JUVE Comment

Maikowski & Ninnemann stands among the leading patent attorney firms for electronics patent litigation. The team led by Gunnar Baumgärtel, Andreas Tanner and Frederick Kramer has built impressive credentials representing mobile telecommunications companies, particularly earning an excellent reputation in SEP proceedings.

The firm has clearly positioned itself alongside implementers such as Apple, Lenovo and HTC in disputes. While the team is a valued counsel to German companies like Continental Automotive, Chinese and American mobile phone manufacturers dominate its client roster.

The patent attorneys regularly work alongside market-leading lawyers from Freshfields and Clifford Chance for these clients. Additionally, they maintain a stable prosecution practice where strategic advice plays a central role.

European set-up

These strong connections to mobile communications companies and lawyers have generated substantial UPC work for Maikowski & Ninnemann. This makes it one of few pure patent attorney firms whose practice now primarily focuses on the UPC. The firm further reinforces its outstanding position at the UPC through its defence of companies in electronics patent disputes. Acting in proceedings for regular clients such as Lenovo, Motorola, Oppo, Sunmi and Xiaomi underscores its strong position in telecommunications and software matters. Its representation of Becton Dickinson in a mechanical engineering case and Hisense in a television technology dispute demonstrates the firm’s broader technical capabilities. Few European patent attorney firms can match such extensive UPC experience, positioning the team well for future competition.

However, the firm faces competition from patent attorney teams established within law firms such as Hogan Lovells. Consequently, its patent attorneys most frequently work alongside firms like Freshfields and Clifford Chance, which are unlikely to develop their own patent attorney capabilities due to their full-service structure.

Maikowski & Ninnemann must now establish itself within a shrinking pool of cooperating law firms, while its business model depends on large litigation series that can settle quickly. Nevertheless, the firm’s experience and scale leave it well equipped to meet these challenges.

Strengths

Litigation related to mobile communications.

Recommended individuals

Gunnar Baumgärtel (“highly competent and reliable”, competitor), Ralf Emig, Felix Gross, Frederick Kramer, Christoph Schröder, Andreas Tanner (“really good”, competitor; all patent attorneys)

Team

22 patent attorneys

Clients

BYD against IP Bridge and SOl IP over telecommunications; Continental Automotive as co-defandant of Daimler against Nokia over SEPs; Xiaomi against Palmira Wireless over telecommunications; Garmin against Palmira over telecommunications; HTC against Unwired Planet over telecommunications; Oppo against Nokia over telecommunications (settled 2024); Phoenix Contact against Harting Electronics over electrical engineering. EPO oppositions: Becton Dickinson against Knapp Smart Solutions over storage technology for pharmaceutical packaging.