Jean Devaureix, lawyer in charge of Patent Litigation at PONS IP, has achieved recognition as “Impact Case” of the year in Spain for the patent litigation settled in the Supreme Court between Grupo Cornavin and Alvic in the latest edition of the prestigious Managing IP Awards held in London.

The ruling, which is now final and favorable to the interests of PONS IP’s client, recognizes the perseverance, commitment and hard work of the PONS IP Legal Department, which has worked on the proceedings for nearly 10 years.

Thus, last July 2021, the Supreme Court rejected the extraordinary appeal for procedural infringement and cassation filed by ALVIC GRUPO MOBILIARIO against the decision of Section 28 of the Provincial Court of Madrid, specialized in patents, which had declared patent No. 2,378,679 (hereinafter ‘679’) null and void in its entirety, due to insufficiency of disclosure. Said patent had been granted following prior examination.

For Devaureix, this case is particularly relevant ‘as it shows that patent office examiners are not foolproof as patent 679, granted following prior examination, i.e., examined by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office before its grant, has been declared null and void. Consequently, if there is a basis for requesting the nullity of a patent, the fact that it has been granted following examination (as is the case with all patents applied for and granted under the new patent law 24/15) is not decisive’.

Jean Devaureix, currently head of Intellectual Property Litigation at PONS IP, receives further acknowledgement of his proven professional career in the IP area, with over 17 years of experience as a lawyer specializing in IP litigation for the leading companies in the sector.

Since their first edition held in 2016, the Managing IP Awards have been regarded as the “Oscars” of the IP sector, due to their trajectory and reputation, both for supporting firms and law firms as well as for their in-house professionals specializing in the management of intellectual property rights in the European Union and Spain. In its 17th edition, the team of analysts of the Managing Intellectual Property specialist publication reviewed the IP best cases and practices by conducting a detailed study of the most relevant cases and rulings handed down in European jurisdiction during 2021 across over 50 markets.