Juha Aalto-Setälä

Associate, Master of Laws

I assist both domestic and international clients in various assignments related to intellectual property and technology.

I graduated as a Master of Laws from the University of Helsinki in 2023, and I also have a Master in Music degree from Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts. Before joining Castrén & Snellman, I gained experience working in education and as a musician, among other things. I am interested in intellectual property rights in general, and in particular in copyrights, on which I wrote my master’s thesis.

Latest references

We advised General Catalyst as lead investor on ICEYE’s EUR 150 million series E funding round, valuing the company at EUR 2.4 billion. ICEYE is the world leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite systems and operates the largest SAR constellation globally. Its technology delivers objective, near real-time Earth observation in any weather or light conditions, enabling governments and institutions to manage risks and respond faster. General Catalyst is a global investment and transformation company, partnering with leading entrepreneurs to build toward global resiliency and applied AI. Its portfolio includes companies such as Airbnb, Snap, Stripe, Mistral AI, Hubspot, Anduril, Helsing and Legora. We advised General Catalyst on this transaction in collaboration with the US law firm Goodwin. 
Case published 8.12.2025
We advised Nomios, a portfolio company of the European growth buyout investor Keensight Capital, with its cross-border acquisition of Intragen Group, a leading European expert in digital identity and access management. The acquisition marks a major milestone in Nomios’ growth strategy and further strengthens its position as the global trusted partner for cybersecurity across Europe. Nomios is one of Europe’s leading providers of cybersecurity services. Keensight Capital is a European growth buyout investor with deep expertise in technology and healthcare.  
Case published 17.11.2025
We successfully represented Arctic Biomaterials Oy before the Finnish Market Court in an extensive dispute concerning alleged patent infringement and invalidity of the patent-in-suit. Our client has invented next-generation bioabsorbable composites that are engineered with Arctic Biomaterials’ X3 bioactive natural mineral fibers, offering robust, bioactive reinforcement for orthopedic implants. These advanced composites empower customers to create high-strength bioabsorbable solutions for the most demanding applications. Back in 2019, Purac Biochem B.V. alleged, among other things, that our client’s Evolvecomp product had infringed Purac Biochem B.V.’s European patent validated in Finland protecting a biocompatible composite and its use. Purac Biochem B.V. filed a preliminary injunction against our client under the Act on Securing the Provision of Evidence in Civil Cases Concerning Industrial Property Rights and Copyright (344/2000). The Finnish Market Court issued an ex-parte injunction against our client on 2 April 2019 (MAO:150/19) and a final injunction on 19 February 2020 (MAO:59/20). Our client had disputed Purac Biochem B.V.’s patent infringement claim from the beginning and claimed that the patent-in-suit was invalid. After five years of litigation, the Finnish Market Court handed down a ruling in the joined invalidity and infringement cases on 10 October 2024 (MAO:560/2024 and MAO:561/2024) declaring Purac Biochem B.V.’s patent invalid and dismissing Purac’s infringement action against Arctic Biomaterials. Also, the preliminary injunction based on an alleged patent infringement imposed against Arctic Biomaterials was cancelled. The Market Court declared Purac Biochem B.V.’s patent invalid due to a lack of inventive step. The Market Court applied the could-would method for determining whether the patent-in-suit is inventive or not. The could-would method is based on determining whether a person skilled in the art would (not simply could, but would) have made a specific improvement to prior solutions, based on the available prior art. The Market Court ruled that it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art to solve the objective technical problem of the patent-in-suit in the manner presented in claim 1, using as a starting point the closest prior art (prior patent publication) and combining it with the teaching of another prior art publication. The decision is final.
Case published 29.1.2025
We acted as the lead counsel to Fortum in a cross-border transaction in which Fortum sold its recycling and waste business. The business was sold to thematic impact investing firm Summa Equity through its portfolio company NG Group. The debt-free purchase price is approximately EUR 800 million.  Fortum’s recycling and waste business to be sold comprises municipal and industrial waste management and end-to-end plastics, metals, ash, slag and hazardous waste treatment and recycling services. These businesses are located in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway and currently employ approximately 900 employees.
Case published 18.7.2024
We acted as Zendesk, Inc.’s Finnish legal counsel in its acquisition of Ultimate Enterprises Oy, an industry leading provider of service automation using AI technology. The cross-border acquisition was completed in cooperation with the transaction’s lead counsel Allen & Overy. Zendesk is a leading global technology company that provides software-as-a-service and customer experience (CX) products based in the US. The acquisition of Ultimate expands Zendesk’s AI-powered CX offerings.
Case published 26.3.2024
We advised Foundation Clinic in connection with its funding round backed by a group of prominent Finnish technology entrepreneurs and investors, including founders behind Supercell and Wolt. Foundation Clinic is a Finnish healthcare company developing a new approach to private healthcare focused on preventive, data-driven and continuous care. The company aims to combine comprehensive health data with ongoing medical care to identify and address health risks at an early stage.
Case published 29.10.2026
We advised Delta Capacity AG in a project financing of two battery energy storage systems (BESS). The financed projects are among the largest BESS developments in Finland to enter construction with 250 MW / 600 MWh combined capacity. The financing was provided by Société Générale with support from Finnvera. Construction of both projects, located in Lapinlahti and Teuva, has already begun and the commercial operations are targeted to commence in late 2027 with partial tolling agreements already in place for both assets. The project in Lapinlahti is executed in partnership with Covenergo, while the project in Teuva is executed in partnership with Strioga Family Foundation. Delta Capacity is a Swiss developer of utility-scale battery storage systems. The projects strengthen Delta Capacity’s growing Nordic portfolio and support the flexibility of Finland’s electricity system by adding energy storage capacity, enabling production optimization as well as participation in electricity markets and reserve services.
Case published 28.10.2026
We acted as legal adviser to Martela Corporation in its directed share issue, through which Martela raised gross proceeds of approximately EUR 7.2 million to strengthen the company’s financial position and liquidity and to create headroom for continuing the necessary development and efficiency measures. In connection with the directed share issue, Martela’s unlisted series K shares, which carried greater voting rights, were combined with its listed series A shares. Following the combination, the company has only one share series, which is traded on the regulated market maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd, with each share carrying one vote and otherwise identical rights. Martela is a Nordic leader specialising in user-centric working and learning environments. With over 80 years of experience, Martela creates the best places to work and offers its customers the Martela Lifecycle solutions which combine furniture and related services into a seamless whole.
Case published 27.10.2026