The Patent 1000 focuses exclusively on patent practice and has firmly established itself as the definitive 'go-to' resource for those seeking world-class legal patent expertise.
Recommended - Individuals: prosecution
“Meticulousness, timeliness and responsiveness are some of Zacco’s key strengths, and its attorneys do an excellent job, dig deep into the details and find interesting arguments that others may not have even thought of.” “The communication lines are always open at Zacco, and the collaboration is always smooth, professional and pleasant.” With 500 seasoned professionals operating out of 30 bases across Scandinavia, Northern Europe and Asia, the full-service consultancy is a prime pick for large-scale mandates and global portfolio management. The depth of its bench and technical diversity is further exemplified with the inclusion of 10 practitioners in the guide this year: Jörgen Linde, Michael Byström, Sofia Larsson, Paul Winblad, Tommy Somlo, Ulf Juhlin-Dannfelt, Martin Tranälv, Patrik Olsson and Maria Börlin. “Extensively experienced, Linde excels when working with universities and academics, where he explains the patenting processes in a clear way and provides crucial support.” He navigates the life sciences along with Byström, who possesses a wealth of SPC expertise. In the words of one source: “Sofia is a brilliant and responsive attorney, and really great when it comes to the technical side of medical devices. She is the first one I call when I have a matter in Europe.” Former examiner, and director of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals at the Swedish Patent Office (PRV), Winblad and Somlo bring keen industry insights to the table and have experience as examiners at the PRV. Energy technology is one of Winblad’s strong suits, while Somlo provides commercially astute infringement and freedom-to-operate analyses for those in the mechanical and medical engineering fields. Juhlin-Dannfelt knows what makes for a good patent and is an impeccable drafter, while the dual-qualified Tranälv impresses with his holistic counsel and ability to traverse the contentious/non-contentious divide. Wireless communication and novel technologies are duly protected by Olsson, who also has a knack for strategic counselling and evaluating diverse asset portfolios. Fellow IAM Patent 1000 newcomer “Börlin provides excellent support in all phases of the patenting process and is a very skilled and super experienced practitioner with a great eye for detail. She is highly recommended to anyone in need of a trustworthy and reliableattorney.”
Tommy Somlo has worked within the field of intellectual property since 1996, joining Zacco in 2018 as a seniorpartner.
He advises on all aspects of patents, from drafting, prosecution and strategic counselling to oppositions, validity issues and identifying commercial value. He often assists his clients in solving third-party issues such as infringement or freedom-to-operate analyses and his knowledge and expertise have been integral to many positive prosecution and enforcement outcome, including through oralproceedings.
Although his specialist expertise lies within the fields of mechanical and medical engineering, Mr Somlo works with clients across a range of emerging technologies, most recently handling patent matters in the areas of automotive and absorption/fluidhandling.
Mr Somlo graduated in 1996 with a MSc in engineering physics from the Chalmers University of Technology. His interest in intellectual property developed early on in his career, when he joined the Swedish Patent Office as an examiner. He soon moved to a Swedish IP firm where he became a European patent attorney, which led to many years working in-house at a leading multinational pharmaceutical company. Wanting to work with a broader client base took him back to the IP firm before finally joining Zacco in2018.
This passion for fostering innovation has followed Mr Somlo throughout his career. His desire to furthering the IP profession and commitment to assisting those considering a career in intellectual property have led him to frequently lecturing master’s students at Gothenburg universities on the subject of IPrights.
Mr Somlo is an authorised European patent attorney and member of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office. He is also a Swedish patent attorney with the Swedish Patent Attorneys Board and has been appointed as a technical expert in patent matters before the courts of first and second instance inStockholm.
He is frequently recognised as a recommended individual in the prestigious IAM Patent 1000ranking.
Zacco is a modern European full-service IP firm with a 360-degree approach to intellectual property. There are more than 500 professionals working at Zacco, including over 125 authorised patent attorneys and over 75 authorised trademark and design attorneys and attorneys at law. We cover seven European jurisdictions – EUIPO/EPO, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland, and operate internationally through a comprehensive network of trusted long-term global partners. Both Zacco as a firm and many of our attorneys have achieved Top Tier or Gold rankings and recommendations from Managing Intellectual Property, World Trademark Review, Intellectual Asset Management and The Legal 500, which we believe independently verifies our commitment to quality, excellence and innovation.
Patent, trademark and design prosecution
Zacco’s international presence ensures that clients need only a single point of contact to handle all their IP prosecution in several European jurisdictions. Thanks to our impressive number of patent attorneys, many of whom are authorised European patent attorneys, Zacco has an expert ready to serve clients in nearly all current and emerging fields of technology. As a client, you will find a skilled and knowledgeable practitioner able to help you secure, protect and enforce your ideas, whether you work in chemistry, mechanics or biotech or the less physical areas of digitalisation, software and artificial intelligence, among many others.
Our trademark and design practice assists all industries with filing and prosecution, availability and infringement opinions and has a special focus on EU trademark and Community design practice, including oppositions, cancellations and appeals before the EUIPO.
Litigation and disputes
When in need of experts in IP litigation and dispute matters, clients can rely on Zacco to represent them across our seven jurisdictions and beyond. Unlike more traditional law firms, we are renowned experts in intellectual property, meaning that we have both the legal and the technical expertise in-house to successfully represent your interests and enforce your intellectual property. Our experts can represent you directly, or provide litigation support to another legal counsel acting as your trusted representative before the authorities.
In contrast to many other IP firms in Scandinavia, Zacco also provides a full range of cross-border IP legal services. These services are offered through cooperation with law firms and lawyers working and sharing offices with Zacco throughout Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Germany.
The legal practice serves all industries with legal advice and assistance related to intellectual property. This includes due diligence, drafting and negotiation of contracts or licensing agreements, data protection and other compliance matters, marketing law, e-commerce, litigation, domain name conflict resolution, customs surveillance and counterfeit prevention. Zacco’s lawyers have successfully represented international clients in proceedings before national courts and the European Court of Justice.
Digital brands
With a significant portion of IP infringement now taking place online, we have introduced services to help clients stay ahead of new and emerging threats to digital intellectual property. Our digital brands team can now monitor IP and brand rights online, assisting with domain name registration and security, and actively monitoring for counterfeiting and other potential infringements in online marketplaces or social media.
Our vision – IP 360: The Future of Intellectual Property
Zacco takes care of our clients’ innovation, identity and digital assets – everything that you literally cannot put your finger on. We protect these assets, we give our clients ownership and we make them theirs to keep – now and in the future.
The world changes, and so do we. Zacco continuously evolves to best serve the changing needs of intellectual property. As the world gets closer, we have broadened our scope of services to meet the implications and opportunities presented by digitalisation.
Our size allows us to have specialists in almost all areas of intellectual property. Our service offerings cover the whole range of patent, trademark and design protection and litigation, as well as secure software development, digital brand protection, cybersecurity and portfolio management.
More than 150 years of experience with innovative thinking
Our history as an international IP firm dates back to 1870. Through continuous focus on internal collaboration, the development and expansion of our services and our long-term growth strategy, Zacco has become one of Europe’s largest and most experienced IP firms.