JUVE Comment

Clifford Chance’s strategy of bringing in strong laterals to prepare for the UPC is bearing fruit. The two renowned partners Tobias Hessel and Stefan Richter brought with them not only a wealth of experience in pan-European patent litigation, but also regular client Huawei when they moved from Hoyng ROKH Monegier at the beginning of 2023. The Chinese mobile communications provider immediately retained the team to defend it in several proceedings against Netgear. Oppo also relied on the team, which has received praise from many sides for its UPC work, in the high-profile dispute against Panasonic at the local division Munich. In the parallel proceedings in Mannheim the client relies on Vossius & Brinkhof UPC Litigators.

“They are simply great lawyers who always deliver good results,” says a competitor of the two Clifford Chance partners, while an in-house counsel emphasises the team’s high quality. As in national proceedings, the lawyers are also cooperating with experienced patent attorney firms.

In addition to its mobile communications expertise, Clifford Chance is characterised by a strong focus on life sciences. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer, with which the firm has a long-standing global client relationship, is now also relying on the team. It is cooperating with lead counsel Marks & Clerk in a lawsuit filed by GlaxoSmithKline regarding an RSV vaccine.

In addition to the renowned partners, younger lawyers are already receiving praise for their “excellent legal skills” at the UPC, thus showing that Clifford Chance is deliberately positioning the next generation here.

Strengths

Litigation over mobile communication patents.

Recommended individuals

Tobias Hessel (“strong lawyer, photographic memory for FRAND case law, strong in FRAND technicalities”, client), Stefan Richter (“quite impressed by his knowledge of UPC-specific rules and their application”, “excellent strategic thinking”, competitors)

Team

10 lawyers

Clients

Huawei against Netgear over wi-fi technology; Oppo against Panasonic over mobile communications (stayed in 2024); TP-Link against Atlas Global over SEP for wifi; Pfizer against GSK over RSV vaccine.