JUVE Comment

Dompatent is well positioned in the market as the patent attorneys enjoy an excellent reputation for filing chemicals and pharma patents. This leads to intensive dispute work for regular clients, such as medical product manufacturer Dahlhausen. On the one hand, the constant growth in prosecution work is an important basis for representing regular clients in proceedings, and, on the other, clients such as Tesa have gained confidence in the patent attorney team through the joint litigation work and now hire it for patent filing, too.

In addition to growing their client list in the life sciences sector, the patent attorney team is also very active in the mobile communications sector for small equipment manufacturers like TCT. This, like the Xiaomi connection, underscores the firm’s excellent relationships with Asian clients, whose trust it is skilfully winning and holding by integrating native-speaker patent attorneys and support staff. Prosecution client Xiaomi is frequently being taken before the German courts by NPEs, which offers the patent attorneys further potential to bring their litigation expertise into play.

Beyond that, however, the firm, in its 75th year of existence, remains firmly anchored among German companies.

Strengths

Litigation and patent prosecution related to pharmaceuticals, biotech and chemicals.

European set-up

The patent attorneys at the Cologne-based firm are well known for litigation in the life sciences sector, and to a lesser extent in mobile communications. In disputes, they often work with lawyers from other firms, for example Taylor Wessing and most recently with Arnold Ruess for Kingfa. The firm only has an office in Cologne and not at any UPC venues.

Before the UPC, the patent attorneys could therefore be key representatives for both their large German client base and their Asian clients, thanks to their extensive litigation experience, if they continue working with external lawyers who do not integrate patent attorneys into their ranks. The patent attorneys could also conduct UPC proceedings alone.

Recommended individuals

Hans-Peter Jönsson, Jörg Helbing, Jochen Hilleringmann, Christoph Schreiber (“superb in biotech, good strategist with very good international connections”, competitor; all patent attorneys)

Team

18 patent attorneys

Specialties

All-round IP activity specialising in patent prosecution with a broad technical spectrum. Opposition and nullity suits. Infringement proceedings with external lawyers, trademarks and unfair competition with the firm’s own lawyers. China desk.

Clients

Litigation: TCT Mobile (defendant) against NEC over audio-codec standard for Alcatel phones; Asus (defendant) against Philips over mobile communications (settled); Uniloc against Apple over mobile communications (settled); Tesa (defendant) against Certoplast over adhesive tape for cable ties in cars; Kingfa (claimant) against BASF over polymer patents; Huanxin (defendant) against Honeywell over coolant for cars; Dahlhausen (defendant) against Convatec over catheters. Prosecution: filing and oppositions for Behr-Hella, Bio-Rad, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Edgewell, Henkel, Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Wirtgen. Filing for 3D Systems, ADM Archer Daniels Midland, Asahi Kasei, Becton Dickinson, B. Braun Melsungen, Chemische Fabrik Kreussler, China Academy of Telecommunications Technology, Covestro, Deutsche Post, Elmos Semiconductor, Fischbach, Gebr. Willach, Grillo Werke, Hamm, Henkel, HP Pelzer, Hyundai Mobis, Inficon, Kingfa, Knauf, Leybold, Lubrizol, Monsanto/Bayer Crop Science, Nanogate, RWTH Aachen, Tesa, Tsubakimoto Chain, Vita Zahnfabrik, Wirtgen, Xiaomi (all public knowledge).