German patent litigation remains a focal point for firms vying for high-stakes SEP and FRAND disputes, and a leading boutique has just solidified its standing with two marquee client wins.
New client wins reinforce market position
The boutique, long recognized for its national litigation engine, added Huawei to its roster, assigning a team led by Bernhard Arnold to a first-time battle against Disney. This move highlights Arnold Ruess’ reputation in streaming-technology conflicts.
Simultaneously, the firm secured Malikie, which tapped Marina Wehler to enforce a Blackberry cellular-patent portfolio. Both engagements demonstrate the boutique’s expanding influence in SEP and FRAND matters.
Other notable assignments this year involved partners Cordula Schumacher and Arno Riße, who led separate proceedings that attracted media attention across the sector.
Broader market activity among German IP firms
While the boutique pushes ahead, Bardehle Pagenberg continues to attract domestic infringement and invalidity work, representing long-standing client Deutsche Telekom and hygiene-products maker Drylock in national courts.
Bird & Bird maintains a high volume of prominent cases, driven by partners Christian Harmsen, Oliver Jüngst, and Boris Kreye. Their mixed team handles disputes ranging from pharmaceuticals to telecommunications.
Freshfields leverages its German practice for high-profile pharmaceutical and telecom battles, with younger partners Nina Bayerl and Wolrad Prinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont expanding the client base.
The mixed patent litigation practice of another firm remains active in mobile-communications and video-streaming disputes, traditionally supporting Asian implementers such as Oppo and Xiaomi. Recent streaming-patent cases have kept the team in the spotlight.
A pan-European outfit continues to dominate IP boutique rankings, with partners Klaus Haft and Christine Kanz steering telecommunications and life-sciences work, often linked to the Unified Patent Court.
In Düsseldorf, a boutique led by Miriam Kiefer and Christof Augenstein is noted for SEP litigation, representing clients like Ericsson and Centripetal. Augenstein currently acts for Ona Patents in handset-location technology proceedings.
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Meanwhile, the German team of an international firm has defended Google and recently represented Netflix against streaming-patent claims, marking a notable expansion into life-sciences disputes.
Across the spectrum, the Düsseldorf-based boutique of Thomas Musmann and Max von Rospatt frequently appears in pharma and biotech cases, acting for Biogen over its multiple-sclerosis drug Tecfidera and for Illumina in an international dispute.
Another international firm’s German team, headed by Jan Ebersohl and Denise Benz, is deeply involved in a massive SEP/FRAND dispute, defending Samsung against ZTE before both German courts and the UPC, and handling an offensive action for Samsung Display on OLED technology.
Landmark FRAND injunctions and expanding SEP portfolio
In a much-observed case, the German Federal Court of Justice confirmed an injunction against HMD, affirming its FRAND approach despite amicus curiae briefs from the EU Commission.
Specialized firms strengthening niche sectors
Grünecker combines a vast patent-prosecution practice with an increasingly active litigation team that may represent Broadcom/Avago in extensive infringement proceedings against various Stellantis Group automotive manufacturers, as well as against telecommunications providers such as Deutsche Telekom. The team is also active in SEP disputes for GenSquare ag.
Expansion of mixed-patent and SEP litigation across German firms
The German IP practice of an international full-service law firm continues to build on its success, especially in high-stakes technology and life sciences disputes. The team around Tobias Hessel and Stefan Richter continues to cement its formidable presence in SEP litigation, representing Huawei in major disputes against HMD and HP. The team continues to be highly active for a growing roster of SEP clients, representing licensors in the Access Advance pool.
A mixed IP firm combines a strong litigation group with one of Germany’s largest patent-prosecution teams, extending its reach into pharma, medical devices and mobile communications while retaining its historic focus on Japanese clients. Düsseldorf boutique Krieger Mes remains among the most active litigators for technology-focused SMEs, handling cases for Brose, Melita and Leifheit and representing NPEs.
Vossius continues to excel in opposition and nullity proceedings before the EPO and maintains a leading position in SEP and FRAND disputes, as well as pharmaceutical straw-man oppositions. The Munich boutique led by Hosea Haag advances UPC work, representing Nixu/SIM IP against Infoblox and Yunex against Swarco. CBH’s Munich litigation team has taken on Avago and is building reputation in IT and mobile-communications SEP matters.
DLA Piper’s German practice handles mobile-communications, mechanical engineering and consumer-goods litigation for clients such as HP, Nike, Microsoft and Dyson, while also pursuing UPC cases for Alpinestars. The large IP firm acts for Headwater against Samsung and multiple strands for Philips. Additional full-service firms represent SMEs like Svakom, GEZE and Bridgenorth Aluminum, and defend Everlight and Proctor & Gamble in LED and electric-toothbrush disputes. Recent work for Xiaomi, TCL, HBCU messaging and Centripetal expands their footprint into telecom and network-technology sectors across Germany, France and the United States.
