Dispute Resolution: Firms To Watch

Boutique firm Properta Attorneys Ltd specialises in a diverse range of matters spanning litigation, arbitration proceedings, and administrative appeals, particularly in the real estate and intellectual property spaces. Martina Kronström is head of the team.

Intellectual Property: Tier 2

Boutique firm Properta Attorneys Ltd is reputed for the depth of its experience in trade mark, design, copyright and trade name matters; it also represents clients in high-profile IP cases at a Supreme Court and ECJ level and before the IP Market Court. The practice is co-led by Hanna-Maija Elo, who specialises IP litigation, infringement and unfair business matters and is praised by clients as an ‘excellent negotiator’; and Kukka Tommila, who specialises in trade mark, design right, domain name, patent and trade name mandates. Emilia Hodge is also recommended and represents clients with various IP matters, focusing on trade mark disputes.

Real Estate and Construction: Tier 2

Properta Attorneys Ltd offers comprehensive advice across the real estate and construction space, handling construction and project agreements, real estate transactions and construction disputes in general courts and arbitration tribunals. The department is jointly led by Ilkka Koivisto, who focuses on construction agreements and the related disputes; and Ilmo Korpelainen, who has notable experience in real estate transactions, commercial lease agreements, and insurance matters. Other key members of the team are construction specialist Ville Laine, transactional expert Heidi Savia and litigator Katja Firtser.
Practice head(s):Ilkka Koivisto; Ilmo Korpelainen
Other key lawyers:Ville Laine; Heidi Savia; Katja Firtser

Testeimonals
‘Many years of cooperation have shown that company staff are always up to date and I can count on an excellent service.’

‘In Real estate and construction, the expertise is absolutely top-notch.’

Real Estate: Construction – Spotlight table

Properta Attorneys is a boutique law firm with noteworthy expertise in construction matters. It acts for developers, engineers and construction companies on a variety of mandates, with particular activity in contentious proceedings.

Strengths
“Properta can proficiently handle even the most complex cases.”

“Properta boasts a broad spectrum of expertise within its team concerning real estate and construction law.”

Notable practitioners:

Ilkka Koivisto and Ilmo Korpelainen

Intellectual Property: Band 2

Properta Attorneys enjoys a strong reputation for its assistance with a variety of IP matters. The team remains well known for its contentious work, with particular expertise in trade mark enforcement matters. The department’s lawyers regularly represent clients from the fashion, food and beverage sectors, and are also noted for their activity in copyright matters and licensing issues.

Strengths

“The team have always found solutions. Their service has always been correct and helpful.”

“Properta Attorneys are great to work with.”

Intellectual Property: Band 2

Properta Attorneys enjoys a strong reputation for its assistance with a variety of IP matters. The team remains well known for its contentious work, with particular expertise in trade mark enforcement matters. The department’s lawyers regularly represent clients from the fashion, food and beverage sectors, and are also noted for their activity in copyright matters and licensing issues.

Silver – Firms: enforcement and litigation

Silver – Firms: procecution and strategy

Property Attorneys is a fantastic law firm within the Finnish IP Landscape.” Home to partners with over 25 years of experience each, the outfit operates on both sides of the contentious and non-contentious divide without a hitch. The practice is highly sought after by Leading names such as KAIKO Clothing Company, Mysoda and Lidl. At the forefront of the practice are department heads Hanna-Maija Elo and Kukka Tommila, who are widely recommended by esteemed colleagues: “Renowned in the Finnish trademark community, Hanna-Maija and Kukka are both seasoned and very active practitioners.” “A recipe for success, the dynamic duo cultivate protective strategies and enforce clients’ rights adeptly.” Sassa Svahn and Emilia Hodge make their debut in the guide this year. “A superb practitioner, collaboration with Sassa is always smooth and frictionless.”Svahn oversees prosecution work and provides a holistic approach to IP portfolio management. Having spent time as in-house counsel for Luhta Sportswear Company, Hodge has made a name for herself as a go-to practitioner who
understands the business criticality of trademarks.

Real Estate and Construction: Tier 2

‘Properta’s team is efficient, professional, practical minded and cost effective.’

Ilkka Koivisto: Leading Individuals

‘Ilkka Koivisto and Ville Laine both are leading real estate and construction law professionals. Their practical minded approach is both impressive and cost effective, and has also delivered great results.’

Intellectual Property: Tier 2

‘The Properta team is pragmatic and reliable. The strength of the team is a long history with our company. They therefore understand our challenges and our way of working.’

Hanna-Maija Elo: Leading Individuals

‘Hanna-Maija Elo is a highly pragmatic and very experienced and trusted IP lawyer.’

Kukka Tommila: Leading Individuals

Emilia Hodge: Rising Stars

‘Emilia Hodge is highly responsive and truly looks into client’s challenges or problems.’

• Finland – Copyright & Design Firm of the Year 2022
•  Finland – Trademark Disputes Firm of the Year 2022
• Impact Case of the Year 2022

Hanna-Maija Elo: Practitioner of the Year

Trade mark disputes: Tier 1

Trade mark prosecution – law firms: Tier 1

Copyright & related rights: Tier 2

Hanna-Maija Elo: Trade mark star 2023, Top 250 Women in IP 2023, 

Kukka Tommila: Trade mark star 2023

Real Estate: Construction – Spotlight table

“Properta handles complex and extensive disputes with great expertise and attention to detail.”

Notable practitioners:

Ilkka Koivisto and Ilmo Korpelainen

Intellectual Property: Band 2

“The matters were handled thoroughly.”

Hanna-Maija Elo: Band 1

“Hanna-Maija Elo has a broad and deep knowledge in the area of intellectual property rights.”

Kukka Tommila: Band 3

Intellectual Property: Band 2

Properta Attorneys is a strong firm assisting with a variety of IP matters. The team is well known for its contentious work, with particular expertise in trade mark enforcement matters. Lawyers in the team additionally assist clients with copyright matters and licensing issues. The law firm regularly represents clients from the fashion and food and beverage sectors.

Strengths

“The team have always found solutions. Their service has always been correct and helpful.”

“Properta Attorneys are great to work with.”

Firms / Prosecution and strategy: Silver

Firms / Enforcement and litigation: Silver

“Properta Attorneys has firmly established its position among the top players in the Finnish market, attracting some of the country’s most significant instructions. The boutique continues to showcase its high level of skill in complex registrations and high-stakes multi-jurisdictional disputes. It may be small in size, but it is home to a vibrant trademark offering with practitioners who are enthusiastic, dedicated and skilful.”

Hanna-Maija Elo: Gold and Anti-counterfeiting

“Driving the group forward are Hanna-Maija Elo and Kukka Tommila, who are quick to get to grips with challenging brand matters. The duo showcase their deep-know when representing clients before the ECJ and EU General Court and have an impressive ability to simplify knotty situations. On the non-contentious side, Elo and Tommila have recently teamed up to assist Rapala, a global market leader in fishing equipment, in handling its trademark and design matters worldwide, consisting of filing over 1,000 registrations globally.”

Kukka Tommila: Silver

“Tommila earns praise from the market: “Kukka is one of the most brilliant trademark lawyers in Finland. She is knowledgeable, straightforward, down to earth, and gets straight to the point.”

Real Estate: Construction / Spotlight Table

• Notable practitioners: Ilkka Koivisto, Ilmo Korpelainen

Properta Attorneys Ltd has been recognised among Top 10 Trademark Law Firm Rankings 2022.

Hanna-Maija Elo and Emilia Hodge have been recognised among the leading practitioners in the IP – Trademarks -category.

Hanna-Maija Elo has been named a Global Leader in World Trademark Review’s WTR Global Leaders: Private Practice 2022 among eight IP leaders in Finland.

Intellectual Property

• Tier 2: Intellectual Property, Finland
  Leading individual: Hanna-Maija Elo
  Rising Star: Emilia Hodge
  Key lawyers/professionals: Hanna-Maija Elo, Kukka Tommila, Emilia Hodge, Sassa Svahn

Real Estate

• Tier 3: Real Estate and Construction, Finland
  Key lawyers: Ilkka Koivisto, Ilmo Korpelainen, Ville Laine

Trade Mark Contentious: Tier 1

Trade Mark Prosecution: Tier 2

Copyright & Related Rights: Recommended

Hanna-Maija Elo: Trade Mark Star

Kukka Tommila: Top 250 Women in IP & Trade Mark Star

Emilia Hodge: Rising Star

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s IPR department was ranked again as Band 2 firm.

“The team is well known for its contentious work, including trade mark infringement expertise.”

Hanna-Maija Elo and Kukka Tommila received individual recognition:

“Hanna-Maija Elo has always been able to provide correct and reliable opinions and advice on all matters pertaining to this area. She is an excellent negotiator and skilled lawyer in matters of intellectual property disputes.”

“Kukka Tommila advises on matters related to trademark infringement and design rights.”

Hanna-Maija Elo has been named a Global Leader in World Trademark Review’s WTR Global Leaders: Private Practice 2021 among eight IP leaders in Finland.

Trade Mark Contentious: Tier 2

Trade Mark Prosecution: Recommended Firm

Hanna-Maija Elo: Trade Mark Star

Kukka Tommila: Trade Mark Star

Emilia Hodge: Rising Star

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s IPR department was ranked as Band 2 firm.

”Strong firm assisting with a variety of IP matters. Well known for its contentious work, including trade mark infringement expertise. 

Hanna-Maija Elo / Band 1: “An excellent negotiator and skilled in intellectual property disputes.”

Kukka Tommila / Band 3: “Very proactive in providing recommendations.”

Real Estate: Construction Spotlight Table

Notable Practitioners: Ilkka Koivisto and Ilmo Korpelainen

“The lawyers understand the construction industry very well and their technical knowledge is sufficient to address the legal topics efficiently,” – “They communicate clearly what they need from us to move forward.”

In the Chambers Global -ranking Properta’s IPR-team made a great rise to Band 2 -category.

Hanna-Maija Elo / Band 1: “An excellent negotiator and skilled in intellectual property disputes.” 

Kukka Tommila / Band 2: “Very proactive in providing recommendations.” 

Firms / Prosecution and strategy: Silver

Firms / Enforcement and litigation: Silver

“At Properta Attorneys, the service level is excellent and everything is handled with utmost skill. The deep industry knowledge here is extremely apparent, as the lawyers excel at protecting complex marks. It truly is a joy to work with such hard-core professionals, who think independently and never miss a deadline.”

Hanna-Maija Elo / Gold and Anti-counterfeiting: “An excellent negotiator and fantastic lawyer, she always provides accurate and reliable guidance on any trademarkmatter.”

Kukka Tommila / Silver: “Kukka is brilliant at combining strategy with a pragmatic approach and consistently finds great solutions in a quick turnaround time.”

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s IPR department was ranked as one of the Finland’s best law firms in Intellectual Property.

“Experienced IP specialists Hanna-Maija Elo and Kukka Tommila head up the practice at Properta Attorneys Ltd, which acts for a range of noteworthy clients including Adidas, Reebok and Food Folk on a variety of IP and trade mark matters including portfolio management issues, trade mark protection work and strategy mandates.”

Hanna-Maija Elo was recognized in the category Leading individuals.

Emilia Hodge was recognized in the category Rising Stars.

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s Real estate department was ranked as one of the Finland’s best law firms in Real estate and constuction.

“Real estate is a key area of focus for boutique firm Properta Attorneys Ltd, which focuses on handling real estate transactions and construction disputes for major domestic real estate funds and construction companies including eQ Real Estate and a subsidiary of YIT Construction.”

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s IPR department was ranked in both Chambers Europe 2020 and Chambers Global 2020 Guides as a band 3 firm.

Band 1 / Hanna-Maija Elo: “Hanna-Maija Elo maintains a reputation as a dominant figure in IP-related litigation, covering patent disputes as well as trade mark and design infringement cases.”

Band 3 / Kukka Tommila: “Kukka Tommila assists clients with trade mark and design rights matters in addition to infringement cases.”

The Real Estate department of Properta was ranked in Recognised Practitioner – category.

Properta Attorneys Ltd was ranked as a tier 2 firm in category “trade mark contentious” and as a recommended firm in category “trade mark prosecution”.

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognized as an IP star in the category of Trade mark stars.

Kukka Tommila has been recognised as an IP Star in the category of Trade mark stars.

Firms / Prosecution and strategy: Silver

Firms / Enforcement and litigation: Silver

“If you entrust Properta Attorneys with your marks, you will be working with the best in the country. Its approach is customer oriented and cost efficient, and displays the highest degrees of professionalism.” The squad’s in-depth knowledge is obvious, especially when it dazzles in complex registration processes and turns unwinnable cases around.

Gold / Hanna-Maija Elo: “Hanna-Maija’s advice is uncomplicated, precise and shows vast industry expertise.”

Silver / Kukka Tommila: “Kukka’s commercial understanding ensures her guidance is in line with the tone that companies wish to convey.”

Hanna-Maija Elo was recognized as one of the leading attorneys in the category Private Practice.

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s IPR department was ranked as one of the Finland’s best law firms in Intellectual Property.

“The group at Properta Attorneys Ltd excels in trade mark work; Hanna-Maija Elo and Kukka Tommila successfully represented Rimowa in a 3D trade mark infringement dispute. Other work includes representing MySoda in a domain name dispute.”

Hanna-Maija Elo was recognized in the category Leading individuals

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s Real estate department was ranked as one of the Finland’s best law firms in Real estate and constuction.

“Ilkka Koivisto jointly leads the practice at Properta Attorneys Ltd with Ilmo Korpelainen; Koivisto led advice to the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission on the sale of office premises in Helsinki and Korpelainen handled multiple property transactions for VVT Property Fund. The firm has bolstered its position in the market with the arrival of Timo Järvinen”.

Properta Attorneys Ltd’s IPR department was ranked in both Chambers Europe 2019 and Chambers Global 2019 Guides as one of the Finland’s best law firms in Intellectual Property.

Band 1 / Hanna-Maija Elo: ”Hanna-Maija Elo is a market-leading lawyer known for her work on trade mark-related issues. She also advises clients on unfair competition matters as well as design rights. Clients highlight her ”broad and deep knowledge in the area of intellectual property rights,” adding: ”She is an excellent negotiator and skilled lawyer in matters of intellectual property disputes.” She advised MySoda on a trade mark infringement claim brought by SodaStream.”

Band 2 / Kukka Tommila: “Kukka Tommila is known for her work on trade mark prosecution and also advises clients on copyright and design rights matters. She acted for Jukolan Osuuskauppa on a dispute regarding the sale of material based on copyrighted materials which were sold to a third party.”

The Real Estate department of Properta was ranked in Recognised Practitioner – category.

Our partner Mr. Ilkka Koivisto was ranked as one of the six Finnish lawyers listed in Spotlight Table. Mr. Koivisto was commented as follows: “Ilkka Koivisto of Properta Attorneys Ltd is highlighted for his expertise in the construction and development sphere. One client describes him as ”very sharp” and appreciates his ”effective way of working.” He is experienced in both contentious and non-contentious mandates.”

Individuals: litigation / Kukka Tommila

”Though especially well known for their trademark work, Properta Attorneys’ Marja Tommila and Kukka Tommila are masters of all IP trades. Marja channels almost 40 years of experience into presenting unbeatable arguments in the courtroom, whilst Kukka is a perspicacious counsellor with ample litigation experience who can solve any patent conundrum.”

Properta Attorneys Ltd was ranked as a tier 2 firm in both trade mark categories (contentious and prosecution) in this year’s Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars 2019 rankings, in addition to being shortlisted as ‘the IP Contentious firm of the year’ -category in IP EMEA Awards 2019 in London Savoy. IP EMEA Awards shortlists and recognises IP practitioners with remarkable achievements and developments in the past 12 months..

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognized as an IP star in the category of Trade mark stars as well as one of four Finnish practitioners on the global Top 250 Women in IP (2019) list.

Kukka Tommila has been recognised as a IP Star in the category of Trade mark stars.

Firms / Prosecution and strategy: Silver

Firms / Enforcement and litigation: Silver

“Properta is exceptional for complex and hard-to-obtain registrations as well as trademark disputes.” Although the department is compact, it really packs a punch. These all-stars “perform every task with the utmost professionalism and their in-depth knowledge is apparent and obvious”.

Gold / Hanna-Maija Elo: “Hanna-Maija Elo provides accurate and straightforward legal advice. Her service level and industry knowledge are excellent – she is a fantastic negotiator and a skilled lawyer.” Clients love her and stay loyal; adidas has instructed her for decades. Hanna-Maija has also been recognised as one of the leading individuals in respect of anti-counterfeiting.

Silver / Kukka Tommila: Kukka Tommila is a force to be reckoned with in disputes. “She makes complex issues easy to understand and is highly efficient and quick on her feet. She always exceeds expectations.”

Kukka Tommila has been recognised again on the Women in Business Law (2018) list.

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognised on the Women in Business Law (2018) list.

Ilkka Koivisto has been recognised for his work in Construction Law.

Kukka Tommila has been recognised for her work in Intellectual Property Law.

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognised for her work in Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Law.

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognised as one of the leading attorneys in Finland.

Properta Attorneys Ltd was ranked, despite its young age, as a tier 3 firm in categories “trade mark contentious” and “trade mark prosecution”.

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognized as an IP star in the category of Trade mark stars.

Kukka Tommila has been recognised as a IP Star in the category of Trade mark stars.

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognised as one of two Finnish practitioners on the global Top 250 Women in IP (2018) list. Ms. Elo was also one of four TOP 250 Women in IP 2018 practitioners interviewed by Managing Intellectual Property. You can find the interview here.

Individuals: litigation / Kukka Tommila: ”Kukka Tommila is a force to be reckoned with in all aspects of patent work. She is a partner at Properta Attorneys”.

Leading individuals / Hanna-Maija Elo: “Former practice head Hanna-Maija Elo joined Properta Attorneys Ltd.”

“Kukka Tommila joined Properta Attorneys Ltd.”

Kukka Tommila has been recognised in the Best of the Best 2018 edition as the Best of the Best Trademark practitioner in Finland as well as in the categories Trade Marks and Women in Business Law.

Top 250 Women in IP, 2018

Hanna-Maija Elo has been recognised again as one of two Finnish practitioners on the global Top 250 Women in IP (2018) list.

Awards for Managing IP’s EMEA Awards were announced in Savoy in London on March 8^th, 2018. In the award ceremony Properta was appraised for its’ two IP Star establishers i.e. Hanna-Maija Elo and Kukka Tommila. As Properta’s IPR clients and reference cases Rimowa and MySoda were mentioned.

The European “Firm to Watch” award 2018 is a great achievement for a new firm, which was established at the beginning of 2017. The award is in line with the Managing IP rankings 2018 where the newcomer Properta was ranked in Tier 3 in both Trademark Contentious and Trademark Prosecution categories.