df-mp hones structure to focus entirely on litigation

Twenty-five years after it was founded, the Munich IP outfit df-mp Dörries Frank-Molnia & Pohlman has restructured and further sharpened its profile in regard to patent litigation.

The firm is bundling its existing specialties more strongly in three practice groups. On the one hand, it is combining advice on trademark and design law under the umbrella “df-mp brands”. On the other hand, the firm is dividing its work in patent law more clearly between the life sciences and hi-tech fields. The patent attorneys shall focus mainly on litigation support with prosecution playing a subordinate role.

Pharma and chemistry

The “df-mp life” practice group shall cover all activities related to life sciences. This primarily includes litigation for clients from the pharmaceutical and chemical industries at the UPC and before national German courts as well as in EPO oppositions.

The team, led by partners Ulrich Dörries, Sandra Pohlman and Elisabeth Greiner, currently comprises 25 patent attorneys. Their clients include well-known pharmaceutical companies such as Amgen, Biogen, Pfizer and Sandoz, which they regularly advise on nullity actions and EPO oppositions. They also represent these clients in infringement proceedings before national courts alongside lawyers.

In addition, the firm has a filing and prosecution practice in life sciences.

High-profile hi-tech

The “df-mp tech” practice group shall focus on litigation for clients from the digital communication and computer technology sectors before civil courts and the EPO. Following the departure of Philip Nordmeyer’s team at the beginning of the year, the firm lost a large part of the filing and prosecution work in mechanical and electrical engineering, medical technology and electronics.

Partners David Molnia and Dominik Ho lead the practice, which currently boasts 17 fee earners. The team conducts high-profile litigation for regular clients such as Nokia and InterDigital, including related patent prosecution.

UPC in view

In honing its structure, df-mp is focusing more on litigation at the UPC. So far, the patent attorneys have played a role in proceedings for Amgen and Nokia. Although the firm boasts numerous distinguished litigation specialists who could conduct UPC cases alone without external lawyers, as well as some dual-qualified partners such as Sandra Pohlman and Dominik Ho, the patent attorneys continue to work closely with lawyers at the UPC, as they do before national courts.

Given its extensive litigation experience, team strength and close contacts to strong litigation firms, df-mp has suprisingly had a smaller presence in UPC litigation than competitors such as Cohausz & Florack or mixed firms such as Hoffmann Eitle. This is likely due to the ongoing reluctance among pharmaceutical firms — where df-mp has a solid client base — to use the UPC.

Claims from sectors such as mobile communications, software technology, semiconductors and video coding, on the other hand, already account for a large proportion of disputes at the UPC. As a result, the tech practice in particular still has potential to expand its activities at the new court.