JUVE Comment

Preu Bohlig’s patent team has an excellent market image across Germany thanks to its deep roots in litigation for Mittelstand clients. The team led by Christian Donle is always visible in mobile communications proceedings, with many for regular client Huawei. With litigation for Hewlett Packard in the suit by NPE Wsou, other partners are now appearing in high-profile cases.

Companies also rely on the team for proceedings of great economic importance in the pharma and medical products sector, among them Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland regarding hollow fibre spinning machines and Hikma Pharma concerning cancer drug pemetrexed. Preu Bohlig has intelligently used its well-established interface with regulatory pharma law to provide all-round advice, for example advising medical product manufacturers on licence agreements. The firm’s good reputation recently opened the door to work involving a medical product app. The success for Fresenius Medical Care at the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) involving trade secrets for a manufacturing process for dialysis technology is proof positive that the medical product manufacturer chooses Daniel Hoppe and his team for complex proceedings.

Thanks to the success of laterals like Hoppe and Christian Kau the IP firm has managed to reinvent itself in recent years. The young team of partners is now tackling the next step and investing in associate training – a consistent strategy that should allow the firm to cope with the steady rise in work.

At the same time, the firm has nurtured excellent, informal relationships with patent attorney firms for years. Because of the trend towards mixed firms, pure patent attorney firms are increasingly involving the Preu Bohlig partners when their regular clients, especially from the German Mittelstand, need legal background advice or litigation. Clients praise the “superb advice and quick availability” of the Preu Bohlig partners.

Strengths

Litigation with a broad technical spectrum, including SEP and FRAND claims.

European strategy

The German IP firm with strong roots in the Mittelstand opened its own Paris office a few years ago, through which it acquires and advises French clients. An unusual investment, but one that has so far paid off. Preu Bohlig frequently cooperates with numerous foreign firms within non-exclusive relationships. Because of its client structure, however, the firm is only active for Huawei in important cross-border cases.

Recommended individuals

Ludwig von Zumbusch, Christian Donle (“one of the few to challenge opponents with creative ideas”, competitor), Christian Kau (“does a good job”, competitor), Daniel Hoppe

Team

11 partners, 3 counsel, 9 associates

Specialties

Very strong focus on IP. Alongside patents, also trademarks and unfair competition and pharma law. Litigation predominates. Invention law, know-how protection, licensing and R&D contracts.

Clients

Litigation: Huawei (co-defendant of Daimler) against Nokia and Conversant on connected cars (settled in 2020/21); Hewlett Packard (defendant) against Wsou on mobile communication; 4Inno Ingenieurgesellschaft (claimant) against Philips and Signify over LED lamps; BBP Kunststoffwerk Marbach Baier (defendant) against ElringKlinger over oil tanks; Bora (claimant) against Miele over extraction systems; Brita (claimant) against Aqua Select over filter cartridges; Carlex Glass (defendant) against AGC Glass Europe over windscreens; Faurecia (claimant) against Benteler over car cross beams; Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland (claimant) against FilaTech over hollow fibre spin machines; Hikma Pharma (claimant) against Eli Lilly and IFA over cancer drug pemetrexed; James Hardie Europe (claimant) against Aerocycle over construction materials; Stetter (claimant) against Euromix over concrete mixers (settled); Uhrig Straßen- und Tiefbau (defendant) against MTS Maschinentechnik Schrode over soil compactors; Washtec (claimant) against Istobal over hub washing in car washes; ongoing for Delta Electronics, Ventec Central Europe. Advice: Carlex and Vodacom South Africa on employee invention law.