Eric Enderlin

Éric Enderlin is Director of the Chemistry and Life Sciences Department, an industrial property consultant and a European Patent Attorney. 

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

Career history

Éric Enderlin 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 has also been a graduate of the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) since 1994.

A French industrial property attorney and a European Patent Attorney since 2004, he has also been a registered patent attorney before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office 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 in the field of biotechnology.

He began his career at an intellectual property 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 intellectual property 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 intellectual property experts. His teaching and seminars focus in particular on the identification of patentable innovations in medical practice, the protection of intellectual property, 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 Enderlin is a member of the EPI (European Patent Institute), the CNCPI (French National Association of Industrial Property Attorneys), the LES (Licensing Executives Society) and the AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property).

Areas of expertise

With over twenty years’ experience, Éric Enderlin advises and represents French and international clients in the healthcare and cosmetics sectors, in particular in the fields of chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biology and biotechnology, at all stages of the life cycle of patents and supplementary protection certificates. His work covers French, European and international grant procedures, as well as opposition and appeal proceedings before the INPI and the European Patent Office.

He is also involved in the drafting of 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 level, including in particular the seizure of counterfeit goods.

• Assists clients with the structuring, development and auditing of patent portfolios, particularly in the context of:
  • Financial investments
  • Fundraising
  • Value-creation and transaction processes
• Advises on the negotiation and drafting of IP-intensive contracts, including:
  • Licence agreements
  • Assignments
  • Partnerships
  • Research and development agreements
• Supports companies in defining and implementing industrial property policies, with a focus on:
  • Employee and contractor inventions
  • Protection of know-how
  • Innovation governance
• Advises deep-tech and med-tech start-ups leveraging disruptive technologies

Honours

Novagraaf’s Chemistry & Life Sciences team was named Best Intellectual Property Advisory Team of the Year in France by the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2023. 

Éric Enderlin is an IP Star 2025.