Dreyfus—providing legal and commercial advice with specialized expertise in the intellectual and industrial property field

In today’s competitive environment, innovation is the mainstay for every business that leads to intellectual property development. Identifying, developing, and leveraging innovation provides a competitive edge and aids the company’s long-term success. Intellectual property is not limited to tech firms but is valuable for businesses that invest enormous sums in research and development to create indigenous services and products.

On the one hand, intellectual property (IP) is distinguished by industrial property rights relating to inventions, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. On the other hand, copyright covers literary and artistic works.

Dreyfus is one of the best law firms specializing in providing legal and commercial advice concerning intellectual and industrial property rights. With nearly twenty years of experience, Dreyfus is internationally recognized as one of the few intellectual property firms with expertise in the digital economy. This unique understanding of issues specific to the constant evolution of the economy allows Dreyfus’ team to manage the uniqueness of your situation. Dreyfus assists firms in valorization and management when confronting problems associated with their intellectual property titles in business and on the Internet.

Dreyfus intervenes in legal consultations, advising clients on aspects such as trademark registrability, design, copyright, domain names, social media and prior rights searches in France, in the European Union, and worldwide. Dreyfus also assists clients to enforce their intellectual property rights.

In conversation with Nathalie Dreyfus, Founder and Managing Partner of Dreyfus

As a journalist, I find Dreyfus quite striking. From the emotional branding standpoint, it has that appeal. How did you develop the brand name, and were you faced with any challenges? And please brief us about the history so far.  

As you may already know “Dreyfus” is my surname, a name which is a gift and a curse. I found that my surname was an obstacle in France, especially when trying to find a job as a young lawyer, since people often associated it with Alfred Dreyfus, the “Dreyfus case”. Alfred Dreyfus was a French military officer at the beginning of the 20th Century, charged with treason but later found innocent. I am, in fact, related to him, and I am proud to be! Many firms refused to work with me because of my surname, so this indirect discrimination was one of the reasons why I wanted to open my own law firm.

On an international scale, people thought “Dreyfus” was an old firm that was handed down through generations and is often associated with a financial investment firm based in New York, namely Dreyfus Corporation. Indirect discrimination was not the only problem I came across. Finding firms that offered IP services tailored to individual clients was also challenging. Thus, my entrepreneurial spirit was the driving force to merge the two fundamental obstacles I have faced and forge my own intellectual property law firm, known as Dreyfus.

Q. Can you briefly explain the services your firm provides?

At Dreyfus, we specialize in IP and IT laws such as Trademark, Domain names, Copyright, Software and New Technology laws. Dreyfus assists you from the filing to the actual registration of your intellectual property rights. Dreyfus also manages the renewals of your industrial property rights with the governing trademark office, whether the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) or any other foreign national office. We also check the availability of trademarks and designs that our clients would like to protect through a prior art search. Drafting demand letters or requests to lift the anonymous status of a domain name holder is another service we offer and, of course, we also help our clients enforce their IP and IT rights.

The Dreyfus team takes all possible steps to avoid litigation and promote an amicable settlement of conflicts. We also assist our clients in their negotiations. Here at Dreyfus, we help successfully defend and enhance your IP rights and assist you in resolving disputes before the Courts but also with mediation and arbitration. Through a thorough audit, we identify potentially detrimental situations to our client’s business and calculate and determine the opportunities and risks associated with their intellectual property.

Q. How does Dreyfus establish a privileged relationship with its customers?

Our motto here at Dreyfus is to advise and support our clients at all costs!

Our team of qualified experts prioritize client relationships with solid expertise and make themselves available to answer any queries and concerns within a short timeframe. We work paperless, meaning all our data is stored in a secure proprietary encrypted platform called Dreyfus IPweb. This secure platform, founded in 2007, can assure maximum data protection for our clients. Our clients can access their data anywhere, at any time, with live updates on their files.

When I founded Dreyfus, my objective was always to find solutions for our clients, no matter the issue’s complexity. We support all kinds of creators, artists, entrepreneurs, companies, and startups. We help them prosper in their fields. Most importantly, we treat all of our clients the same. Our clients vary from pro bono cases to Fortune 500 and other leading French companies, so we mustn’t have particular preferences based on the profile of our clients.

Q. How will you manage subordinates in your intellectual property rights team?

I have the pleasure of working with a team of skilled and professional individuals. Being open and not afraid to ask questions is our office’s main objective. Questions will often lead to an in-depth discussion of cases, and you would be surprised how solutions, which you would never have come up with by yourself, arise. I like ensuring everything is well understood and that we are all heading in the same direction. We all start with a steep learning curve, so asking questions and being willing to learn is essential. There are various skills I look for when I recruit people—entrepreneurial skills, effective time and workload management, good communication. Someone who can adapt, strategize and is convincing is also essential.

Q. About the future, where do you see Dreyfus a couple of years from now?

My ultimate goal is to go international. Dreyfus is already internationally recognized, so opening more offices, particularly in the US, would be paramount.

Q. Working to protect the intellectual and industrial properties of firms globally

Nathalie Dreyfus is the Founder and Managing Partner of Dreyfus. She specializes in Intellectual Property and New Technology law. Nathalie is a French and European trademark attorney and an appointed expert at the Paris Court of Appeal, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and the National Arbitration Forum (NAF).

Outside of work, yet still legal-related, she has written several books and journals about IP Law. She believes that research is integral to learning and personal development, so sharing this with others is essential.

“Protecting and enhancing your intellectual property rights: that is what Dreyfus offers its clients.”