Lyon and Intellectual Property

The long tradition of innovation in Lyon and its region has led to the emergence of a huge industrial basin situated at a communications crossroads in Europe and wide open to the international market.

All sectors of industry are present and benefit from an excellent international reputation, in particular in the fields of mechanical engineering, textiles, chemistry, life sciences, and medicine.

This tradition of innovation is also manifest in intellectual property law matters since a contemporary legal theory known as the “Lyon school” originated in Lyon under the impetus of Dean Paul ROUBIER, one of the masters of the Lyon Law Faculty.

Lyon and its region thus possesses an ancient and original culture in intellectual property, as can be seen in the following:

• the presence of a delegation of the French Patent Office (INPI);
• the presence of various firms of Intellectual property Attorneys;
• the presence of several firms of advocates specialized in intellectual property; and
• the presence of the Paul Roubier Center, an organization of repute in research and training in intellectual property law matters.

Finally, another original feature of Lyon lies in the existence of the Rhône-Alpes Group for Protecting Intellectual property (GRAPI), a unique example in France of a joint organization seeking to organize seminars and meetings between its members on IP themes. Its members belong to all three families of actor in IP: lawyers (professors of law and advocates specialized in intellectual property), industry specialists, and Intellectual property Attorneys.