The Legal 500

Bird & Bird LLP acted in landmark cases, including representing Nokia against IPCom. Clients praise the team’s ‘excellent lawyers’ who are ‘uniquely placed to advise our in-house team’. New client Dow Chemical instructed the team regarding preliminary injunction proceedings in the field of fruit and vegetable conservation, and ECB receives ongoing advice in the international patent dispute against Document Security Systems. ‘However large the litigation, it has high quality lawyers who achieve excellent results’, say clients. The team is able to rely on its international network for coordinating cross-border cases and ‘remains our first choice in Germany’. Christian Harmsen heads the group that includes ‘strong court advocate’ Oliver Jan Jüngst, whose advice is ‘carefully considered and well reasoned’.

Hogan Lovells International LLP acted for Texas Instruments in a large German patent litigation proceeding, and Eli Lilly regarding Olanzapin. Further notable instructions came from Qiagen, AETS, NXP Semiconductors and Hollister. Clients frequently instruct the large team on protection strategies, licensing, research and development agreements, employee inventions, and IP transactions. The highly rated Martin Fähndrich is praised, as ‘you have to be wary of him being on the other side’. Further singled out are Andreas von Falck and Martin Chakraborty.

Krieger, Mes & Graf von der Groeben’s large-scale litigation team acted for CIF and IPCom, and also advised TomTom regarding navigation systems. 3M, Sony, and TetraPak regularly instruct the team on contentious matters. Clients frequently comment on its lawyer’s ‘strong prescence’ and ‘excellent knowledge of the courts’. Particularly singled out for praise are the ‘precise’ Axel Verhauwen and experienced Peter Mes.

Reimann Osterrieth Köhler Haft is a firm of choice for ‘high-value, high-profile patent litigation’, in which the team is among ‘the very best’. The team represented Nokia in various proceedings, among them against Celtrace and Teles, and acted for T-Mobile against IPCom. SAP, AGA and SonyEricsson are further clients of the team. Martin Köhler is able to ‘argue technically complex patent cases in the mobile phone and computer industry’, and Klaus Haft is rated as ‘great strategic thinker’. Thomas Reimann is also recommended. Even though the firm does not have its own offices abroad, clients value the team’s good contacts, providing ‘what is close to a seamless international team’.

Rospatt Osten Pross has an impressive range of young and highly regarded lawyers, among them Max von Rospatt and Thomas Musmann, who work ‘extremely diligently’ and are ‘incredibly smart’. The young team has excellent contacts to large international corporations, ensuring a steady flow of mandates.Highlights included representing Samsung regarding cellular phone network patents, Sagem against IPCom, and JVC regarding TV technology matters. Further clients include Johnson & Johnson, Draeger and Schneider Electric. Stephan von Petersdorff-Campen is singled out for praise.

Wildanger Kehrwald Graf v Schwerin & Partner features four partners, who all have a good international standing. The team acted for Alcatel Lucent against IPCom, advised Rimowa on design protection matters, a Korean chip manufacturer regarding memory chips, represented Mundipharma regarding Oxygesic, and acted for a Korean electronics company regarding consumer goods. Eva Geschke, Wolf von Schwerin, Peter-Michael Weisse, who is able to ‘explain technical details to a lay person’, and the ‘widely experienced’ Roland Kehrwald, who ‘always finds creative solutions’, are all recommended.

Bardehle Pagenberg has seen a constant flow of work from clients based in the US, France, and Asia. Even though Jochen Pagenberg is slowly moving towards retirement, the practice has several highly qualified younger lawyers able to maintain the firm’s large client base. Prepaid Cards BVBA instructed the team against Lycatel, and the firm acted in an unusual case for the Plant Variety Office before the Court of Justice of the European Union in litigation concerning plant variety rights. Cisco, Celltrace and Boston Scientific are further clients.

Klaka Rechtsanwälte have opened up a strategically important office in Düsseldorf, where most of the other leading IP litigation practices already have a presence, prompting Olaf Giebe to relocate there. Highlights included representing AVM regarding DSL standards, and providing ongoing advice to Novartis. Tyco, Sram and Simcom further count among the team’s clients. Wolfgang Götz and Stefan Eck head the Munich practice.

Providing the ‘highest level of service possible’, Preu Bohlig & Partner remains a good choice, not only advising mid-cap companies, but frequently acting for DAX- listed companies as well. Highlights included advising Leica Microsystems regarding microscopes, and Digital Press Hellas regarding MPEG2 standards. The team further acted for Boehringer Ingelheim and Continental. Stephan Gruber, the ‘smart’ Peter Kather, who is a ‘great tactician’, and the ‘impressive opponent’ Christian Donle, who ‘focuses on the key points’ are recommended.

Taylor Wessing’s ‘well regarded’ Munich team is visible in the market through the ‘commercial’ Christoph de Coster and ‘experienced’ Sabine Rojahn. Telecommunications and electronics are particular areas of expertise, and highlights included advising Ericsson on defending five patent infringement claims, and Abbott on litigation regarding a product series of stents. Visto instructed the team regarding the BlackBerry device and its email push services. Michael Samer and Roland Küppers ‘do not engage in mud slinging in court’ and ‘remain calm and follow the strategy’.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s pharma expert Frank-Erich Hufnagel also has significant expertise in technology matters. Highlights included representing Hexal / Sandoz against Sanofi-Aventis regarding the distribution of a blockbuster active ingredient, and acting for both clients Microsoft and Nokia Siemens Networks Oy in two patent infringement proceedings. Peter Chrocziel is recommended.

Head of team Thomas Bopp at Gleiss Lutz counts among ‘the leading names’ in the market and has a particular good reputation for representing pharaceutical industry clients. The team represented ratiopharm in €15m proceedings against Sanofi-Aventis concerning clopidogrel, and acted for KBA-GIORI against TEMA and Mühlbauer regarding software for bank note verification systems. The firm’s new Düsseldorf office significantly offers scope for further IP-related growth. Matthias Sonntag is recommended.

Grünecker, Kinkeldey, Stockmair & Schwanhäusser has a strong international client base that values the team’s expertise in electronics, software and mechanics. The firm represented Tyco in litigation regarding heating mats, acted for a ski shoes manufacturer in a multi-jurisdictional litigation, and represented a French developer of fluids simulation technology against an Australian competitor. Gerhard Barth and Bernd Allekotte are singled out.

CMS Hasche Sigle’s core areas of expertise are biotech and life sciences, with the renowned Gerd Schoenen and Matthias Eck particularly recommended. Highlights included advising a Japanese pharmaceuticals company regarding the third generation of a hormone preparation, and acting for a manufacturer of pipe processing tools, including obtaining an interim injunction. Roche Diagnostics, Roto Frank and Trumpf are further clients.

Hamburg-based Harmsen Utescher maintains an impressive market presence across Germany, with a comparatively small, but highly recognised team, including ‘fantastic up and coming lawyers’. Hansenet Telekommunikation instructed the team in patent infringement claims regarding the use of DSL technology, and the team defended neuraxpharm against patent infringement claims regarding the use of a generic. Michael Schaeffer and Rainer Kaase, who is ‘always a very good choice’, are both recommended.

Hoffmann • Eitle has a particular focus on patent litigation, with Niels Hölder joining from Vossius & Partner, however, the experienced Guntram Rahn is retiring, leaving room for younger lawyers to step in. Food chemistry, life sciences, biotech, and electronics are just some of the team’s areas of expertise, acting for clients such as Medtronic CoreValve, Astellas, Ericsson and Lundbeck.

Recognised US litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is now a name to reckon with in German patent litigation, after the ‘superb’ Marcus Grosch and his entire team moved over from Allen & Overy LLP, taking virtually all clients to the new firm. The team acted for IPCom against HTC regarding GSM patents, and further represented Roche Diagnostics and Giesecke & Devrient.

Bock Legal, part of Patzina Rechtsanwälte before the firm split in two parts, maintains market visibility, through well-known litigator Andreas Bock. The team provides ongoing advice to Dürr Systems and Rothenberger.

Boehmert & Boehmert still maintains good relations with foreign partner IP firm Forresters, and is regarded as a good choice for pharma sector litigation, in which the team recently acted for Janssen Pharmaceutica. Christian Czychowski is recommended.

Lichtenstein, Körner & Partner has good working relations with patent lawyers, which ensures a steady workflow for the firm’s litigation team. The very experienced Eberhard Körner and Klaus-Ulrich Link are recognised, acting for clients such as Robert Bosch and Mann & Hummel.

Lorenz Seidler Gossel features recognised litigators Reinhard Ingerl and Siegfried Jackermeier, representing O2 against CIF regarding DSL networks, and acting for shoe manufacturer Geox and Liebherr. However, the renowned trade mark practice remains the primary focus.

Vossius & Partner’s Johann Pitz is recommended in a team that represented Smith & Nephew against KCI, and Schneider regarding stents.