JUVE Comment

The Düsseldorf IP boutique Kather Augenstein maintains its position as a market leader, with a significant presence in high-profile SEP disputes. The firm was recently involved in two major global SEP battles for Panasonic and Ericsson, both of which have since settled. This was swiftly followed by a new series of cases for Ona Patents at the UPC and Regional Court Munich against Apple and Google concerning patents for handset location technology.

Whilst the firm’s involvement in pharmaceutical cases is waning, as evidenced by its representation of Glenmark in a dispute over the painkiller Targin, its presence in the medical device sector remains as prominent as in SEP proceedings. The firm represents clients such as B. Braun, Coloplast, Canfield, Roche Diabetes and Advanced Bionics in both national proceedings and at the UPC.

European set-up

Kather Augenstein’s strong performance at the UPC comes as no surprise. The firm has been strategically preparing for the new court for years, which has paid immediate dividends as it quickly became one of the most active firms in UPC cases.

With core clients such as Panasonic and Ortovox opting to file lawsuits at the new court from the outset, Miriam Kiefer, Christof Augenstein and Christopher Weber have been highly visible at the UPC. A team led by Kiefer secured one of the first preliminary and permanent injunctions for Ortovox. For Panasonic, Augenstein and Weber appeared against Oppo and Xiaomi in the first major FRAND case at the Mannheim local division. For long-standing client Ericsson, the firm was also involved in a second substantial mobile communications dispute against Lenovo.

Although these three disputes were settled in early 2025, Kather Augenstein remains active at the UPC and national courts for Ona Patents in a large series of lawsuits. Several smaller disputes for Canfield against Quantificare, FujiFilm against Kodak and Papst Licensing against Intel are keeping the team busy.

The market is already speculating how long Kather Augenstein can maintain such a high track record with a relatively small team compared to direct competitors such as Arnold Ruess or Bardehle Pagenberg, given its modest growth. The firm has recently expanded by two associates but further growth seems appropriate as complex UPC cases now account for around half of the firm’s work.

Like Arnold Ruess and Wildanger, the team maintains its independence, collaborating on a case-by-case basis with equally independent patent attorney firms and foreign law firms such as Bristows and Powell Gilbert in the UK. With Powell Gilbert opening an office in Düsseldorf, Kather Augenstein now faces strong competition in its home market. The development of Powell Gilbert in Germany bears watching, as the UK firm’s German lawyers will also compete nationally with German IP boutiques for clients and young lawyers in the medium term.

Strengths

Litigation across a broad technical spectrum, especially mobile communications, automotive and medical devices.

Recommended individuals

Christof Augenstein, Peter Kather (“good negotiator”, “highly experienced in nullity and infringement cases”, competitors), Miriam Kiefer (“puts client needs first”, “strong in IP”, competitors), Christopher Weber (“always reliable and top quality advice”, client)

Team

17 lawyers

Clients

Litigation: Ona Patents against Apple and Google over patents on determining location of handsets; Centripetal Networks against Cisco, Palo Alto and Keysight over network security solutions; Panasonic against Oppo and Xiaomi over patents relevant for the WCDMA and LTE standards (ended 2025); Canfield against QuantifiCare over 3D imaging; Glenmark against Mundipharma regarding damages in dispute over painkiller Targin; Coloplast against Hollister over urinary catheters; Advanced Bionics against MED-EL over cochlear implant (settled 2025); Opel/Stellantis against MU Ionic over e-batteries for cars (settled 2025); regular litigation for B. Braun Melsungen, Ericsson, Knorr-Bremse. Advice: Lenze on employee invention law.