Litigation: Lawyers – Germany 2022

JUVE Comment

As one of the market leaders, the German patent practice is a cornerstone of this international firm, which enjoys a superb position in patents across Europe, too. Unlike in other European countries, the patent team in Germany is not only characterised by the extraordinary visibility of its lawyers in the courtrooms, but also by the well-oiled teamwork with the Bird & Bird patent attorneys.

Other Rankings

• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

This international full-service firm’s mixed patent litigation practice is an unstoppable force at the top of the German market, and perhaps even a step ahead of the competition. Year after year, the well-oiled machine of this twelve-partner-strong patent practice handles a multitude of top-level proceedings in the life sciences and mobile communications sectors that set the standard. The team is also very visible in many other sectors. Two of the series of lawsuits with the highest stakes are litigation for Apple against Ericsson in a global b...

JUVE Comment

Following three very successful years between 2019 and 2021, things calmed down a little for the market-leading German patent litigation team of this US firm. This is because the extensive proceedings for Daimler against various members of the Avanci patent pool over connected cars patents were settled in 2021. For Google and Netflix, however, the firm is still involved in extensive litigation over mobile communications patents. This makes Quinn Emanuel one of the most visible German litigation teams in the mobile communications and IT sectors....

JUVE Comment

As a pure IP firm that has internalised the mixed approach like few other German IP firms, Bardehle is a market leader for patent disputes on the lawyer and patent attorney side alike. The firm has a particular strength in semiconductor and telecoms patents. After a long time warming up, the firm has also made the breakthrough into prosecution and litigation in the life sciences sector in recent months.

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing
• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

The patent litigation team of this international full-service firm has cemented its place among the market leaders with a sizeable number of high-end instructions. The team impresses the market in legally and technologically complex cases for pharma clients as well as high-tech companies from the telecoms and computer sectors. The practice drew attention with the suit for Moderna against BioNTech over mRNA patents.

JUVE Comment

With a broad technical focus and some outstanding litigators such as Axel Verhauwen this Düsseldorf IP boutique has been at the top of the German market for patent litigation for years. Its experience with SEP and FRAND proceedings in the mobile communications sector stands out, as does intensive advice to Volkswagen on this key issue. In lawsuits over pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, Krieger Mes is rarely seen when original drug manufacturers defend themselves internationally against generics companies entering the market.

JUVE Comment

With a strong presence for patent litigation across a broad technical spectrum, this firm is one of the German market leaders. Thanks to the reputations of Thomas Musmann and Max von Rospatt, the firm once again plays in the top league for pharma and biotech proceedings. Rospatt Osten Pross works exclusively for originators such as Amgen, Biogen, Dr. Falk Pharma and Illumina in numerous high-stakes cases over drugs. The next wave of litigation is on the horizon for a US multinational pharmaceuticals manufacturer.

JUVE Comment

With a steadily growing number of partners, the German patent litigation team of this international firm is increasingly closing in on the group of market leaders. Munich lawyer Anja Lunze was promoted to the equity partnership in 2021, with Jan Rektorschek following suit in Düsseldorf. The firm also appointed an associate in both offices to non-equity partner. But the German practice is not only challenging the market leaders with one of the largest partner teams of all German firms, but also with its presence in litigation across a broad tech...

JUVE Comment

Yet again, this mixed IP firm put in an incredibly strong performance in litigation on both the patent attorney and lawyer side. The patent attorneys are among the most persistent challengers to the market leaders; the lawyers are on their way there, with a growing presence in mobile communications proceedings.

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing
• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

This mixed firm is one of the undisputed market leaders for litigation by patent attorneys. The latter advise on the technical matters of high-profile infringement proceedings on the side of external lawyers, both in life sciences and mobile communications patents. When it comes to pharma proceedings, they are often in action with the firm’s own strongly positioned lawyers.

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing
• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

Despite the small size of its well-positioned patent litigation team, this traditional IP boutique is involved in an unusual number of high-level cases. Klaka stepped up work for patent users in major telecoms proceedings, which has given it much experience in SEP suits. This is appreciated by such clients as Xiaomi, who hired the team once again for infringement proceedings against a US NPE.

JUVE Comment

The strongly positioned patent litigation team of this international firm has pulled off a generational change just in time for the UPC launch. The German team, as part of a solidly placed global litigation practice, focuses on high-stakes proceedings for a chiefly international client base, in order to continue playing a central role when UPC suits are dealt out in the future.

JUVE Comment

The team led by Hosea Haag enjoys a strong market position thanks to its many years of experience representing clients in large series of proceedings, especially NPEs as claimants in the mobile communications sector. The firm added some high-profile names to its list of NPEs, including INVITE, Unwired Planet and Onebutton, some of which brought extensive series of lawsuits. Among these is also Arigna, an NPE that, outside the mobile communications sector, is looking to enforce patents for semiconductors against carmakers.

JUVE Comment

This patent practice is traditionally well positioned for infringement proceedings when it comes to advising and litigating for German SMEs from a range of sectors. Clients benefit from its close ties to other patent teams in the CMS network; the German practice coordinates cases with these for regular client Erbe (medical products) and Leifheit (kitchen scales).

JUVE Comment

The patent practice of this international full-service firm is strongly positioned but has a rather untypical setup for a German litigation team. Alongside infringement proceedings, the pure lawyer team is taking on more and more nullity suits at the Federal Patent Court, as well as EPO oppositions – usually the domain of patent attorneys in Germany.

JUVE Comment

With its mixed team of patent attorneys and lawyers, Jones Day enjoys a solid reputation in the German market for patent litigation and prosecution in equal measure. Clients from an array of technical fields and sectors entrust the patent attorneys to look after their patents, some to a considerable degree. Strong specialties have formed over the years in the pharma/biotech, automotive and semiconductor sectors. The patent attorneys are very active, for instance, at the German Patent and Trademark Office for a US semiconductor manufacturer.

Other Rankings

• Patent Filing
• Litigation: Patent Attorneys

JUVE Comment

This small team is exceptionally active in patent litigation and saw a strong influx of new clients. Noerr impressed the market first and foremost for its activity in the mobile communications sector for such notable manufacturers as TCL and Xiaomi in infringement proceedings over mobile communications standards.

JUVE Comment

The team of lawyers at this national full-service firm is very well established in the German patent market with two clear specialties. The Cologne team led by Jens Kunzmann and Kurt Bartenbach enjoys an outstanding position in employee invention law. In Munich, CBH has one of the best-known litigators for infringement proceedings and nullity suits in the shape of Stephan Gruber.

JUVE Comment

On the one hand, the well-positioned patent litigation practice of this German full-service firm represents its core base of SME clients within a broad technical spectrum. On the other, the team is especially active for generics manufacturers in proceedings over traditional pharma patents, biosimilars and SPCs. It is litigating, for example, for two companies in suits by originators involving a multiple sclerosis drug.

JUVE Comment

The team around Wolfgang Kellenter is well positioned to litigate for the large national firm’s industrial clients, such as CarSystem Süd. In addition, the team, which consists entirely of lawyers, has acted for NPEs for years. These include FIPA, IPCom and France Brevet, which Hengeler Mueller represented in major series of proceedings over mobile communications patents.

JUVE Comment

Sebastian Heim’s summer 2021 arrival gave the well-positioned patent litigation practice of this German full-service firm a further huge boost and raised its visibility. Just a few months previously, an IP partner from Arnold Porter had bolstered the Frankfurt office. Where initially there were only IP partners in Düsseldorf and Hamburg, the patent practice now has a large team for the important Munich patent chambers as well.

JUVE Comment

The lawyers at this highly traditional Hamburg IP boutique are well positioned in patent proceedings, where partner Karsten Königer mostly represents his regular SME clients in actions brought by competitors. His highest profile client is probably Lidl, which the team frequently represents against attacks by brand manufacturers over products from a wide range of technical fields.

JUVE Comment

The small German patent team of this international full-service firm has carved out a strong position for litigation in the pharma sector in just two years. This is thanks to Düsseldorf partner Ina vom Feld, who is highly experienced in this segment. She landed new clients for infringement litigation, with Foundation Medicine and SD Biosensor among them.

JUVE Comment

The patent practice of this international firm is well positioned in cross-border actions involving pharma and biotech patents. Linklaters focuses squarely on originators such as ViiV, which instructed Julia Schönbohm's team for a long-running dispute with Gilead over an HIV blockbuster drug.

JUVE Comment

The strongly positioned German patent practice of this US firm is especially busy for automotive suppliers, to which it traditionally nurtures close ties. The team may not have been as visible as competitors in the first wave of connected cars actions, which recently came to an end, but it did advise regular client Harman International intensively in the background.

JUVE Comment

With its lawyers and patent attorneys, this IP boutique is nicely positioned for legal disputes. Thomas Adam stands out for his increasing activity for NPEs, such as Solas (OLED displays) and Neodron (mobile communications). Many of his clients of late have stemmed from the Irish NPE group Atlantic IP. Innovation Foundry Technology is another repeat client, which the firm is advising in a dispute over chip technology.