Tergau & Walkenhorst hires Electrolux head of patents in firm realignment

The internationally active German patent attorney firm Tergau & Walkenhorst has implemented a series of readjustment measures, following the unexpected death of partner Dietrich Tergau last year. These include a firm-wide rebrand, changes to the executive board, and the establishment of a training programme for in-house junior IP managers.

Furthermore, as of October, German patent attorney Christian Mohr (44) will join the firm as equity partner and chief visionary officer.

Fresh face

Previously, Christian Mohr worked for Swedish household appliances company Electrolux, which he joined in 2016. He became head of its German patent department in 2018 and, in 2021, took on the interim role of global head of patents.

Christian Mohr

Mohr has a background in biology and advises on life sciences, biotechnology, biochemistry and pharma, and is a European trademark and design attorney. Previously, he also worked at patent attorney firm Fuchs.

In his role at Electrolux, Mohr was responsible for establishing interdisciplinary teams for licensing negotiations, among other things. At Tergau & Walkenhorst, Mohr will lead the firm’s Nuremberg office. The firm also has an office in Frankfurt.

Tergau & Walkenhorst boosts management

Furthermore, patent attorney Jörg Kugler (53) is set to bolster the firm’s management team. He has a background in physics, metrology and software.

Kugler began his training as a patent attorney at what was then Tergau & Pohl in 2004 and has worked at the Frankfurt office since 2008. He is also a European patent, trademark and design attorney, and will head the firm’s new headquarters in Frankfurt as equity partner and CEO.

Master of transformation

Tergau & Walkenhorst was originally founded in 1902 in Nuremberg. It became Tergau & Pohl in 1974 when patent attorneys Enno Tergau and Hans Ludwig Pohl continued to run the firm following the death of a partner. In 2000, patent attorneys Andreas Walkenhorst and Dietrich Tergau launched the Frankfurt office, and in 2011 the firm became Tergau & Walkenhorst.

Jörg Kugler

Now, following the death of Tergau in 2022, it is on the cusp of another rebrand. As of October, the firm’s new name will be Tergau & Walkenhorst Intellectual Property GmbH, abbreviated to TWIP.

The firm employs a total of seven patent attorneys and two litigators, including five patent attorneys and one litigator in Frankfurt, and two patent attorneys and one litigator in Nuremberg.

Tergau & Walkenhorst primarily advises SMEs and start-ups, with a specialty in advising university start-ups. Clients include a global market leader in medical technology, leading sensor technology companies, and well-known German electrical companies.

IP leadership programme

As part of its realignment, the firm aims to move beyond patent prosecution services and establish a management training programme for in-house junior managers in IP. Tergau & Walkenhorst will provide IP-specific training modules on leadership to in-house teams in cooperation with Netzwert Partner GmbH in Munich.

Netzwert Partner provides team support for patent departments, among other things. During his time at Electrolux, Christian Mohr worked with Hannes Beckenbach from Netzwert Partner, when the latter coached Electrolux’s global and German patent leadership teams.