DLA Piper is appointing Frank Valentin as partner to its Intellectual Property and Technology (IPT) Practice in Paris, joining with a team of four others on 15 January.

Frank joins from French law firm Altana and prior to that was one of the founding partners of another French firm, De Gaulle Fleurance. He has almost 20 years of experience in Trademark and Copyright crisis litigation with a particular focus on the internet and media sectors. He also has significant experience in anti-counterfeiting campaigns for IT and software companies, along with experience in IT and life sciences patent litigation.

France is a key market for DLA Piper’s European IPT practice, from both an IP and patent perspective and his appointment, along with the team that joins with him, will provides a valuable IP capability to its clients. This also fits in to a wider international drive to bolster the firms IP and patent offering, having recently recruited in the Netherlands, China, Germany and more recently in the UK with Deborah Bould from Pinsent Masons.

Commenting on the appointment, Melinda Upton, Global Co-Chair of DLA Piper’s Intellectual Property & Technology practice, said:

“Frank is a well-known and highly experienced figure in the increasingly competitive French market for IP and patents and we are delighted that he will be joining our team in Paris. The quality of the clients that he works for and the advice that he gives them will be of great value to our clients here at DLA Piper, both in the local market and across the world. We look forward to his contribution to our steadily growing team.”