Ballas, Pelecanos & Associates LPC

In constant pursuit of excellence, Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC is a longestablished, full-service commercial law firm, with a particular emphasis on IP and IT law. Founded in 1930 under the name Simitis Law Offices by George Simitis, a law professor at the Athens School of Economic Studies, the practice was orientated towards IP and technology law, commercial, corporate and competition law from the outset.

Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC built on its established reputation as a leading Greek law firm in its areas of specialisation by maintaining high standards and offering authoritative advice and promptness in discharging its duties towards its clients. The firm’s philosophy is to provide complete and extensive litigation and legal advisory services efficiently, accurately and punctually to its clients. To meet the need for collaboration between professionals in different business areas, Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC has forged links and association agreements with firms covering marketing research and analysis, human resources and general business and taxation consultancy. As a result, clients can be assured that through Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC, they can also benefit from the advice of non-legal professionals.

In recognition of its authoritative position in the Greek legal market, Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC is consistently listed in the most authoritative international legal directories, including Martindale- Hubbell and the European Legal 500. Moreover, the firm has been appointed as the exclusive representative in Greece of the International Counterforce Legal Network of the Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau, a division of the Commercial Crime Services Branch of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC has a strong trademark, design, patent and copyright law practice. The firm acts as trademark and patent agent for over 100 clients (almost all of which are international), and undertakes all regulatory aspects of registration, prosecution, renewals, assignments, licences, oppositions and cancellation actions. The firm is vastly experienced in trademark, patent, design and copyright infringement litigation, and has represented some of the most renowned international trademarks. Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC has been involved as lead litigator in over 700 anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy cases during the last 17 years, acting on behalf of internationally renowned companies. The firm also litigates with great success in cases involving alleged patent infringement by generic pharmaceutical manufacturers. The firm is proud of its contribution in formulating new legal rules on the protection afforded to famous trademarks against their use on unrelated goods, on the determination of compensation in patent infringement cases and on the interplay between the free movement of goods and trademark law. Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC is also proud of its role in pioneering IT law.

George Ballas is a European patent attorney authorised to represent clients before the European Patent Office. Gregory Pelecanos served as the first chairman of the Computer Law Committee of the Greek Computer Society and has published many articles on software protection. The firm advises a host of IT and other businesses on their e-commerce, computer hardware and software contracts (eg, purchase, development, licensing and outsourcing).

Ballas Pelecanos & Associates LPC has an excellent reputation for intellectual property, industrial property and technology law, and has established itself as a clientorientated, effective legal practice, enjoying the respect of clients and competitors alike. Clients quoted in the European Legal 500 (2007) state that the firm is “excellent” and “of the highest level”, and express their “deep and sincere respect” for lawyers who are “hard workers and respond positively under the most extensive pressure”.