Zimmermann & Partner – Germany 2020
JUVE Comment
This Munich patent attorney firm boasts an active prosecution practice covering a wide range of technical sectors. The patent attorneys are therefore busy in nullity suits and infringement proceedings. They litigate for regular clients like GE Wind and Medtronic concerning patents in renewable energies and stents, respectively. But, as before, the firm’s best-known areas of litigation are mobile communications and electronics patents. The team draws attention for its intensive work for various Samsung companies as defendants in infringement proceedings. Joel Nägerl and his team are still battling for the Korean company against a host of NPEs (e.g. Fipa), always alongside external lawyers. The firm was also busy with a major series of proceedings between Globalfoundries and TSMC over chips for mobile communications devices, though this has now been settled. Nevertheless, this case shows how clients bank on Z&P for its litigation experience in more fields than just mobile communications.
Strengths
Prosecution and litigation in telecoms and electronics patents.
Recommended individuals
Joel Nägerl (“brilliant mind, unbeatable in researching the prior art and convincing in the courtroom”, competitor), Gerd Zimmermann
Team
23 patent attorneys
Specialties
Patent prosecution with a broad technical spectrum. Opposition and nullity suits and infringement proceedings.
Clients
Litigation: Samsung (defendant) against Fipa over mobile communications; Globalfoundries (claimant) against TSMC over chips for mobile communication equipment; US corporation on opposition over energy technology; Medtronic against competitor on opposition over stents for widening blood vessels. Prosecution: filing for ABB, Applied Materials, Bombardier, DynaEnergetics, GE Wind, Medtronic, Quark Pharmaceuticals, Saint-Gobain, Xilinx (all public knowledge).
Location
Munich