JUVE Comment

The patent attorneys at this long-established Hamburg boutique enjoy an excellent reputation and track record in EPO oppositions concerning pharmaceutical, biotech, and chemical patents. The team is also the first choice for numerous well-known clients in nullity proceedings and prosecution. The team led by Albrecht von Menges is highly regarded for EPO oppositions in economically important life sciences cases for core clients as Amgen.

The firm’s prosecution practice is developing steadily and thrives on close relationships with companies such as Grace, Exxon and Ivoclar. This occasionally leads to litigation, such as the current case for Ivoclar against Huliang Bio-Tech over denture blanks.

Following retirements and moves to competitors, the team is currently quite small by market standards, with only nine patent attorneys. This small team size could prove disadvantageous for the firm regarding the UPC. Although the team around von Menges boasts outstanding experience in representing core clients in extensive EPO oppositions, it faces stiff competition from other patent firms for UPC cases. For instance, the mixed IP firm Bardehle Pagenberg also works for Amgen and has already gained considerable experience in UPC cases for other clients. To date, the team has not yet appeared in UPC proceedings.

Strengths

Litigation with a technical focus on pharmaceuticals, biotech and chemicals.

Recommended individuals

Albrecht von Menges, Heinz-Peter Muth (“extensive litigation experience”, competitor; both patent attorneys)

Team

9 patent attorneys

Clients

Litigation: Merz against Teva, Ratiopharm, Stada over multiple sclerosis drug aminopyridine compositions/Fampyra; Ivoclar against Huliang Bio-Tech over denture blanks; Bigben against Nintendo over Wii consoles. EPO oppositions: Amgen against Bayer HealthCare and Regeneron over antagonists of vascular endothelial growth factor (all public knowledge).