Eric Enderlin

Éric Enderlin is Director of the Chemistry and Life Sciences Department, an IP Consultant and a European Patent Attorney.

He advises clients on IP strategy, the identification and protection of innovations, opposition proceedings and litigation, in particular, in the healthcare and cosmetics sector and, more specifically, in chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biology and biotechnology. He is also active in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) applied to healthcare. Éric has headed Novagraaf’s Chemistry and Life Sciences Department in France since 2006.

Career history

Éric holds a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology, a Master’s degree in Law, Economics and Management with a specialisation in intellectual property law, as well as a university diploma specialising in European patent litigation awarded by the University of Strasbourg. He graduated from the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) in 1994.

A French IP Attorney and a European Patent Attorney since 2004, Éric has also been a registered patent attorney before the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) since 2017. He served as a member of the Disciplinary Board of the French National Association of Industrial Property Attorneys (CNCPI) from 2012 to 2022 and as an expert before the Versailles Court of Appeal until 2019. Since 1 June 2023, he has been a judge of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in the field of biotechnology.

Éric began his career at an IP firm in Paris in 1995, joined Bredema as a partner in 2006, and then joined Novagraaf Technologies following the merger of the two firms in 2009.

Work highlights

Since 2007, Éric Enderlin has been teaching applied IP law and innovation law in the fields of chemistry, medicine and life sciences to Master’s-level students in Industrial Property Law at Université Paris-Saclay – Panthéon-Sorbonne. He also contributes to the continuing professional education of physicians and healthcare professionals within internationally renowned hospitals and medical research institutes, as well as to seminars on pharmaceuticals for lawyers and IP experts. His teaching and seminars focus in particular on the identification of patentable innovations in medical practice, IP protection and the development of strategies designed to ensure a return on human and financial investment while promoting access to medical care for the widest possible audience.

Memberships

Éric is a member of the European Patent Institute (EPI), the French National Association of Industrial Property Attorneys (CNCPI), the Licensing Executives Society (LES) and the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI).

Languages

• English
• French
• German

Areas of expertise

With over 20 years of experience, Éric advises and represents French and international clients at all stages of the patent life cycle, including supplementary protection certificates (SPCs). His work covers French, European and international grant procedures, as well as opposition and appeal proceedings before the INPI and the European Patent Office.

Éric also assists clients by drafting expert opinions on patentability, freedom to operate (FTO), infringement and patent validity, and handles complex pre-litigation and litigation matters at both national and international levels, including seizures of counterfeit goods.

His other areas of expertise include:

• Structuring, development and auditing of patent portfolios, particularly in the context of financial investments, fundraising, and value-creation and transaction processes.
• Negotiation and drafting of IP-intensive contracts, including licence agreements, assignments, partnerships and research and development agreements.
• Defining and implementing corporate industrial property policies, with a focus on employee and contractor inventions, protection of know-how and innovation governance.
• Advice for deep-tech and med-tech start-ups leveraging disruptive technologies.