JUVE Comment

This mixed patent litigation practice has maintained its position among the German market leaders for years. The well-established team conducts high-calibre litigation for many clients across a broad technical spectrum. Hogan Lovells was again highly active in various mobile communications proceedings, for example for Oppo, Xiaomi and HMD Global. The team’s comprehensive expertise in SEP proceedings has recently impressed Amazon, which opted for the law firm for its defence, first against Huawei (concerning wi-fi) and now also against claims by Nokia and Alcatel (concerning video coding). Hogan Lovells is similarly prominent in pharmaceutical and medical technology disputes. Regular clients such as MSD and Meril provide a steady stream of work. In addition, companies from the automotive sector, mechanical engineering, solar technology and the consumer goods industries repeatedly entrust the team with their commercially important cases.

This wealth of high-stakes litigation work also offers the younger generation of lawyers a platform to prove themselves. Besides young partners such as Henrik Lehment, counsel and senior associates are already making a name for themselves among competitors and clients – one client praised Markus Kuczera for example as “outstanding”. Hogan Lovells once again demonstrated its constant promotion of young talent with the appointment of three counsel. Even though the patent attorneys are still overshadowed by the renowned litigators, individuals such as Andreas Schmid are now achieving a good profile.

European set-up

The firm has a fully integrated international patent litigation practice, with strong teams in London and numerous important UPC locations. Clients in different jurisdictions often rely on the lawyers’ expertise. This is most evident in the frequent legal disputes surrounding SEPs, where Hogan Lovells recently defended Oppo against Nokia in several proceedings throughout Europe until the parties settled in early 2024. The teams from Germany, the UK, France and Spain cooperated in this case. The situation is no different in pharmaceutical disputes, where the law firm is representing Hoffmann La Roche, for example, in a dispute with Accord concerning a biosimilar in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Thanks to its large team, with patent attorneys in Germany, Hogan Lovells can quickly put together effective teams for international patent battles. The firm’s international teams are already active in numerous UPC proceedings, so far mainly on the defendant side. Meril Life Sciences for example chose Hogan Lovells to defend it in various national proceedings against claims made by Edwards Lifesciences. The battle has meanwhile reached the UPC. The team is also representing Oppo against SEP claims by Panasonic at the Munich local division, and before German national courts.

Hogan Lovells conducts most of these UPC proceedings with internationally composed teams under the leadership of German partners. In this respect, the first UPC cases have also revealed the balance of power in Hogan Lovells’ European patent practice.

Strengths

Strong international client base, large European patent practice, cross-border litigation, especially related to pharmaceuticals and telecommunications, including SEPs and FRAND.

Recommended individuals

Martin Fähndrich, Andreas von Falck (“one of the leading experts for IP in Germany, builds his cases carefully and presents them to court in a credible way”, “strong lead counsel”, competitors), Miriam Gundt, Henrik Lehment (“handles complex cases with aplomb”, “very impressive”, competitors), Clemens Plassmann, Steffen Steininger, Christian Stoll, Benjamin Schröer (“impressive litigator”, competitor), patent attorney: Andreas Schmid (“very good, knowledgeable regarding UPC, strongly recommend him”, client; “really knows what he’s doing”, competitor)

Team

51 lawyers (2 of whom are dual qualified), 8 patent attorneys

Clients

Litigation: Amazon against Huawei over wi-fi technology; Amazon against Nokia and Alcatel over video coding; Oppo against Nokia over SEPs, including 5G and FRAND (settled 2024); HMD against Huawei over mobile communications; Xiaomi against Panasonic over SEPs; LG Electronics against NPE over SEPs; MSD against Mylan, Ratiopharm, Stada and 1A Pharma over cholesterol-lowering drug Inegy; MSD against generic drug companies over diabetes drug sitagliptin/metformin; Meril Life Sciences against Edwards Lifesciences over heart valves; Hanwha Q-Cells against competitors over solar technology.