JUVE Comment

Vossius ranks among the strongest firms for mixed patent litigation in the German market. Its leading patent attorneys excel in opposition and nullity proceedings before the EPO, whilst its renowned team of lawyers is hot on the heels of the market leaders. The firm regularly deploys mixed teams in complex proceedings and demonstrates particular strength in SEP and FRAND litigation. Vossius also ranks among the market leaders in pharmaceutical cases, particularly in straw man opposition proceedings before the EPO.

In national litigation, the team has avoided the decline seen among some competitors, leveraging its solid foothold in the Munich jurisdiction to clients’ benefit. For example, Vossius represents ZTE in new proceedings running in parallel in Munich at the national level and before the UPC.

Thanks to its experience in multi-jurisdictional patent proceedings, Vossius established itself at the UPC at an early stage without its national business suffering. At the UPC, the team already draws on wide-ranging technical expertise, for example representing new client BYD against NPE BMS in a revocation action concerning batteries, and Promosome in a case concerning mRNA technology against BioNTech and Pfizer. Vossius is also strategically using its strong UPC start to recruit and train new talent, securing a solid long-term position.

The firm coped well with last year’s departure of Andreas Kramer, one of its most renowned litigators in mobile communications, to rival Powell Gilbert. However, the firm, previously known for its loyal and stable partnership, was again affected by the departure of two laterals. Partners Kai Rüting and Philipp Widera left in September to establish a German patent practice for Pinsent Masons. Rüting specialises in life sciences litigation, representing clients such as Alcon. Widera was most recently involved primarily in SEP disputes. Following these departures, Vossius’s Düsseldorf office currently has no litigation partners, but the firm can bridge this gap through its strong partner base in Munich.

Overall, the firm’s robust network among Asian clients drives its momentum. This positive development is also evident in EPO oppositions for clients such as Boston Scientific.

Strengths

Mixed litigation teams, mainly concerning pharmaceuticals, biotech, mechanics and mobile communications.

Recommended individuals

Georg Rauh (“efficient and focused”, competitor), Thure Schubert; patent attorneys: Gerhard Hermann, Hans-Rainer Jaenichen, Elard Frhr. von Schenck zu Schweinsberg (“really good”, competitor)

Team

64 patent attorneys, 13 lawyers

Partner moves

Kai Rüting, Philipp Widera (both to Pinsent Mason)

Clients

Litigation: ZTE against Samsung over 5G; Emboline against AorticLab over transcatheter procedures; Oppo against Crystal Clear Codec, Panasonic, VoiceAge, and Koninklijke KPN over SEPs for speech coding for mobile devices; Kodak against Fujifilm over offset printing technology; Xiaomi against HEVC Advance over HEVC/H.265 standard and FRAND; Beijing Roborock against Dreame over autonomous cleaning robots; Tomra Systems against Cleansort over sorting process for recycling aluminium (settled 2025); Newron Pharmaceuticals againt Alfred Tiefenbacher over Parkinson’s treatment safinamid/Xadago. EPO oppositions: EcoCoat against Wish&Wash over coating for cleaning materials.