JUVE Comment

With its office in Hamburg, this patent attorney firm has a strong filing practice in North Germany. It also has a renowned office in Stuttgart with good ties to south German midsized tech companies and a focus on auto suppliers. The firm’s prosecution work increasingly gives rise to litigation, for example the patent attorneys represented Carl Zeiss. The highlight was the litigation for Carl Zeiss in the German proceedings against Nikon concerning lithography machines for computer chips. The good ties to a Munich litigation firm granted GDM access to mobile communications companies. The patent attorneys conducted the first infringement proceedings for ZTE and TCL together with Taliens. Nevertheless, such ties to external lawyers do not seem to have encouraged the firm to develop more rapidly its own mixed practice.

Strengths

Patent prosecution and litigation related to automotive, chemistry, electronics, software and wind energy.

European strategy

GDM is a national prosecution firm first and foremost. But it hopes to capitalise on the chances offered by the UPC system and has a renowned expert on the new court in Keussen. But GDM will have to deepen its mixed approach. This process has been rather sluggish so far. But while the uncertainty surrounding the new court remains, there is no pressure for the firm to speed up this development.

Recommended individuals

Christof Keussen, Markus Hössle (all patent attorneys)

Team

13 patent attorneys, 2 lawyers

Specialties

All-round IP activity. Two thirds of the practice is patent law with strong patent prosecution activity within a broad technical spectrum. Opposition and nullity suits and infringement proceedings by patent attorneys.

Clients

Litigation: Carl Zeiss/ASML against Nikon over machines for chip manufacturing; TCL against NPE over SEP; ZTE on opposition over Android function; Magna on infringement suit over auto equipment; Omnipac against Brodrene Hartmann over egg packaging. Prosecution: Senvion on opposition over wind energy patent; Haag Streit on opposition over operation microscope. Filings for E.on, Link Group, Lufthansa Technik, JVC Kenwood, Magna, Senvion and Zeiss.