Philippe Bhering Comments on Landmark TJSP Ruling on Trade Dress in Valor Econômico

Bhering Advogados successfully represented Meril do Brasil, the Brazilian subsidiary of India’s Meril Life Sciences, in litigation brought by Edwards Lifesciences alleging trade dress infringement and unfair competition involving transcatheter heart valves.

The decision was reported by Valor Econômico, which noted that São Paulo’s Court of Appeals (1st Reserved Chamber for Business Law) upheld the first-instance ruling, holding that trade dress cannot be used as an alternative route to secure exclusivity over technical solutions that should instead be protected through the patent system.

Speaking to Valor, Philippe Bhering noted that “the decision reinforces that the Brazilian Judiciary does not allow the trade dress doctrine to be used to obtain a monopoly over products of a purely technical/functional nature”.

Edwards and Meril are litigating in multiple jurisdictions worldwide over the global transcatheter heart valve market, which adds further significance to the precedent set by the São Paulo Court of Appeals.

The firm’s team was led by Philippe Bhering and Thiago Ruschi.

Read more in Portuguese here.