Bird & Bird LLP comprehensively advises on all competition matters and also skillfully covers trade mark and design as well as cross-border and contentious issues. The team's expertise is particularly often drawn upon by clients from the technology, automotive, telecommunications, media, life sciences and healthcare sectors, with a further focus on the retail and consumer goods industry; hereby, the team also frequently assists with competition matters related to M&A, corporate and the regulated areas. Practice head Christian Harmsen in Düsseldorf has extensive experience in the life sciences and technology sectors as well as in healthcare, while Christian Lindenthal, who made partner in May 2022, advises on the whole array of trade mark, design and competition law with a focus on the pharmaceutical industry.

DLA Piper provides full service advice on competition and advertising law and increasingly assists DAX companies and global corporations with digitization-related matters, such as marketing campaigns, data protection and new forms of advertising, while know-how and trade secret protection, the development of preventive protection strategies and litigation represent additional mainstays. The team has a strong track record in the media and entertainment, fashion, technology, sports, consumer goods, hotel and digital sectors and has recently also focused on advertising issues pertaining to ESG, medicinal products, gambling and food. Stefan Engels, who is experienced in media law, heads the team in Hamburg, which also includes Kai Tumbrägel (sector focus on consumer goods, fashion, media and sport) in Cologne and Burkhard Führmeyer (sector focus on technology and life sciences) in Frankfurt. Counsel Annemarie Westpfahl left the practice in spring 2022 and joined ROSE & PARTNER.

Embedded within the global law firm network, Hogan Lovells International LLP assists with all facets of competition law with trade secret protection, product imitations, know-how protection, licensing issues and litigation representing several of the practice's central pillars, mainly drawn upon by clients from the technology, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and medical technology as well as automotive and consumer goods sectors. At the turn of the year 2022/23, Miriam Gundt (telecommunications, chemicals and mechanics) took over the management of the firm's global IPMT practice from Burkhart Goebel (consumer goods) who will remain head of the German team alongside Gundt and litigator Andreas Bothe. Susanne Karow, who has experience in the telecommunications, food and pharmaceutical industries, retired at the end of 2021, but remains available to the team as senior counsel.

ADVANT Beiten impresses with IP advice that encompasses competition law as well as design and trade mark issues and is predominantly instructed by companies and large corporations from the sports, publishing, retail, automotive and media sectors. Particularly noteworthy is the practice's expertise in the computer games sphere, where its regularly cooperates with its in-house IT experts to advise on matters at the interface of trade mark, copyright and competition law. The competition law repertoire also includes representation in contentious proceedings as well as advertising matters and product imitations. Matthias Stecher (automotive and logistics) in Munich and Andreas Lober (technology and digitization topics) in Frankfurt jointly head the practice. David Moll, who specialises in advising technology and media companies, made partner in January 2022.

Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein's competition practice has a clear focus on the chemical, food and cosmetics industries and is also experienced in the sports, media and entertainment sectors, while relevant expertise ranges from product labeling and piracy to pharmaceutical advertising law as well as general advertising matters including environmental advertising. Co-practice head Thomas Körber in Frankfurt is well versed not only in the sports industry but also in the chemical and food sectors, while co-practice head Anton Maria Ostler in Munich frequently supports international clients from the sports, media and digital economy sectors.

From its German locations in Munich and Düsseldorf, IP boutique offering Bardehle Pagenberg advises companies from the fashion, gastronomy, healthcare, cosmetics and sports equipment sectors on competition issues concerning marketing campaigns and advertising concepts as well as unfair business practices such as misleading advertising and product imitations; the team also possesses additional intersectional IP competencies in trade mark, design, patent and license law. The practice is jointly led by Claus Eckhartt and Philipe Kutschke, who are well versed in border seizures and parallel imports and also advise on trade secret protection among other matters.

Medium-sized companies and large corporations turn to CBH Rechtsanwälte also in competition matters which, alongside trade mark and design law, represent the main pillars of the firm's IP offering; thus, the group advises on advertising law, also in the context of climate protection and sustainability issues, on product safety law as well as on counterfeiting. The team primarily focuses on the automotive, healthcare, cosmetics and luxury goods sectors and has also recently been particularly active in matters pertaining to sustainability and digitization. Key contacts include Ingo Jung, who specializes in new media, Nadja Siebertz, who is experienced in strategic brand management, gambling law expert Markus Ruttig, and IT and software specialist Sascha Vander.

HOYNG ROKH MONEGIER has proven experience in competition law, particularly in the cosmetics, life sciences, food and consumer electronics industries, while key competencies include anti-counterfeiting as well as product launches with corresponding labeling requirements, for instance in the cosmetics sectors. In addition to its extensive litigation experience, the practice offers further expertise in the protection of trade secrets, advertising campaigns, drug advertising law (including medical device law) and at the trade mark interface. In April 2022, litigator Thomas Schmitz handed over the soft IP practice management to Christina Tenbrock, who primarily advises on pharmaceutical advertising law as well as pharmaceutical and medical device law. Ivan Dimitrov made partner in January 2022 and has experience in the life sciences, consumer goods and consumer electronics sectors, while Mathis Breuer has experience in pharmaceutical advertising law and focuses on the consumer goods, cosmetics, life sciences and consumer electronics sectors.

The Munich- and Düsseldorf-based team at IP boutique KLAKA Rechtsanwälte advises on competition matters in close cooperation with the firm's trade mark experts. Clients mainly stem from the automotive, pharmaceuticals, fashion, sports and financial industries, while instructions often entail cross-border aspects, in particular with regards to Europe, the US and Japan. Recently, the practice expanded its longstanding advice to the central competition office even further; here, Stefan Eck and Carola Onken are particular active in competition violation cases. Stefan Abel (anti-counterfeiting), of counsel and energy expert Wolfgang Straub, Andreas Schulz (focus on food law) and Ralf-Michael Burkhardt, who is well versed in press and media law, are other key contacts; Ralf Hackbarth heads the well-known litigator team and assists with trade mark and design right enforcement.

Lubberger Lehment has a very active team of litigators serving a portfolio of clients primarily from the luxury goods, technology and cosmetics sectors. Competition advice includes anti-counterfeiting and combating consumer-deception, as well as assistance with distribution and advertising in the digital sector. Andreas Lubberger has experience in the luxury goods sector, while Rani Mallick focuses on anti-counterfeiting and parallel imports. Martin Fiebig and Cornelis Lehment are well versed in litigation; Bernd Weichhaus demonstrates expertise in advertising campaigns; and Benjamin Koch covers the trade mark interface. Philip Schmitz, who frequently advises on IP transactions and is also experienced in product piracy, made associated partner in January 2022.

Noerr's IP competition law capacities are bundled at its Berlin and Munich offices and are primarily applied in contentious proceedings. Here, the practice features expertise in advertising measures, product design, trade secret protection and disputes relating to food labeling and drug advertising. Due to other locations in Europe, the UK and the US, the group also acts in cross-border matters. Practice head Tobias Dolde, who specialises in European and international trade mark and design law, divides his time between Munich and Alicante, while Christoph Rieken, who works in design and copyright law in Munich, is another key contact. Jessica Loew and counsel Valentina Niess both have experience in combating product piracy and border seizures.

From its German offices in Munich, Düsseldorf and Berlin, Vossius & Partner's competition team advises on food, cosmetics and labeling matters, product piracy as well as on competition, customs and mass proceedings. In the non-contentious area, the group possesses expertise in licensing agreements and also skillfully covers interfaces to trade mark, copyright and design law. The practice's expertise is primarily drawn upon by large and medium-sized companies in Germany and abroad as well as scientific institutions and start-ups, which often stem from the life sciences, automotive, consumer goods, fashion and technology sectors. Mathias Kleespies heads the team and focuses on food law among other matters.

WilmerHale's competition practice has a strong focus on contentious cases in the fashion, consumer goods and pharmaceutical sectors, with the team having particularly extensive expertise in e-commerce. As part of its non-contentious advice, the group also assists with advertising campaigns and licensing issues and has additional interface competencies in data protection; the latter, in combination with strong connection to its US offices, also finds expression in practice head Vanessa Wettner's representation of tech companies before German courts and the ECJ.

GSK Stockmann's competition expertise is primarily drawn upon by players from the catering, mobility, aviation and finance sectors, which the team frequently advises on relevant IT- and data protection-related matters (including regulatory issues); this also reflects in the group's advice to payment service providers and PE houses on blockchain technology as well as on the AI-related technological linking of texts. The practice further deals with counterfeiting, misleading behavior and illegal advertising claims; this expertise is also applied in contentious proceedings, with the representation of Tesla against the central competition office being of particular note. Katy Ritzmann predominantly advises on advertising, trade mark and license agreement law, while practice head Jörg Kahler assists with IT and data protection law as well as with trade secret protection.

Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek's competition experience spans both non-contentious advice as well as litigation, while the team assists with relevant e-commerce issues, advertising matters and data protection- and copyright-related issues. Antje Münch, who focuses on TMT, and Christian Spintig, who is adept at product piracy cases, are among the group's key contacts. Markus Lennartz in Frankfurt and Dominik Eickemeier in Cologne jointly head the practice and both focus on the TMT and IT sectors.

King & Spalding LLP‘s soft IP group operates with a sector focus on life sciences and the food industry and is instructed to assist with issues relating to drug advertising law, food law and medical devices, while the team also features expertise in trade mark-related matters; notably, companies from the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry also regularly call upon the practice's competition experience. Practice head Ulf Grundmann frequently assists companies from the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries with product labeling and piracy issues, while Elisabeth Kohoutek increasingly advises on advertising, labelling, classification and composition in the regulated areas; she made counsel in January 2022.

For Loschelder, litigation represents the central pillar of its competition advice, while the practice has particularly strong expertise in competition proceedings, especially in injunction proceedings. The group is further experienced in supplementary performance protection as well as in trade secret acquisitions; Stefan Maassen is a key contact for the latter area. Other key members include Patrick Pommerening (licensing issues) and Thomas Schulte-Beckhausen, who is active in contentious matters.

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH's competition practice features a close integration of its trade mark advice and applies this expertise particularly often for clients in the luxury goods and retail sectors. The group further focuses on the life sciences, healthcare, logistics and mobility industries and also handles cross-jurisdictional matters with the help of the unyer network. Its advice spans license agreements, portfolio management, product piracy matters and litigation. Detlef Mäder in Cologne covers competition as well as trade mark law extensively and jointly heads the practice with Geert Johann Seelig in Hamburg, who is experienced in licensing law.

With a focus on digital issues and in cooperation with its in-house IT experts, Osborne Clarke is particularly well positioned for matters relating to data protection, including corresponding license agreements, and data access as a competition problem, but is also experienced in related litigation; for cross-border issues, the team coordinates with other locations if necessary. The automotive sector represents another focus for the team, with its relevant competition experience particularly extending to connected car matters. The Cologne-based Marcus Sacré frequently advises on compulsory license claims for data and information and heads the practice, while Matthias Kloth in Hamburg is increasingly active in assisting with brand and advertising campaigns.

Raue's IP team acts both in an advisory and forensic capacity and assists clients, primarily from the media and healthcare sectors, with classic advertising law, e-commerce-related matters as well as counterfeiting. The group further covers trade mark issues and copyright as well as the data protection interface. Key figures include Markus Plesser, who is experienced in licensing agreements, Robert Heine (media and copyright) and Felix Laurin Stang, who advises on e-commerce issues, among other matters.

White & Case LLP has a particular focus on competition law in the technology, media and social media, automotive, healthcare and life sciences sectors, but is also experienced in the consumer goods and sports industries. Due to its large firm network, IP issues are handled across practices and jurisdictions and with the help of legal tech tools. Hamburg-based practice head Markus Mette is extensively active in IT and IP issues and focuses on brand, advertising and licensing strategies. Stefan Haiplik regularly assists companies with the planning of advertising and branding strategies.