Thyssenkrupp wins IP In-house Team of the Year at JUVE Awards

The 2024 winner of the award for JUVE IP In-house Team of the Year went to Thyssenkrupp for its practical approach in the application and patenting of AI.

Currently, many in-house IP departments are confronted with improving efficiency through AI, even when there are no suitable off-the-shelf solutions. But the IP department at Thyssenkrupp is tackling this issue with curiosity and pragmatism. The team is taking a resourceful approach to one of the market’s biggest challenges by optimising individual steps in its processes and quickly resolving impractical ideas.

The department also has a clever strategy for protecting its own innovations in the application of artificial intelligence under patent law. It makes clever use of legal options to future-proof the work of its own developers.

Patent Law Firm of the Year

The award for JUVE Patent Law Firm of the Year Germany is not presented on stage, but is nevertheless a significant achievement. Düsseldorf IP boutique Cohausz & Florack takes the prize in 2024.

Cohausz & Florack wins JUVE Patent Law Firm of the Year 2024 (from left): Joachim Löw, Georg Tully, Natalie Kirchhofer, Martin Rütten, Arwed Burrichter, Christoph Walke, Christiane Hering.

This patent attorney firm is practically unrivalled in advising at such a consistently high level across all technical fields. Cohausz & Florack comes in for such praise as “very high quality” and “well-versed on the opposing side”. The firm oversees extensive and complex proceedings regarding mobile communications standards and pharmaceuticals without losing the thread.

To date, the firm’s biggest success is its litigation for core client Bayer in a pan-European dispute concerning the blockbuster Xarelto. The renowned pharmaceutical experts Natalie Kirchhofer and Arwed Burrichter led successful proceedings at the EPO Boards of Appeal to reinstate a dosage patent for the active ingredient rivaroxaban. The win constituted a major commercial success for Bayer, with the protection provided by this dosage patent bringing the company billions in sales. Given the company is currently undergoing a restructuring process, the result is all the more important. The attorneys at Cohausz & Florack played a significant role in the Europe-wide strategy of keeping generic drug manufacturers out of the markets by means of preliminary injunctions.

The firm is also involved in high-profile mobile communications cases, with a team led by SEP expert Christoph Walke now also representing Nokia at the UPC.

The firm is not only forward-thinking in its clients’ patent strategy, but also in continuously promoting its young talent. Competitors describe those waiting in the wings as a “great young generation”. Some younger partners such as Matthias Waters are already enjoying market visibility, for example in work for Sharp, Palmira, Wireless, and DHL.

IP law firm award

Bird & Bird’s IP practice takes home the award for JUVE IP Law Firm of Year Germany. The firm is active in many industries and is also earning a reputation in future-oriented fields. The patent practice, for instance, is one of the most active at the new Unified Patent Court. It makes expert use of its strong international network in extensive proceedings for Edwards Lifesciences, NanoString and Celltrion.

Bird & Bird takes the prize for JUVE IP Law Firm of the Year 2024. (From left) JUVE Patent journalist Konstanze Richter with the Bird & Bird team Oliver Jüngst, Frederik Thiering, Daniela Kinkeldey, Boris Kreye, Richard Dissmann, Uwe Lüken, Christian Harmsen and Markus Körner.

Meanwhile, the trademark lawyers represent clients such as Katjes concerning green claims. The firm routinely promotes younger lawyers, often allowing young talent to shine, enabling them to ascend to the partnership and leave their stamp on the market.

Today, Friday 25 October, JUVE Patent published our latest ranking for Germany, featuring detailed analysis of patent litigation and prosecution firms in the German market.