Two Vossius partners reopen German market for Pinsent Masons

Three years ago, Clifford Chance demonstrated that international law firms can rebuild their patent litigation teams in Germany following heavy losses, defying those market players who think laterals would never be interested in joining it. Now Pinsent Masons is set to prove the same with two patent litigators from Vossius & Partner; Kai Rüting and Philipp Widera are to restore the firm’s German patent litigation team.

In the 2010s, the UK firm had established a veritable patent litigation team in Munich. However, over the course of several years individual partners turned their backs on the firm and jumped ship. As recently as May, pharmaceutical and IP lawyer Marc Holtorf moved to Reed Smith. Until then he had represented Pinsent Masons in generic drug cases in Germany. Subsequently, the firm’s IP activities focused on a small soft IP team in Frankfurt.

The firm is now making a fresh start from Düsseldorf. Rüting and Widera will initially begin without associates. However, further expansion of the team is set to follow shortly.

Broad patent spectrum

After stints at Taylor Wessing, Bird & Bird, and Jones Day, Rüting joined Vossius in 2015, where he became a partner. Widera began his legal career at Preu Bohlig & Partner, followed by a period at Simmons & Simmons and finally Vossius. Operating from the Düsseldorf office, he was promoted to partner in 2024.

Both partners are generally active across a broad spectrum of patent litigation. Rüting specialises in life sciences disputes, for example representing Alcon. The firm is moving to Pinsent Masons with him. Rüting recently represnted Newron and Zambon in a PI case regarding an SPC for Parkinson’s drug Xadago. He will continue working on this case alongside his former colleagues from Vossius and Italian firm Trevisan & Cuonzo.

Widera has most recently been involved primarily in SEP disputes, for example representing Oppo, but also ZTE against Samsung, as well as Sun Patent Trust in the recently settled UPC dispute against Vivo. Widera was also part of the Vossius team which, together with Brinkhof, represented Promosome against BioNTech and Pfizer at the UPC.

Life sciences and SEP disputes

As is so often the case with partner appointments in Germany, Pinsent Masons’ clear focus in strengthening its German team is on UPC cases. Both new partners were already active before the new court. Together with the five-lawyer Amsterdam team led by Judith Krenz, they are set to spearhead the firm’s ambitions at the UPC. Pinsent Masons also has smaller patent teams in Paris and Dublin.

However, the centre of its patent activities is the London team, comprising 23 lawyers and patent attorneys. This team has a strong focus on life sciences disputes. For example, it is highly active in representing generic drug manufacturers such as Teva and Accord Healthcare. A team led by partner Christopher Sharp recently advised the latter on a dispute with Novartis over the cardiovascular drug Entresto. The Dutch office also has a strong focus on life sciences disputes.

At the same time, the London team, led by partner James Marshall, is stepping up its activities in SEP and FRAND disputes, forming the basis for increased cross-border collaboration within the pan-European practice.

The UPC in focus

“The UPC has accelerated the need for clients to access coordinated, technically strong patent litigation advice across Europe. Germany is central to that market, and the arrival of Kai and Philipp gives us a significant new capability in one of the most important patent litigation jurisdictions,” says Judith Krens, co-head of IP at Pinsent Masons. “They will work closely with our global IP team across Europe and beyond, helping clients manage complex cross-border disputes.”

Recent UPC instructions came from Organon in a case against Roche and Genentech, and from Advanced Cell Diagnostics in a dispute with Molecular Instruments. In both cases, the Dutch and UK teams worked closely together.

On his appointment, Rüting commented: “Pinsent Masons has a strong international IP platform and a clear ambition to grow its European patent litigation capability. The opportunity to develop the German practice, working alongside the firm’s teams in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, and Frankfurt, is very exciting.”

Widera added: “The UPC has changed the way clients think about patent litigation in Europe. We look forward to working with Pinsent Masons’ IP team to support clients in complex German and cross-border patent disputes.

Setback for Vossius in Düsseldorf

For the mixed firm Vossius & Partner, the loss of Widera and Rüting is a further setback at its Düsseldorf office. The firm had previously lost partner Andreas Kramer here to Powell Gilbert in summer 2025. The Düsseldorf office is therefore currently without a litigation partner. The firm is continuing to operate the office and intends to expand it in future. For the time being, the team consists of lawyer and counsel Leonie Dißmann-Fuchs, two associates, and partner Christian Sandweg, along with two further patent attorneys. They will receive additional support from litigator Andreas Rauh in Munich.

The focus of Vossius’s litigation activities now lies in Munich. Overall, the firm handles patent litigation with two equity partners, two non-equity partners, and eight counsel and associates on the lawyer side. In addition, there is a large number of patent attorneys with litigation experience. For UPC cases the firm collaborates with the leading Dutch firm Brinkhof under the joint umbrella brand Vossius Brinkhof UPC Litigators.