Litigation: Lawyers – Germany 2017

JUVE Comment

B&B is a leading patents practice and is involved in a huge number of new proceedings spanning a range of sectors, incl. a rising number of pharmaceuticals proceedings, e.g. for Nektar and Heumann. On top of this, the firm brought its strong position in mobile communications disputes into play for Nokia. By moving young partner Wolters-Höhne from Düsseldorf to Hamburg, the patents team bolstered its weakest office. This was a promising strategic move, to establish a hard-hitting patents team at one of the German UPC local divisions. The success...

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• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

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There seems to be no stopping this leading German patent litigation practice. HL was involved in virtually all of the central proceedings of the year. For Merck, Gundt’s team won an extremely rare compulsory license for an HIV drug; another team is active for Eli Lilly in the dispute over Alimta. The firm is also extremely visible in mobile communications suits and appears to be the first choice for Apple now: it was an HL team around von Falck and not the other regular Apple advisors who defended against the major attack by Nokia. HL is conduc...

JUVE Comment

In patents, this Düsseldorf IP firm is among the leading litigation outfits, as it has one of the market’s best-known litigators in its ranks in the shape of Verhauwen and advises on an extremely high number of cases. This means the firm has an exceptional influence on Germany’s most important patent court at present and what is likely to be a central UPC local division in the future. Litigation work often stems from the German Mittelstand directly or via patent attorneys. Thanks to class actions for the two industry-oriented NPEs France Brevet...

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In patents, this is a leading litigation firm, which is successfully continuing its consolidation process. The firm added semiconductor manufacturer Tessera, Daimler and electronics company Everlight to its client list. But the team’s greatest achievements were the suits for Qualcomm against Apple. QEUS had advised the chip manufacturer for some time, but had not litigated for it before now. This added further sectors and technical fields to QEUS’ traditionally strong presence in mobile communications suits, where it is frequently active for Mo...

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Sustained by a young partnership, this Düsseldorf IP firm is among the leading German patent litigation practices. Unlike competitor Krieger Mes, ROP conducts proceedings within a very wide technical spectrum, though even ROP cannot compete with the high number of cases seen by Krieger Mes. But it does boast a pronounced pharmaceuticals specialty; Musmann was involved in high-profile proceedings such as those for Mundipharma regarding Targin and Biogen involving Tecfidera. ROP is one of few patents teams still active exclusively on the side of ...

JUVE Comment

This leading firm in patents is a real heavyweight for litigation, both by patent attorneys and lawyers. No other German firm has so consistently embodied the mixed litigation approach over many years. The major proceedings conducted for the NPE Intellectual Ventures were among the highest-profile proceedings before the German courts. Beyond such NPE suits, Bardehle primarily litigates for industrial clients from a wide range of sectors, among them Amazon and Adidas. Visibility in pharmaceuticals suits, however, is low and will only improve wit...

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• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

In patents, this leading litigation practice continues to enjoy strong visibility in telecoms cases. FBD defended regular client Apple against the now-settled class action by Nokia, in cooperation with Hogan Lovells – now a well-rehearsed partnership. Both firms were also hired in a suit regarding machinery for manufacturing storage chips for Nikon. In pharmaceuticals proceedings, the team remains active at a high level for Novartis and is landing major new clients too. The trio of partners showed a united front; a series of associate departure...

JUVE Comment

This leading patents team has diversified into a variety of sectors, starting from a strong position in pharmaceuticals proceedings. The practice gained ground in mobile communications proceedings and won Asus and Samsung as new clients. TW enjoyed success in litigation for ZTE against Sisvel involving FRAND licensing. The firm is also very visible in auto sector proceedings, e.g. conducting litigation for Metatron. In fall 2017, a Düsseldorf local partner moved to EIP but, thanks to TW’s strong team, this should not be too heavy a blow.

JUVE Comment

This highly recommended patent litigation practice around Sonntag boasts broad technical expertise. The team is esp. active in pharmaceuticals patents as well as the telecoms and consumer goods sectors, litigating for regular client Procter & Gamble (Gillette) in a major dispute over razors. GL also cemented its client connections in the mobile communications sector. But as of counsel Bopp only works in selected cases now and is less and less visible in the market, the team is very thin at partner level and would certainly offer room for anothe...

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This mixed firm is among the leading names for patents and enjoys an exceptionally strong international position compared to other teams. In Germany, HE boasts one of the strongest prosecution teams there is as well as established litigation teams at the future UPC divisions Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Munich. The firm’s network of Japanese companies is almost legendary, and it has long operated a London office because of its strong pharma focus. HE bolstered its Milan and Madrid offices with foreign lawyers. But to fully bring this strength into p...

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• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

This traditional boutique is small yet highly recommended for patent litigation and enjoys a strong market presence in a sizeable number of proceedings. Klaka covers a wide technical spectrum, although it saw a drop in pharmaceuticals proceedings. But instead the firm was involved in more mobile communications cases: in addition to regular client ZTE, the firm defended Wiko against various NPE suits. Two other regular clients kept the firm increasingly busy: Sram regarding bicycle components and 3M concerning various technologies. In terms of p...

JUVE Comment

In patents, CMS comes recommended for litigation and continued to make strides. The firm is increasingly litigating in proceedings with a cross-border dimension thanks to better integration with other patents teams from the CMS network, e.g. in a major dispute for Leifheit. The firm is thus taking the right path in terms of the UPC launch. The German practice continues to center on numerous proceedings for innovative German Mittelstand companies and companies from the pharmacy and medical products sector.

JUVE Comment

This recommended patent litigation team is very active in mobile communications proceedings for NPEs as Kellenter boasts strong connections to Munich lawyer Bernhard Frohwitter, the man behind the firm Frohwitter, but also behind IPCom and Fipa. The team has also worked for Sisvel for years. But HM can do more than NPE suits: with litigation for Saint-Gobain, General Electric and Piaggio it stepped up work for Hengeler-typical industrial clients within a broad technical spectrum. The firm has been accomplished in pharmaceuticals proceedings for...

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Thanks to a very well-positioned team of patent attorneys, this US firm boasts one of Germany’s leading patents practices. Apart from Bird & Bird, JD is the only large law firm in Germany to file patents on a large scale. The technical spectrum is vast, but a specialty lies in biotech and pharmaceuticals. The small litigation team is thus also very active in pharmaceuticals proceedings. The consistent mixed approach and intensive cooperation with London and the US offices show the clout JD is able to deploy at the UPC. JD often litigates for cl...

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• Filing
• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

Feldges’ respected German patents practice is still one of the authoritative German teams for pharmaceuticals originators. With litigation for Pfizer regarding Lyrica and Pregabalin, the team conducted two central battles against generics companies. But in personnel terms A&O made no headway – in contrast to the rising European practice. It lost well-regarded Düsseldorf counsel Dr. Philipp Cepl and an associate to DLA Piper and thus now has to rebuild its mobile communications expertise. A few months later, A&O welcomed Dr. Jan Ebersohl, an exp...

JUVE Comment

This boutique is respected for patent litigation and found its niche as a small, flexible litigation outfit. The firm represents NPEs like Munitech and Unwired Planet as well as innovative Mittelstand companies such as Dutch medical product manufacturer VSY Biotechnology in judicial disputes. The firm landed a series of manufacturing companies from various sectors as new clients, incl. foreign companies, such as Keter Plastics, Wonderland Nurserygoods and IDnow. Lone fighter Haag is now going the next step and brought in an experienced associat...

JUVE Comment

This international firm’s respected patents team has made Munich its center for patents. Here, Herr is dual-qualified as a well-regarded litigation specialist and patent attorney. The team is thus very visible in opposition/nullity suits and infringement proceedings. Though it enjoys a loyal base of regular clients and is acquiring more and more clients from the international network, the firm is not growing, unlike many competitors. Another partner could improve Baker’s starting position at the UPC and help it to tap the potential lying dorman...

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Bartenbach and Kunzmann’s team is respected in patents and considered the number one for employee law matters. CBH had long been restricted to litigating in patent suits related to its core competence, partly because of its location in Cologne. By welcoming renowned Munich litigator Gruber and another partner from Preu Bohlig in July 2017, CBH entered a new dimension and positioned itself as an expert for patent infringement suits. The move is still very recent, but could make sense as the invention lawyers have worked with Gruber in the past f...

JUVE Comment

The respected patent litigation team around Milbradt in Düsseldorf provides advice and litigation with renowned sector expertise to numerous regular clients from the life sciences sector, among them Pfizer and B. Braun Medical, and in doing so brings its traditional links to the preeminent pharmaceuticals and healthcare practice into play. But the second pillar in technical patents, also supported by the overall firm’s client connections, has yet to fulfil its potential, possibly because an associate experienced in this field went to Mayer Brow...

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Gampp’s respected patent litigation team is an established player in Munich, mainly for mobile communications litigation. This is one of the reasons why it is increasingly benefiting from the good client connections of the strong US practice, for instance in advice to a US software manufacturer and Japanese auto manufacturer on potential infringement suits. But by no means is the team dependent on the US practice: it nurtures its own respectable connections, e.g. Robert Bosch. The team made huge strides in terms of growth in summer 2017. Renown...

JUVE Comment

The respected patents team of this IP firm has an established place in north Germany and Düsseldorf’s patent courts for patent litigation. Activities are based on long-standing connections to clients from the healthcare and food sectors. But HU is hired ever more often by companies from other sectors, like the booming packaging industry. One example is the work for Panther Packaging. The lawyers are also called on by external patent attorneys for litigation. HU operates a small filing practice for regular clients.

JUVE Comment

This chiefly transaction-focused firm pressed ahead with growing its respected patent litigation practice, as it is looking to conduct more high-end proceedings across Europe with an eye on the UPC. Efforts in Germany are making headway. In its third year at Linklaters, Schönbohm’s team is gaining a foothold in pharmaceuticals proceedings, partly because it is working for regular clients from London and Germany on a more regular basis, among them a British pharmaceuticals manufacturer. Pharmaceuticals proceedings are the German practice’s stren...

JUVE Comment

For many years, this Munich IP boutique and leading name in patents has followed a successful mixed approach. The patent attorneys operate a small but strong prosecution practice, which files many patents at the German Patent and Trademark Office, incl. a large number of priority patents for its primarily German clients. Because regular clients are securing more and more international markets, the proportion of patents filed at the EPO is also on the rise. Besides activity for innovative Mittelstand companies, work for some international corpor...

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• Filing
• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

This US firm respected in patents has long been active before the German courts from Munich. But the firm only managed to raise its visibility significantly by bringing on board Holzapfel as a partner from Loschelder. He was at Gleiss Lutz until 2014. Both clients and competitors lavish praise on his work. Holzapfel is mainly known for pharmaceuticals suits, but also litigates for auto suppliers at McDermott. A number of loyal clients already followed him from Gleiss to Loschelder, and now to McDermott – among them a German auto supplier and a ...

JUVE Comment

This Munich team is respected for its patent litigation and enjoying growing market visibility. This is largely thanks to its busy activity for traditional US NPEs as well as for industry-oriented NPEs like Thomson. The practice thus has a very clear focus on mobile communications suits, but Nack and team also litigate for the industrial clients typical of Noerr, esp. in the pharma and classic engineering sectors.

JUVE Comment

The respected patents team at this small IP and pharma boutique has a solid place before Hamburg’s courts, where it predominantly litigates for regular clients. Kröner uses his in-depth pharmaceuticals sector expertise to advise Beiersdorf on cosmetics patents as well. Spiegelhalder litigates in cases related to mechanics patents, often for baby/doll carriage manufacturer Hauck, and coordinates international proceedings.