JUVE Comment

The US law firm has successfully built a formidable team in Munich led by Jochen Herr. By representing MediaTek against Huawei in 4G and 5G patent disputes, the team has elevated itself to a higher league of economically significant telecommunications cases. In this global dispute, the Munich team handles the German and UPC proceedings, collaborating with colleagues from China, the UK and the US.

The team maintains its strength in semiconductor patent litigation and medical technology. These are areas where the team had already built extensive litigation experience before its transition, with loyal long-standing clients such as Becton Dickinson and Dentsply.

Three years after opening the Munich office, the team is on a positive growth trajectory. Recent work demonstrates how the team now serves the firm’s US clients in Munich. There is significant potential for further growth, particularly in life sciences. To manage the expanding client base and more comprehensive UPC proceedings, the team integrated five new lawyers into the practice. Finnegan demonstrated its ability to attract experienced patent litigators from market-leading firms in Munich by recruiting Johannes Druschel from Quinn Emanuel and a counsel from Bird & Bird. The promotion of experienced litigator Antje Brambrink, who has a medical background, to partner last year enhances the team’s visibility. Competitors praise the “very high quality” of her work and her approach to “complex procedural issues”.

European set-up

The development and expansion of the German practice at the UPC is proving beneficial for Finnegan’s clients. The US law firm was among the first to act at the new court for clients such as SES-imagotag and KraussMaffei Extrusion. The team’s representation of MediaTek at the UPC demonstrates further potential stemming from the firm’s strong network with US clients.

With its robust team growth over the past year, the US firm underscores its ambitions to increasingly represent its clients before the UPC. The Munich team plays a central role in this strategy, now boasting sufficient team strength to support these efforts.

Overall, the team scores points with a mixed approach and dual-qualified lawyers who regularly conduct EPO oppositions. Unlike the London office, however, the German practice does not file patents, as the patent attorneys focus on litigation.

Strengths

Litigation with a mixed approach and a focus on electronics, mechanics and chemical patents.

Recommended individuals

Jochen Herr

Team

7 lawyers, 4 patent attorneys, 2 dual qualified

Partner moves

Johannes Druschel (from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan)

Clients

Litigation: MediaTek against Huawei over 4G and 5G; MediaTek against Daedalus Prime over mobile communications (settled 2025); Innoscience against Infineon over gallium nitride semiconductors; Dentsply Sirona againszt NPE over dental implants; Kettenbach and Xinial Systems against competitor over dental cartridge systems (settled 2025). Frequent litigation for Becton Dickinson, Giant, Nestlé, RealD. EPO oppositions: Dentsply against Guidance Endodontics over endodontic files; Dentsply against Ivoclar Vivadent over the use of glass ceramic as dental material; REC Solar against various opponents over circuits in solar panels; SharkNinja against various opponents over vacuum cleaners.