Ana Rita Paínho

Bird & Bird - Portugal

Av. Fontes Pereira de Melo
32, 1.º B Lisbon, Lisbon, 1050-122 Portugal

+351916386340

Trade mark star 2025

Portuguese
English
Spanish


Jurisdictions:

Portugal

Practice areas:

Life sciences IP
Patent disputes
Trade mark

Industry sectors:

Consumer goods and services
Healthcare
ICT & software
Life sciences
Pharmaceutical


I am a Portuguese qualified lawyer with extensive experience in technology, data privacy, intellectual property and life sciences.

I advise global clients on cross-border matters, with a strong focus on digital innovation and emerging technologies skilled in navigating cutting-edge legal challenges, from AI and data governance to healthcare and IP protection, with a proven ability to deliver strategic, business-oriented solutions.

I have a track record of advising on assisting pharmaceutical and biotech clients with patent and SPC strategies, paediatric extensions, licensing, and regulatory exclusivities, often in coordination with EU and national authorities. In the technology and digital sectors, I have been advising clients for many years on software licensing, copyright enforcement, trademark protection, and IP due diligence in M&A and cross-border transactions. My experience also extends to managing IP disputes, on trademarks, patents and authorship rights. I have extensive experience in intellectual property, particularly in trademark protection and branding strategies. Combining legal advice and litigation experience both in IP and technologies helps me assisting clients
concerning the strategic approach to their projects while previewing potential litigation scenarios in the protection of their IP assets.

Beyond traditional IP, I have integrated my knowledge of data protection and technology regulation, advising on the interface between IP and digital compliance — from database rights and data-sharing agreements to the impact of the AI Act, Data Act, and Digital Services Act on technology business models.

I regularly provide advice on EU and Portuguese regulatory frameworks, focusing on digital markets, AI, data governance, and innovation-driven sectors such as healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

My IP background enables me to help clients adopt a business-focused strategy while protecting their intellectual property and ensuring compliance.

  • We advised Generis Farmacêutica, S.A. in a high-stakes patent infringement action brought before the Lisbon Intellectual Property Court by Recordati. The dispute concerns the generic medicine Silodosin (reference product: Urolec) and European Patent EP 1806 136. The matter is strategically significant due to its impact on market access for generics and the broader implications for pharmaceutical patent enforcement in Portugal.
  • We represented Doc Generici in two parallel patent infringement actions brought before the Lisbon Intellectual Property Court by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Swords Laboratories. The disputes concerned both the product and formulation patents protecting the active pharmaceutical ingredient Apixaban. The matter was strategically significant due to the commercial relevance of Apixaban and its role in anticoagulant therapies.
  • We advised Aurobindo Pharma Group on the implementation of generic protection strategies in Portugal, aligned with the group’s global market entry objectives. Our role includes strategic and technical-legal guidance on regulatory and IP matters, particularly in the context of patent disputes involving reference medicines. The matter is of high strategic and economic relevance, given the therapeutic importance and market value of the active substances involved.

  • Law, Faculty of Law of the Portuguese Catholic University
  • Industrial Property Law, Faculty of Law of the University Moderna

  • Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AIPPI Portuguese regional group
  • Ombudswoman for the Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies

  • Portuguese Bar Association