JUVE Comment

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 Motorola and Google. The next logical step is to branch into litigation related to pharmaceuticals patents – a field where many suits are currently underway and QEUS is not esp. visible. Diversification would also give QEUS the chance to establish other lawyers from the team around Grosch, an exceptionally strong and well-known partner. However, the team suffered a slight setback in late 2017 when the youngest of the three partners Dr. Jan Ebersohl moved to Allen & Overy. QEUS will now have to bolster the Munich office with additional expertise in mobile communications, but can still compensate rather well for the departure thanks to Grosch’s clout.

Strengths

Litigation related to telecoms and on the interface with antitrust. Opposition and nullity suits by lawyers. Strong US practice.

European strategy

As the strongest litigation practice in Mannheim and with a good presence in Munich and an office in Hamburg, which focuses on soft IP, QEUS is foregoing its own office at the key Düsseldorf location, as well as in other European countries. This is a bold strategy based on the extremely good market position of a few partners and the strong US practice.

Recommended individuals

Dr. Marcus Grosch (“solution-oriented”, competitor), Dr. Johannes Bukow (“outstanding litigator”, competitor).

Team

2 equity partners, 10 associates

Practice

Pure litigation firm. In Germany, IP activity centers on patent litigation. Also cancellation proceedings, opposition and nullity suits and infringement proceedings, generally without external patent attorneys. In Hamburg, soft IP and antitrust on the interface with patents.

Clients

Qualcomm against Apple; Motorola against Saint Lawrence; Google against Philips (all regarding mobile communications); Tessera against Broadcom regarding semiconductor technology; Everlight against Nichia concerning LEDs; DSM concerning enzyme treatment in milk preparations; SWM regarding cigarette paper; Tesa regarding micrometer; frequent litigation for Daimler and Carl Freudenberg.