Soerensen Garcia Advogados Associados occupies an important position in the Brazilian IP market. Its practice focuses on intellectual property, technology and related commercial law and competitors noted particular strength in patent litigation.
The firm, which has offices in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, represents market leaders such as Nestlé, Dell, Harley-Davidson and Pfizer, and recently took on Amazon and World Wrestling Entertainment as clients.
Senior partner Mario Soerensen Garcia is the only Brazilian on the board of directors and executive committee of INTA and participated in the development of the country's present IP law, which was passed in 1997. Soerensen recently represented Nestlé against model Vanessa Nunes, who filed for moral and property damages because the company continued to use her image on its packaging after the licence for use had expired. The court ruled that there were no moral damages and that the defendant should only pay for the extra time the picture had been used, calculated from the contract between the parties.
The firm also secured a preliminary injunction on behalf of Moleskine, which produces the well-known journals used by famous historical figures such as Ernest Hemingway and Vincent can Gogh. The judge ordered defendant Cuca Serviços to stop using MyMoleskine or similar expressions to identify its goods and services under penalty of a daily fine of R$5,000. In May of 2010, the parties agreed that the defendant would assign its trade mark applications and domain names to Moleskine, which would waive the right to pursue indemnity for the past unauthorised use of the mark.