Sonnenberg Harrison and Staudt IP merger boosts firm’s presence in Germany

Sonnenberg Harrison merged with Staudt IP at the beginning of 2024. Hans-Peter Staudt, name partner of Staudt IP, holds a diploma in mechanical engineering and qualified as a patent attorney in 1990. He founded his own patent attorney firm in 1993.

Hans-Peter Staudt

Prior to this, Staudt worked for several years as an engineer in the automotive industry, such as for BMW Motorsport and Audi. He also holds a master’s degree in law from the FernUniversität in Hagen, with a specialisation in European intellectual property.

New partner role

At Staudt IP, Hans-Peter Staudt worked extensively in patent filing and prosecution, while also representing clients in EPO oppositions. These include German and international companies from the automotive industry such as Subaru, and from the medical device sector such as New Gen Surgical from California and Construct Medical from Australia.

His work also focuses on Asian clients, for example for Nippon Chemi-Con or Sumitomo Osaka Cement.

At Sonnenberg Harrison, Staudt becomes an ’emeritus partner’ in an advisory capacity. He will work with a mixed team currently comprised of seven patent attorneys and two IP litigators.

Robert Harrison

Sonnenberg Harrison has mixed approach

The firm around the name partners Robert Harrison and Fred Sonnenberg emerged in mid-2020 from the former outfit, 24IP. In addition to its Munich headquarters, the firm has a branch in Paris and a small office in Berlin. It will also now have a presence in Ingolstadt.

Sonnenberg Harrison conducts extensive filing and prosecution work, as well as EPO oppositions for regular clients such as Shimano, Salzgitter, Vald Performance and Plümat.

In addition, the team is also active in infringement and nullity proceedings. It recently appeared for Comlab in the dispute against CommScope and Andrew Wireless over in-train repeater technology.

Experience in AI

Fred Sonnenberg

Like at Staudt IP, numerous clients come from Asia. In a technical capacity, the patent attorneys at Sonnenberg Harrison have a strong focus on mechanical engineering and electronics.

Clients traditionally include companies from the automotive industry such as Valeo or Faurecia, as well as from the IT sector such as Nanopower Semiconductor. The team has a particular focus on quantum computing and AI-supported inventions, advising clients such as Quantum Brilliance, Multiverse Computing and Software AG.

Sonnenberg Harrison is also well-established with research institutes and universities. Regular clients include RWTH Aachen University, research institute Forschungszentrum Jülich and Ulm University of Applied Sciences. It also acts for the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Teikyo University.