, Press Release

Introducing our expanded foothold in Europe – Pronovem joins the AWA Group

AWA – a leading intellectual property consultancy firm is pleased to announce its expansion in Europe as intellectual property group Pronovem in Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands joins the AWA Group.

As of today, the Pronovem offices in these jurisdictions become fully a part of the AWA Group, expanding AWA’s on-the-ground presence into three new markets across five offices and further cementing our foothold in Europe.

As part of the AWA Group, Pronovem will continue to help clients create business out of their ideas and innovations while creating a sustainable competitive advantage through intellectual property.

Pronovem is as passionate about IP as AWA. Pronovem has been in the business of IP for over 40 years and is one of the top filers in Belgium, providing a full-service offering in patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, IP licensing and acquisition, IP dispute resolution and valuation of IP rights.

The addition of Pronovem to the AWA Group provides on-the-ground support for our clients in new markets, increases the diversity among our IP professionals and extends our language capabilities including Chinese – Mandarin and Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.

The AWA Group now has 21 offices throughout two continents including in Belgium, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland with over 350 employees.

Magnus Hallin – CEO of the AWA Group comments: “There could not be a better fit with the AWA Group than Pronovem, which brings deep IP experience that aligns with our mission, vision and purpose. We are excited to welcome Pronovem to the AWA family, which was founded over 120 years ago. Pronovem increases the diversity amongst our team, provides a stronger foothold in the European market and expands our presence for our clients. There is an incredible opportunity ahead for knowledge and expertise sharing as we become one of the largest IP firms in Europe with a presence in Asia.”

Joëlle Van Malderen – CEO and Senior Partner of Pronovem comments: “I am excited for Pronovem to join the AWA Group. We can assist our clients not only in new markets within Europe, but for the first time in Asia through AWA Asia’s offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. AWA also enhances the offering to our clients and colleagues through AWA Strategy, AWA Innovation and Dotkeeper. Both AWA and Pronovem are passionate about IP and together our clients will have access to one of the best offerings in the market for all of their IP needs.”

Dominique Rifon – CEO and Senior Partner of Pronovem comments: “Combining Pronovem and AWA’s resources creates a strong and unique offering for our clients as we also have a focus on digital solutions and together we can provide the IP tools of the future”.

Joëlle and Dominique will continue to lead and handle all aspects of the Pronovem practice. Joëlle will also become a member of the AWA Group Management Team.

Please note that the Pronovem office in Luxembourg has presently not joined the AWA Group and continues to operate under the Pronovem name separate to the AWA Group.