Pauline Debré

Pauline leads the Intellectual Property practice at Linklaters in Paris, with over 20 years of specialised experience covering the full spectrum of IP rights.

Pauline has significant experience in IP disputes, particularly in patent litigation within the life sciences and tech sectors. She assists clients in various proceedings, including preliminary injunctions, seizures (saisie-contrefaçon), revocation and infringement actions, arbitration, and mediation, often in a global context with parallel proceedings in the US and EPO. Pauline has represented clients in trials before national courts and the Unified Patent Court (Local and Central divisions). She collaborates closely with our antitrust experts across Europe and the US in response to the growing influence of antitrust considerations in patent strategies.

Pauline also helps clients from various industries negotiate and draft contracts related to IP rights (e.g., JV agreements, R&D agreements, co-existence agreements) and advise on projects and corporate deals (acquisitions, carve-outs) where IP is a key asset.

Pauline was appointed President of APEB in 2024 (European Association of Patent Practitioners). She is also an active member of AIPPI (Board of Directors, co-head of the Patent and Life Science Committee, and co-head of the Standing Committee on Patents and Standards), EPLAW, and LES.

Pauline is ranked among France’s top IP lawyers:

• Listed by Managing IP for the “Practitioner of the Year” award in 2025
• Leading individual: "one of the top patent litigators in the French market" (Legal 500).
• Among the 30 best patent lawyers in France: an "extremely good professional” who is "recognized for her superb work in cross-border cases in telecoms and healthcare" (Who’s Who Legal).
• Described as "strong in contentious IP matters, with sources deeming her an outstanding litigator." She frequently works on patent infringement actions in the pharmaceutical, technology, and energy sectors (Chambers).
• "Patent Star" and "Trademark Star" (Managing IP).
• "Pauline Debré stands out for her strategic vision" (Legal 500). 

Her team is ranked Band 1 by Legal 500 and has won the award for Best Patent Team in France in 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025 (Trophées du Droit, Leaders League). The team was listed in 2025 by Managing IP for “Patent Disputes” and “UPC Firm of the Year” awards.

Experience:

• Advising and representing Seoul Viosys before the Unified Patent Court (Paris Local Division) in an infringement action concerning LED products.
• Assisting and representing Intel against Intellectual Ventures before the Paris courts in a patent infringement action related to ADSL standards.
• Assisting and representing Merck & Co. Inc. before Paris courts in a revocation action concerning a nanoparticle composition of an anti-emetic drug.
• Advising and representing Seoul Viosys before the Unified Patent Court (Paris Central Division) in a revocation action related to LED technology patent.
• Advising Sanofi and Regeneron in  a cross-border patent dispute against Amgen relating to anti-PCSK9 mAb Praluent.
• Advising a leading mobility sector company in the context of an upcoming global patent disputes, preparing counter-attacks before the UPC.
• Assisting Merck & Co. Inc. in a global dispute concerning the use of "Merck" as corporate name, business name, and trademarks.
• Advising and representing a company specialised in scuba diving equipment in disputes concerning design and patent infringement of masks.
• Advising a food and healthcare company on creating a joint venture for microbiome diagnosis, negotiating related licence and service agreements.
• Assisting the R&D center of an international luxury group in negotiating an R&D agreement with a Japanese University for cosmetic industry developments.
• Advising a company specialised in M2M equipment and services on disputes and arbitration related to essential patent licences covering 2G and 3G standards.
• Assisting a company in a dispute concerning smart meter patents and know-how (infringement proceedings and mediation).
• Advising a food and healthcare company on a global advertising campaign, including negotiating and drafting complex IP rights assignments and sponsorship agreements featuring a song by a famous singer.

Recent publications, lectures, and conferences:

Pauline is a lecturer at the CEIPI (Strasbourg, IP Master 2) and teaches in various programmes:

• CEIPI – Standard Essential Patent and FRAND licensing (Master II)
• CEIPI – Seminar on SEP and FRAND licensing – Interplay between IP, competition, and private law
• CEIPI – International private law and IP (Master II)

She is also a lecturer at the University of Paris Saclay (Master II IP) and has directed the "IP law and competition law" course since September 2023.

She frequently speaks at conferences and publishes articles:

• 25th Annual Berkeley Stanford Advanced Patent Law Institute on panels “Global Injunctions” and “Complex discovery issues” (December 2024).
• Co-author of “Artificial Intelligence and Patents: an international perspective on patenting AI-related inventions”, edited by Jonathan Osha, AIPPI, Wolters Kluwer.
• Co-organiser of the APEB conference on “AI and Patents” (November 2024).
• Co-author of WIPR 2024 article: A guide to ex parte orders at the Unified Patent Court | Unified Patent Court | World IP Review (September 2024).
• “Essential patent licenses and the nature of the FRAND commitment” (“Les licences de brevets essentiels et la nature de l’engagement FRAND”), April 2024, Dalloz IP/IT n°4 (April 2024).
• Opinion | Video Games: A real issue of French sovereignty (“Opinion | Jeu vidéo : un véritable enjeu de souveraineté française”), March 2024, Les Echos (link) (March 2024).
• “There’s been a strong uptake of the Unitary Patent in the medical technology sector”, February 2024, Leaders League (link) (February 2024).
• Co-organiser with Laetitia Nicolazzi (Managing Associate) of the “Game On – Conferences on video games, law, and politics” panel event gathering politicians and professionals linked to the gaming industry (February 2024).
• 24th Annual Berkeley Stanford Advanced Patent Law Institute “The future of patent enforcement: UPC vs. US courts” (December 2023).
• Co-organiser of the APEB Conference: “Europe: the new best forum for patent litigation” (November 2023).
• Speaker at a Symposium in Centre Panthéon: “Current issues in Intellectual Property contracts” (October 2023).
• Copyright and AI-generated content: what does the law say? (link) (July 2023).
• Speaker at Conference IRPI: “The progress of a case before the UPC” (June 2023).
• Web3TuesDays - Metaverse and IP with Laetitia Nicolazzi (youtube.com) (June 2023).
• Chapter “France” of the book “Patent Litigation Law Review” (2017 to 2023).

Languages

French, English, Spanish