28.9.2015

Castrén & Snellman Appoints Sakari Salonen as New Partner and Launches One-Stop-Shop IP Service

Castrén & Snellman is pleased to announce that it has appointed Sakari Salonen to head its IP practice and elected him to the firm’s partnership as of 1 February 2016. Intellectual property has been a fast growing, strategic area for us for years. In order to create additional value for our clients and to complete our existing IP Services, we are happy to announce that we will establish new IP Protection Service.

Castrén & Snellman has appointed European Trade Mark and Design Attorney Nina Mikander to head our new IP protection team, which provides advice on all aspects of trade mark and design protection, prosecution, IP strategies, portfolio management and audits. We are further strengthening our team by appointing European Trade Mark and Design Attorney Katri Kiviniemi. IP Specialists Nina and Katri will join our firm as of 2 November 2015.

Sakari Salonen is a member of the Finnish Bar who specialises in intellectual property, marketing law and dispute resolution. Sakari is an experienced IP litigator and has represented clients in complex patent, trademark, design, copyright and advertising disputes in virtually every major industry. He also focuses on issues related to unfair competition, employee inventions, trade secrets, IP licensing and franchising. Chambers, Legal 500, World Trademark Review and IAM Patent 1000 have ranked Sakari among Finland’s leading experts in IP.
 
Nina Mikander is joining our firm from Heinonen & Co, one of the most prestigious trademark firms in Finland, where she has served as Head of Trade Mark and Design activities. Nina, who has over 25 years of IP experience in the Finnish Patent and Registration Office and the private sector (e.g. Nokia Corporation, Berggren), is an IP practitioner widely known for having deep and versatile expertise in multi-jurisdictional IP portfolio management and audits, design and trademark registration and prosecution, IP infringement evaluations and opinions, and IP strategy.
  
Katri Kiviniemi, who is also joining us from Heinonen & Co, brings almost 15 years of IP experience in the private sector (e.g. Nokia Corporation, Berggren). She has vast experience in brands, trademark, copyright and design protection, as well as IP strategies, portfolio management and audits.

With these new appointments and the launch of our new IP Protection Service, Castrén & Snellman’s versatile group of IP lawyers and specialists are truly able to cover every area of IP services, from protection to commercialisation and the enforcement of IP rights. We are committed to providing unique and innovative IP solutions.

With these appointments, our firm will have 30 partners and almost 150 lawyers, with a total headcount of over 260 employees in Helsinki, Moscow and St Petersburg.
 

For further information, please contact:
Pauliina Tenhunen

 

Latest references

We advised a fund managed by Swiss Life Asset Managers Nordic in its acquisition of a logistics property in Hyvinkää from a fund managed by Savills Investment Management. In addition to advising on the transactional aspects, we also advised on the financing of the acquisition as well as in designing an appropriate international acquisition structure and addressing relevant tax implications. The property serves as the central warehouse in Finland for Ahlsell, a leading Nordic technical wholesaler, which has been leasing the property since its construction. The state-of-the-art logistics centre was originally built in 2002 and has undergone several improvement projects over the years. The latest extension, completed in 2024, added around 11,000 square meters of new storage area to the property, bringing the total lettable area to 47,000 square meters. The property has been developed with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency with on-site solar power and renewable district heating. The sustainability features of the property were also further optimised and the asset just received BREEAM Excellent certifications in both BREEAM New Construction and BREEAM In-Use.
Case published 20.1.2025
We advised Metsäliitto Cooperative in relation to a new EUR 200 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility with a syndicate of eight banks. This new credit facility refinances the existing EUR 200 million facility signed in December 2018 and will be used for general corporate purposes. The facility has a tenor of five years and includes two one-year extension options. The pricing mechanism of the revolving credit facility is linked to two of Metsä Group’s ambitious sustainability targets: Target 1: Zero tonnes of fossil carbon dioxide emissions, Scope 1 and 2, by 2030. Target 2: Share of certified wood in wood supply 100% by 2030. ‘Incorporating sustainability criteria into our financing further demonstrates the company’s strong commitment to actions that reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate climate change,’ says Vesa-Pekka Takala, EVP, CFO of Metsä Group.
Case published 16.1.2025
We advised NoHo Partners Plc on a 119-million-euro financing arrangement. The financing arrangement frees up a significant part of the cash flow for the business and enables the implementation of an acquisition-driven growth strategy also in the future.
Case published 16.1.2025
We advised CapMan Buyout in the exit of Renoa Group. Renoa Group management together with Korpi Capital and other investors have acquired the group. Renoa Group is a Finnish established expert in the building technology sector specializing in detached houses in Finland and Sweden. Renoa is a major provider of turnkey domestic water & heating, sewer system and electricity network renovations, with significant operations also in Sweden. The Group reported sales of €35 million and employed c. 300 personnel across its 10 offices in Finland and 6 in Sweden. Korpi Capital is a Finnish investment company with holdings in 29 companies. 
Case published 14.1.2025