JUVE Comment

The patent attorney team of this mixed firm has a well-positioned litigation practice for electronics, mobile communications and mechanics patents. In high-volume infringement disputes, the patent attorneys mostly work with external law firms, for instance with Taliens for TCL in mobile communications or with Hoyng ROKH Monegier for Signify or Zeiss SMT regarding lighting and lithography technology.

The continued work for Zeiss SMT also bears witness to the solid client connections for litigation. Christof Keussen represented the company back in 2019 against Nikon in a dispute over exposure machines for the production of semiconductors. There is now a dispute with Brooker over cleaning machines.

While Keussen has been the firm’s figurehead in technically complex electronics and mechanics proceedings for years, Philipp Harlfinger is emerging as an expert for mobile communications cases.

The patent attorneys have a strong filing practice in northern Germany for SMEs and the subsidiaries of international corporations. Through the Stuttgart team, they nurture excellent connections to innovative south German SMEs. Expertise in mobile communications cases offers an important foundation for advising or even litigating for the strong SME client base on connectivity issues in the future.

However, this would require more consistent cooperation between the patent attorneys and lawyers. The latter are active in soft IP and occasionally litigate for SMEs, though this activity is hardly visible in the market.

Strengths

Litigation related to automotive, aviation, electronics and IT. Patent prosecution in a broad technical field.

European set-up

Glawe Delfs Moll is a national prosecution firm first and foremost that cooperates with external lawyers in big litigation cases. Thanks to their expertise, Glawe Delfs Moll’s patent attorneys, such as Keussen and Harlfinger, have shown in the past that they can play a role in cross-border cases for Zeiss SMT or TCL on the patent attorney side – especially in electronics and mobile communications.

In Keussen the firm also has a renowned expert on the UPC. But there is no guarantee that the firm’s collaborations with external lawyers will run as smoothly for the UPC, as many firms will be rethinking their strategies. Glawe Delfs Moll is planning to appear at the UPC without fixed partnerships initially. To build on this, the firm will have to deepen its mixed approach. But this remains difficult while the business of patent attorneys and lawyers is so different.

Recommended individuals

Philipp Harlfinger (“highly reliable, always first rate”, competitor), Christof Keussen, Markus Hössle (all patent attorneys)

Team

10 patent attorneys, 2 lawyers

Specialties

All-round IP activity with strong focus on patents. Strong patent prosecution activity within a broad technical spectrum. Opposition and nullity suits and infringement proceedings by patent attorneys. The latter mainly with external litigators, occasionally with the firm’s own.

Clients

Litigation: TCL (claimant) against IP Bridge over mobile communication standards and FRAND, including before the Federal Court of Justice; Zeiss SMT (defendant) against Brooker over a technology for cleaning machines for chip manufacturing; Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (claimant) against Xiaomi over OLED technology; Signify (claimant) against EGLO over LED lamps. Prosecution: Siemens Gamesa in opposition over wind-energy patent (public knowledge); Haag-Streit in opposition over operating microscope. Filing and oppositions for Haag-Streit, JVC Kenwood, Link Group, Lufthansa Technik, Magna, Microdrones, Siemens Gamesa, Waldemar Link and Zeiss.