JUVE Comment

The patent attorneys at this strongly positioned Munich IP firm enjoy an excellent name for litigation over mobile communications patents as well as semiconductor patents. In the latter, they are extremely active for claimants in infringement proceedings and simultaneous nullity suits. Clients are predominantly NPEs bringing major series of suits against multiple manufacturers of chips or mobile devices at once. The patent attorneys therefore not only have plenty of experience in litigation, but also in coordinating such campaigns. They also operate a small, steadily growing prosecution practice, which covers a much broader spectrum than electronics and semiconductor patents.

The patent attorneys still run one very large series of proceedings for VoiceAge EVS with new claims against the mobile communications manufacturers HMD, Honor, Oppo and Xiaomi. They run a further series of actions involving speech codecs for mobile telephones for CCC. Through these two cases, the patent attorneys now have a very strong relationship with the lawyers from Düsseldorf IP boutique Wildanger.

Thanks to this visibility in litigation, younger partners Thomas Hell and Rudolf Reichold quickly dispelled doubts as to whether they would be able to maintain the firm’s success after last year’s departure of name partner Matthias Bosch. With new series of suits for Netlist and Ocean Semiconductor involving storage media and for K.Mizra over battery technology and identification services, they pushed this success even further.

Strengths

Semiconductor and software patents, litigation involving mobile communications on the patent holder side.

European set-up

With its crystal-clear focus on mobile communications and semiconductor technology on the side of NPEs as claimants, such as Voice Age or CCC, Bosch Jehle is predestined to be one of the first firms to provide technical support in UPC proceedings. The well-established connections to law firms like Wildanger will be an asset.

Given the small team size, the patent attorneys are unlikely to conduct UPC proceedings independently. Together with their German partner law firms, they will also have to strengthen their ties to other European firms for the international aspects of UPC cases. Although the firm built up a patent attorney from its own junior staff, further growth is necessary.

Recommended individuals

Thomas Hell (“super good technical knowledge” competitor), Rudolf Reichold (“can explain complex technical matters very well” competitor; both patent attorneys)

Team

9 patent attorneys

Partner moves

Matthias Bosch (left the legal profession)

Specialties

Patent prosecution specialising in mechanics, IT and telecoms. Much litigation work in close cooperation with external litigators.

Clients

Litigation: VoiceAge EVS (claimant) against HMD, Honor, Oppo and Xiaomi over speech coding for mobile devices; Crystal Clear Codec (claimant) against Apple, Oppo and Xiaomi over speech coding for mobile devices; WiLan (claimant) against Sony over LTE patents; Rembrandt (claimant) against Apple over communication systems; D&M (defendant) against Philips over audio coding; K.Mizra (claimant) againt Niantic over ID services; K.Mizra (claimant) againt Samsung over technology for smart-battery management; Pantech (claimant) against Wiko and Sony over LTE standard; Netlist (claimant) against Micron over storage modules; Ocean Semiconductor (claimant) against Nvidia over semiconductor technology; Lavazza (claimant) against Sielaff over hot-drink vending machines; Qioptiq (claimant) against Dürr over dental cameras. Prosecution: filing for Amazon, Allgaier, Britax Römer, Broadcom, BWF, CycloTech, Enevate, G3 Genuine Guide Gear, Lavazza, Netlist, Qioptiq/Excelitas.