JUVE Comment

This pan-European outfit is continuing its run as an undisputed leading IP boutique in Europe. The German team acts in multiple high-stakes patent disputes for important clients across a broad technical spectrum. For the telecommunications and life sciences spectrum especially, the firm retains its excellent reputation through the expertise of leading partners such as Klaus Haft for telecommunication cases, and Christine Kanz for pharmaceuticals.

As with most large-scale patent disputes, these cases are usually linked to the UPC – either running in parallel with national proceedings, or exclusively before the UPC. The firm is a top choice for implementers in major SEP battles. The team around Munich partner Haft represented Amazon in the landmark UPC and German dispute against InterDigital over anti-interim-licence injunctions.

The life sciences practice, led by the highly regarded Düsseldorf partner Kanz, is equally strong. The team is at the forefront of the global mRNA vaccine litigation, representing BioNTech against Moderna and – until it settled due to the merger – CureVac before German courts and the UPC. It also acts for other major innovator companies such as Bayer and Regeneron in the defence of their blockbuster drug Eylea, and for Gilead.

Hoyng ROKH Monegier’s integrated structure with offices in key European jurisdictions is the foundation for its leading role in pan-European patent litigation, matched only by other market leaders such as Bardehle Pagenberg and Bird & Bird. The firm has seamlessly translated its long-standing experience in cross-border cases into a dominant practice at the UPC, where it is one of the most active firms for both plaintiffs and defendants. The firm’s multinational teams are a regular feature in the court’s highest-profile cases. For example, the team is defending Deutsche Telekom against a series of UPC infringement claims from Broadcom concerning cloud computing, and represents implementers such as Lenovo/Motorola, Texas Instruments, and Verifone in various SEP disputes at the UPC.

Hoyng ROKH Monegier is continuously expanding its German patent attorney team which, unlike the Amsterdam prosecution practice, focuses exclusively on pharmaceutical litigation. The German practice recently welcomed experienced patent attorney Thomas Becher as a partner from Hoffmann Eitle. With his background in mechanical engineering, he strengthens the team in the field of medical devices but also mechanics, with a particular focus on EPO oppositions. For example, he represents The Swatch Group against competitors such as Rolex and Richemont. The growing patent attorney team is highly involved alongside the litigators in the increasing number of UPC proceedings. For example, mixed teams acted for Gilead in a dispute over remdesivir and for Air Liquide over insulin pumps.

Strengths

Cross-border litigation for pharma originators and implementers of electronics and telecom patents, including SEP and FRAND.

Recommended individuals

Lars Baum (“performed brilliantly on the Fuji case”, competitor), Klaus Haft (“absolutely stellar”, client; “extremely strong with a good understanding of technical matters”, “one of the top five patent litigators in Germany”, competitors), Tobias Hahn, Carina Höfer (“works very carefully and with great attention to detail”, competitor), Christine Kanz (“very versed in pharma litigation”, “excellent litigator, has an impressive win rate for us”, clients), Martin Köhler (“very good”, client), Kay Kasper (“very good”, client), Mirko Weinert; patent attorneys: Thomas Becher (“one of the best patent attorneys in Germany”, competitor)

Team

30 lawyers, 4 patent attorneys

Partner moves

Thomas Becher (from Hoffmann Eitle)

Clients

Litigation: Netflix against Broadcom/Avago over video coding technology; HMD against VoiceAge over speech coding technology; Amazon against InterDigital over anti-interim-licence injunctions regarding SEPs; Amazon against Tagivan II, M&K Holding & Gensquare over HEVC SEPs; BioNTech against Moderna over mRNA technology; Regeneron against various generics companies over biosimilar for retinal disease drug Eylea; BYD against IP Bridge over mobile communications, including FRAND; Heckler & Koch against C.G. Haenel over weapons; Yangtze Memory Technologies against Micron over 3D-NAND technology; Motorola Solutions against a competitor over radio technology; Sony against Virtual Paper over digital book technology. EPO oppositions: The Swatch Group against Rolex and Richemont; Fujifilm against Kodak over printing technology.