JUVE Comment

With its consistently high number of economically and legally important national infringement proceedings, Rospatt is a market leader. The German IP litigation boutique’s 16-strong lawyer team plays in the premier league of pharmaceutical and biotech proceedings. Recently, it clarified the interpretation of new SPC rules for Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Biotech in a case against Formycon regarding the Stelara biosimilar.

It also represents clients such as AMO, Illumina and Samsung Biologics in high-stakes disputes. The team around Thomas Musmann and Max von Rospatt is clearly positioned on the originator side.

The practice is also active in FRAND and SEP cases, where it regularly but not exclusively advises and defends Samsung in court. The work in last year’s dispute with Datang is a highlight, though the case was settled relatively quickly. Rospatt is also active in economically significant lawsuits across a range of technologies, for example for CATL.

The stable litigation boutique has seen recent growth, for example appointing lawyer Simon Klopschinski from its own ranks as a partner. He is part of a team litigating in various life sciences proceedings and also conducts cases on his own, for example for a dental product manufacturer. Overall, thanks to the good position in high-end litigation, other up-and-coming partners such as Markus Lenßen and André Sabellek can also gain visibility alongside the established partners.

European set-up

As an independent IP litigation boutique that is one of the leading national players, the practice has everything it takes to successfully represent clients in UPC proceedings. However, it has positioned itself more cautiously than competitors with a similar setup, such as Kather Augenstein or mixed law firms like Bardehle Pagenberg. This is due to its strategy of neutrally informing clients about the possible risks of litigation in the early phase of a new court. As a result, many of its regular clients, particularly in the life sciences sector, are still taking a wait-and-see approach to the UPC.

Nevertheless, the firm has been involved in proceedings from the outset. For example, the team led by Max von Rospatt represented AIM Sport Vision alongside other law firms in its first UPC case against Supponor. This case also shows the high level of competition among law firms for UPC proceedings and the willingness of clients not to necessarily rely exclusively on an IP boutique, especially one that is purely nationally positioned. Rospatt enters this situation with reliable international contacts and, above all, with its exceptionally close cooperation between the litigation-experienced partner team.

Strengths

Strong in litigation concerning pharmaceuticals and mobile communications patents, strong international contacts.

Recommended individuals

Hetti Hilge, Markus Lenßen, Thomas Musmann, Rüdiger Pansch, Max von Rospatt, André Sabellek (“highly competent and impressive in the courtroom”, competitor), Henrik Timmann (“highly recommended”, client)

Team

16 lawyers

Clients

Litigation: Samsung against Datang over mobile communications and FRAND; Samsung against Intent IQ over technology for targeted television advertisements; Biogen/Samsung Biologics against Fresenius Kabi and Gedeon Richter over Humira; Illumina/Sequenom against Cenata and Roche over nucleic acid sequencing (settled 2023); Eurospital against AESKU over antibody tests for coeliac disease; Janssen Biotech (Johnson & Johnson) against Formycon over SPC for Stelara biosimilar; AMO against Alcon over eye surgery (settled 2024); Arcelor Mittal against TATA Steel over surface properties; CATL (defendant) against MU Ionic over e-batteries for electric cars; Workaround against New Land over gloves for hands-free barcode scanning (settled 2024).