Nathalie de Quatrebarbes joins Derriennic Associés as a partner, where she will contribute to the development of the intellectual property practice and lead a dedicated team with Clara Payan. Specializing in patent law and new technologies, she brings the firm experience in advisory work, litigation and support for innovative projects, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and information technology.
An appointment that strengthens the intellectual property practice
Derriennic Associés welcomes Nathalie de Quatrebarbes as a partner. Her arrival is part of the firm’s development, building on its recognized practice in information technology and advanced technologies law. Together with Clara Payan, she will lead a team focused on intellectual property.
A member of the Paris Bar, Nathalie de Quatrebarbes practices intellectual property and new technologies law. She handles both advisory work and litigation, supporting companies in protecting their assets and defending their rights. Her experience notably covers patents, trademarks and copyright.
After founding and leading Quatrebarbes for more than eleven years, she is joining a larger firm with which she had already worked on several matters. This prior collaboration gave the teams the opportunity to observe how closely their methods and approaches to client relationships align.
Patent expertise focused on innovative sectors
Patent law plays an important role in Nathalie de Quatrebarbes’s practice. She handles disputes in France and internationally for clients operating in sectors where technological and industrial issues are particularly prominent. Her experience notably covers medical devices, the pharmaceutical industry, mechanical engineering and computer-implemented inventions.
In these matters, her work may involve various stages: assessing rights, defining a protection strategy, negotiating or representing clients in litigation. She also advises companies developing or launching products and businesses based on technological innovations.
Her practice, at the intersection of patent law and new technologies, enables her to address intellectual property issues while taking into account both legal requirements and the operational realities of businesses. This understanding of industrial issues informs her work with those who design, use or commercialize innovations.
Advisory work, litigation and technology transfer agreements
In addition to disputes, Nathalie de Quatrebarbes handles the negotiation and drafting of innovation-related contracts. In particular, she supports the preparation of research and development agreements, technology transfer agreements, assignment agreements and licenses. Her practice also includes confidentiality and partnership agreements.
These documents govern relationships between companies, their partners and their research teams: they specify the terms of collaboration, ownership of results and the conditions for using the technologies concerned. The aim is to secure projects while taking into account how they evolve, their constraints and the interests of the parties.
She also advises clients on trademark and copyright protection. This broad range of issues enables her to work on several aspects of a single project, from its creation or design through to its market launch and the defense of rights in the event of a dispute.
A combination of practices as part of the firm’s development
Complementary expertise in response to technological challenges
The combination of Nathalie de Quatrebarbes and Derriennic Associés builds on an established working relationship between the professionals. The matters they handled together helped the teams become familiar with each other and their respective practices. The lawyer is therefore joining a firm that also works on legal issues related to information technology and advanced technologies.
For Derriennic Associés, her patent law experience complements the intellectual property expertise already in place. Strengthening this practice responds to the needs of innovative companies facing challenges in protecting and exploiting their assets in a context of rapid technological change.
Developments in artificial intelligence and quantum computing raise new legal and strategic questions in particular. The companies involved must consider how to protect their innovations, the rights attached to creations and software, and the terms for cooperation and technology transfer. Bringing together expertise in patents and new technologies makes it possible to address these issues across disciplines.
A team led jointly with Clara Payan
Nathalie de Quatrebarbes will lead Derriennic Associés’ intellectual property team with Clara Payan. This structure aims to bring together and develop the firm’s expertise in an area that is central to companies whose activities are based on research, creation or innovation.
The partner’s arrival also marks a new chapter for her former firm. After building and leading Quatrebarbes, she will continue to develop her practice within a larger team while maintaining her specialization in the needs of innovative companies.
With this appointment, Derriennic Associés now has nine partners. The firm is thereby strengthening its intellectual property offering and aims to support businesses facing the growing range of issues relating to patents, data and emerging technologies.
Nathalie de Quatrebarbes’s career
Specialized education and international experience
Nathalie de Quatrebarbes studied intellectual property law at Université Paris XII, where she earned a Master 2 in applied intellectual property. She also holds a Master’s degree in business law from Université Paris II.
At the beginning of her career, she worked at international law firms. She also took part in an exchange program organized by the Paris Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in London. These experiences helped shape a practice that combines specialized legal expertise with an understanding of cross-border matters.
In 2015, she founded her own firm, which she led for more than eleven years. Her practice developed around intellectual property, patents and new technologies, advising companies undertaking industrial or digital projects.
Involvement in education and professional organizations
Alongside her legal practice, Nathalie de Quatrebarbes regularly teaches at the International Center for Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI). For several years, she has taught evidence in intellectual property law, an essential subject for establishing the existence, ownership or scope of rights in a dispute.
She also contributes to the work of the Licensing Executive Society (LES), where she serves on the board of directors. Since July 2022, she has co-chaired the IT & Software Committee of LES France. She is also a member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property and the Association of Trademark and Design Law Practitioners.
Intellectual property distinctions
Nathalie de Quatrebarbes’s career has received several professional accolades. She has been recognized in intellectual property by Best Lawyers since the 2024 edition and regularly appears in Décideurs Magazine rankings covering industrial property, innovation, technology and telecommunications.
Her former firm was also recognized as a firm to watch in the patent field by Legal 500 EMEA in its 2022 to 2024 editions. In 2020, Décideurs Magazine also selected her as one of the young figures expected to make their mark in the business law bar, across all areas of law.
