JUVE Comment

Over the past twelve months the German patent litigation team at this internationally integrated firm has continued to operate close to the top of the market, with a client roster including Bayer and Roche Diagnostics. The team’s most prominent domestic litigation is for Bayer in the ongoing dispute over cancer drug Nexavar, led by Peter Meyer.

In life sciences, the patent attorney practice around Fritz Lahrtz and Stephanie Nottrott is well positioned with core clients such as Roche Diagnostics, Chugai and UCB. The practice further demonstrated its strength in this segment with its work for Genevant on a UPC case against Moderna concerning lipid nanoparticles alongside Brinkhof lawyers, as well as an EPO opposition for a straw man against Sigma-Aldrich concerning CRSIPR/Cas.

SEP litigation is the second strong pillar of the german practice with cases for Network System Technology and DivX. However, shortly before going to press, it was announced that the key partner in this segment, Thomas Gniadek, would be leaving the firm. At the time, it was not known which clients he would take with him. His departure is a significant loss of reputation for Simmons & Simmons’ international ambitions. The German team will now have to rebuild at partner level.

European set-up

In autumn 2024, the international firm’s investments in its pan-European patent team appeared to be paying dividends. Following the UPC’s launch, Simmons & Simmons emerged alongside Taylor Wessing and Bird & Bird as one of the most active international firms. The pan-European patent team represented plaintiffs including Oerlikon, Plant-e and G. Pohl-Boskamp, while also defending clients such as SiBio Technology, Samsung Bioepis and Danieli Automation.

However, since summer 2025 the practice suffered a row of setbacks. In July it became public that a team led by Bas Berghuis van Woortman in Amsterdam would depart for Taylor Wessing. This not only impacted the Dutch patent team’s development but also removed a key figure in the pan-European practice, where German and UK lawyers now take the lead. Additionally, a London-based partner specialising in pharmaceutical litigation moved to Carpmaels & Ransford. A further blow was the announced departure of Gniadek from the Munich office, who was highly prominent in UPC cases for SiBio Technology and Network System Technologies.

Simmons & Simmons had previously strengthened its Paris team with a prominent new addition. Another positive development is that Apple recently relied on an Amsterdam-Paris team for the first time as an intervener in a UPC dispute. A new instruction sees the German patent attorneys working alongside Brinkhof to represent Genevant against Moderna in EPO and UPC proceedings.

Looking beyond the staff changes, the firm’s UPC client portfolio remains more aligned with market-leading international firms than with purely German litigation practices. This is particularly true in the life sciences sector, where the German patent attorney practice around Lahrtz and Nottrott continues to provide a strong foundation for more cross-border work. And despite a turbulent summer, the pan-European patent practice, with teams in Italy, Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands, continues to pursue a strong cross-border approach that not all competitors can match. Nevertheless, the international law firm needs to stabilise its teams in Amsterdam and Munich and compensate for the structural imbalance between its London practice and its continental teams. Only then will Simmons & Simmons be able to keep pace with international practices such as Bird & Bird, Hogan Lovells and Hoyng ROKH Monegier.

Strengths

Litigation and prosecution related to pharmaceuticals. Pan-european cross boarder litigation.

Recommended individuals

Peter Meyer (“always gets deep into the subject matter”, competitor); patent attorneys: Fritz Lahrtz (“litigation expert, extensive technical competence in biotech and pharma”, competitor), Stephanie Nottrott

Team

5 lawyers, 10 patent attorneys

Partner moves

Thomas Gniadek (to Hoffmann Eitle)

Clients

Litigation: Bayer against generic drug company over damages regarding cancer drug Nexavar; Network System Technology against Skoda and Qualcomm in revocation actions over semiconductors; DivX against Netflix and Amazon Prime Video over video streaming; Bühlmann against DiaSorin over medical devices; frequent litigation for Cathay Biotech, Roche Diagnostics and UCB. EPO oppositions: Genevant against Moderna over lipid nanoparticles; Oberland regarding technology for manufacturing bottle crates; Chugai Pharmaceutical regarding antibodies; straw man against Sigma-Aldrich in EPO opposition over CRSIPR/Cas patent (public knowledge).