JUVE Comment

This IP law firm is one of the strongest mixed law firms on the market. Its leading patent attorneys impress in oppositions before the EPO and in nullity actions. Vossius also has a renowned team of lawyers who are hot on the heels of the market leaders and the firm regularly appears with mixed teams in complex proceedings. The team was again highly active in disputes concerning mobile communications patents.

The law firm laid the foundation for this development with a good network among Asian clients, combined with in-depth knowledge of FRAND aspects. Xiaomi and ZTE have relied on Vossius for a long time. Furthermore, Vossius shines in high-profile proceedings concerning medical technology and pharmaceutical patents and this has recently brought the team new clients such as Newron. Few other competitors, such as Bardehle Pagenberg, are so consistently convincing with a mixed team.

It is therefore only logical that Vossius has grown further. Besides hiring some patent attorneys, the firm has strengthened its lawyer team with the appointment of a partner and two further associates – one of them in the Basel office.

European set-up

Cross-border proceedings, which Vossius sometimes coordinates, are nothing new for the firm. Not least thanks to its good relationships with foreign law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis and Bristows, the team is frequently involved in high-profile and complex international patent disputes, for example for BAT or Boston Scientific.

Vossius is now also utilising this experience at the UPC, where it has been highly active from the outset, mainly together with the Amsterdam IP boutique Brinkhof. Since 2022, the two law firms have combined clout under the Vossius & Brinkhof UPC Litigators brand. A mixed team led by Vossius partner Andreas Kramer and Brinkhof partner Rien Broekstra is representing Oppo in the dispute against Panasonic at the local division Mannheim. Agfa, Roku and Ballinno also rely on the team at the new court. Even though the partners of both law firms handle most of the UPC work under the Vossius & Brinkhof UPC Litigators brand, the alliance is by no means exclusive. For example, the Vossius patent attorneys work alongside the Freshfields lawyers for Kodak at the UPC. Brinkhof is acting without the support of Vossius in a pharmaceutical case.

Following the generally successful start for the alliance at the UPC, the contacts of Vossius’ strong prosecution practice to clients from a wide range of sectors harbour great potential for future UPC work. One example is the manufacturer of metal cutting tools Iscar, which the law firm is also representing in EPO appeals and which is now relying on the team at the UPC in the dispute against its German competitor Walter.

Strengths

Mixed litigation teams, mainly concerning pharmaceuticals, biotech, mechanics and mobile communications.

Recommended individuals

Andreas Kramer (“has a good grip on his cases and always keeps us informed”, client; “excellent dedication and creative thinking”, competitor), Georg Rauh (“highly dedicated and razor-sharp mind”, competitor), Kai Rüting (“strong litigation skills”, “experienced, pragmatic, good”, competitors), Thure Schubert; patent attorneys: Gerhard Hermann, Hans-Rainer Jaenichen, Elard Frhr. von Schenck zu Schweinsberg (“really good”, competitor)

Team

62 patent attorneys, 17 lawyers

Clients

Litigation: Kodak against Fujifilm over offset printing technology; Oppo against Panasonic over WCDMA and LTE standards; Oppo against VoiceAge and Crystal Clear Codec over SEPs for speech coding for mobile devices; Vivo against Nokia over mobile communications (settled 2024); Boston Scientific against Cook Medical over compression clamps; Resmed against Panthera over oral splints to prevent airway obstruction; British American Tobacco against Philip Morris over e-cigarettes (settled 2024); Newron Pharmaceuticals againt Alfred Tiefenbacher in nullity suit over Parkinson’s treatment.