JUVE Comment

In less than three years since their arrival, the German patent litigation team around Tobias Hessel and Stefan Richter has established itself as a formidable presence in SEP litigation. The team represented Huawei against Netgear and AVM in both UPC and parallel national litigation. Following that dispute’s settlement, the core client immediately instructed the team in another matter against MediaTech. The team also represented Oppo in key disputes. For TP-Link, the lawyers are conducting not only UPC and national infringement proceedings, but also nullity proceedings against Atlas Global’s wi-fi patents.

The German team now handles numerous cases involving other technologies for Clifford Chance’s typical industrial clientele. The brief representation of BAK Power, until the settlement of its dispute with Tulip over battery technology, exemplifies work in an emerging field where increased litigation before European patent courts is anticipated.

European set-up

Clifford Chance’s strategic expansion of the German patent litigation team now extends to France. The firm recently recruited well-regarded litigation partner David Por from the Paris A&O Shearman office, bringing significant experience in SEP and FRAND litigation along with established Nokia connections. Together with German partners Hessel and Richter, the firm now fields a powerful team in this segment actively representing SEP owners. The German partners provide intensive support to Huawei in UPC lawsuits. The firm is also representing ParTec in a UPC case against Nvidia concerning supercomputers.

The European practice extends beyond SEP litigation. The team, led by global co-head of IP Claudia Milbradt, coordinates the litigation strategy for Swedish consumer goods company Leloi across various jurisdictions and in EPO opposition proceedings. The team has also demonstrated its capabilities in coordinating cross-border life sciences litigation campaigns. Clifford Chance already maintains a strong foothold with original pharmaceutical manufacturers through its regulatory team. At the UPC, Milbradt and Hessel recently leveraged this to represent Pfizer in its now-settled dispute with GSK over an RSV vaccine. Another UPC instruction followed in the mRNA dispute against Promosome. However, competition for Clifford Chance remains fierce, particularly regarding Pfizer, as GSK sued its long-standing client over an mRNA patent at the UPC and opted for Taylor Wessing.

Clifford Chance’s new Paris hire David Por brings additional life sciences expertise. In Spain, the firm already has an expert in this field in Miquel Montañá However, Clifford Chance still lacks comparable patent litigation expertise in London

Strengths

Litigation over mobile communication patents.

Recommended individuals

Tobias Hessel (“one of the young litigators we increasingly turn to”, client), Stefan Richter (“both have a very good practice and have made the firm a remarkable player in the German market”, competitor)

Team

12 lawyers

Clients

Litigation: Huawei against MediaTek over mobile communications; Huawei against AVM and Netgear over wi-fi 6 patents (settled 2025); TP-Link against Atlas Global over wi-fi 6 patents; Oppo against Panasonic over digital communications (settled 2024); Oppo against InterDigital over mobile communications (settled 2024); BAK Power against Tulip over battery technology (settled 2025); Leloi Europe against EIS over pressure-wave massager; Lumitec against Scangrip over LED patents; Towa Pharmaceuticals against Accord over embolism and stroke medication dabigatran. Advice: TataSteel regarding steel products for the auto industry; Autoscan/KHS regarding scanning system for hail damage on cars; Neuraxpharm on licensing and patent strategy.