Ferrante Intellectual Property

Firm overview:

It may be bijou in size but full-practice firm Ferrante has built a noteworthy presence in China and South-East Asia since establishing an office in Beijing more than a decade ago. The boutique IP firm now also operates established offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Min City.

Founder and managing partner Michele Ferrante, based in Hong Kong, is an expert on the enforcement of IP rights and anti-counterfeit strategies in Asia.

Michele Ferrante is accompanied in China by Felice Meli, partner and head of the Anti-Counterfeiting Department and the Shanghai office. An “Italian firm doing well in China is no surprise,” says a commentator, suggesting a cultural affinity with a personal relationships approach to legal business.

The firm combines what it calls “global DNA” drawn from Western backgrounds with Chinese expertise, having developed an in-depth knowledge of Chinese market dynamics and the Chinese legal system. For example, it has built an extensive and productive relationship with Chinese regulatory and enforcement bodies as well as with diplomatic authorities in various countries across South East Asia.

The firm’s Chinese and European IP practitioners advise a client base comprising companies and multinationals from various industries that are based in more than 10 countries worldwide. The team handles all aspects of trademarks, designs, patents, copyright prosecution and litigation, anti-counterfeiting strategies and IP as well as domain names portfolio management.

Ferrante Intellectual Property successfully represented luxury menswear brand Ermenegildo Zegna in a Supreme Court of China judgment challenging the registration of the marks ‘Yves Zegnoa’ and the Chinese variant ‘伊夫•杰诺亚’ by a Chinese clothing brand. Zegna was awarded $310,000.