awareness on the Unitary Patent Package: Opportunities and Challenges’, in 2016 and ‘New Right of Know-How and Trade Secrets – First Systematic Review of the Innovations Introduced by Italian Legislative Decree 11 May 2018, n. 63, in September 2018’ in 2018. Professor Galli and the lawyers of the firm regularly contribute to Italian and international IP Law reviews and to the Italian financial newspapers.

Main Practice Areas:
Intellectual property and competition law (with specific experience in biotech and pharmaceutical patents, computer and software patents and cross-border litigation, trademarks, unfair competition, copyright and related rights) business law.

Intellectual Property:
Lawyers have been involved in a huge number of important cross-border litigations in Europe concerning all branches of IP law. In 1999, Professor Galli obtained the first Italian final ruling in biotech patents. In 2004 Professor Galli also obtained the first Italian ruling assessing the validity of a computer implemented invention patent. In 2005, the firm enforced successfully the first ex parte orders ever granted in Italy of seizure of secret documents and computer files stolen by former employees. In 2005-2012 the firm secured key decisions on the extended protection of reputed trademarks against parasitical exploitation and look-alike. In 2009-19 Professor Galli and Dr Mariangela Bogni obtained landmark decisions in the patent field on behalf of prominent multinational companies, in particular with regard to biotech and pharmaceutical patents and also in the electronic field. In 2019 the firm also obtained a landmark decision in the field of the selective distribution system protection against one of the most important global e-commerce platforms. In 2009-11 the firm successfully represented Assoluce before the ECJ and in 2016 obtained the highest assessments of damages ever issued in Italy for design, patents and GIs infringement respectively, ranging between EUR 2 and 5 million. The firm also advises major companies on the implementation of the new Italian IP tax regime known as Patent Box.
Key Clients: Astellas, Atlas Copco, Biomet, Bulgari, Cama 1, Cassina, Consorzio Chianti Classico, DOC Generici, Dover, EG, Emmentaler Switzerland, Everlight, Fincantieri, Flou, LG, Mazars, Menarini, Olon, Pirelli, Recordati, Sisley, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Vorwerk, Vittoria Assicurazioni.

Antitrust Competition:
The firm’s lawyers have a wide range of experience in the field of litigation and in assisting clients and drafting agreements in situation where antitrust problem may arise.
Key Clients: EG, Flou, Marine Consultant Services, Sandoz.

Contracts:
The firm advises clients in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, including, technology transfer, licensing, agency and distribution agreements. The firm has also been advising important international publishers in the copyright field and has been chosen by prominent international companies for coordinating the strategies of defence of their famous trademarks worldwide.
Key Clients: Astellas, EG, E-Pharma, Lo. Li. Pharma, Menarini, Pirelli, Sandoz, Zegna.

International Work:
The expertise of the firm and of his head and founder, Professor Cesare Galli, has been widely recognised at both domestic and international level. In 2009 he was appointed as a Member of the Sub-group on Legal Framework of the European Commission Counterfeiting and Piracy Observatory. In 2004 Professor Galli was called by the Parliamentary Commission of Productive Activities of the Chambers of Deputies of Italy as one of the experts giving their options on the new Italian IP Code. Since 2005 he has been appointed as a member of all of the Governmental Commissions in charge of revising the Italian IP rules and acting in this role he gave a decisive impulse to the 2010 Reform of the Code and to the participation of Italy to the UPC and the Unitary Patent. Since 2006 he was has also been acting as a member of the permanent Advisory Board of the High Commissioner for the fight against infringement and now of the National Anti-Counterfeiting Council. He further cooperates with Indicam and Confindustria. As Director of the Trademarks Board of the Italian Group of AIPPI, Professor Cesare Galli has represented Italy since 2004 at AIPPI Congresses and EXCo Meetings, also acting as Chairman of the working committee on Question Q194 relating to limitations to trademarks rights. The firm also provides clients with a specific expertise on the Chinese market, due to a wide network of correspondents in China and to the extensive knowledge of Chinese law by law firm’s team members.

Clients:
The firm’s clients include large multinational and domestic industrial groups working in the life science, pharmaceutical and chemical sectors and firms operating in the most cutting edge fields such as design and the new technologies as well as leading firms in the fields of fashion and luxury goods, mechanics, electro-mechanics and agricultural product processing sector.