JUVE Comment

The German team of this mixed international IP firm has established itself as a major player in the market for high-profile proceedings concerning mobile communications patents, including SEP and FRAND matters. It is strongly positioned alongside SEP owners and NPEs. The team led by partner Christof Höhne is currently conducting proceedings for Evolved Wireless against Samsung and Datang against Xiaomi. It also sued Huawei on behalf of MediaTek in German courts and the UPC over several mobile communications patents, while a Finnegan Henderson team is assisting the semiconductor manufacturer in defending itself against Huawei’s counterclaims.

This steady flow of new SEP and mobile communications cases is offset by the departure of partner Florian Schmidt-Bogatzky to Herbert Smith Freehills in spring 2025. He took with him the client relationships with Broadcom and Sonos, which have helped shape the practice in recent years. With three partners experienced in SEP issues, the remaining team is stable enough to handle the steady influx of new lawsuits. However, it needs to grow to remain competitive for the complex UPC lawsuits.

European set-up

EIP has a presence in key European jurisdictions with patent teams in Germany, the UK and Sweden. Although the Stockholm office currently focuses on prosecution, it also opens the door to the UPC’s Nordic-Baltic regional division. Nevertheless, EIP has established a pan-European litigation practice with an integrated approach between lawyers and patent attorneys to position itself for UPC litigation. Even before the UPC was launched, it was regularly involved in global SEP battles through its London and Düsseldorf teams.

When the UPC started, SEP battles initially took a back seat. In addition to semiconductor cases for key client Broadcom/Avago (now with Herbert Smith), the German team was primarily involved in medical device cases. A mixed German-UK team is handling cases in Düsseldorf and Milan for Labrador Diagnostics against bioMérieux regarding diagnostic devices. And German partner Höhne is co-counseling with Carpmaels & Ransford for Curio Bioscience against 10x Genomics over diagnostic devices at the Düsseldorf local division. This has given EIP a stronger presence in life sciences cases at the UPC, which it had previously been denied at the national level. Most recently, SEP issues have returned to the forefront of UPC activities with a series of lawsuits for Mediatek and its subsidiary HFI Innovation against Huawei, as well as another for AsusTech and Celerity IP against Oppo and Xiaomi. However, the alliance that EIP and French firm Amar Goussu Staub formed for UPC work has not yet resulted in any major UPC cases.

Strengths

Litigation for SEP holders concerning mobile communications, including SEPs and FRAND.

Recommended individuals

Christof Höhne (“extensive experience in cross-border patent cases”, competitor)

Team

6 lawyers

Partner moves

Florian Schmidt-Bogatzky (to Herbert Smith Freehills)

Clients

Litigation: MediaTek against Huawei over mobile communications; Evolved Wireless against Samsung over mobile communications; Datang against Xiaomi over mobile communications; Labrador Diagnostics against BioMérieux over diagnostic devices.