Disputes and dispute resolution
Thanks to our technical and legal expertise, one of our core strengths is successfully enforcing your intellectual property rights against infringers and effectively defending your company against claims of alleged infringement.
Our services
- Ongoing monitoring of your competitors’ intellectual property activities to identify potential conflicts at an early stage.
- Clear presentation of the patent landscape for a given technology (IP roadmaps).
- Identification and examination of relevant third-party intellectual property rights (Freedom-to-Operate searches, FTO).
- Rapid and thorough assessment of the legal and economic situation.
- Preparation of expert opinions on infringement issues.
- Development of an optimal strategy for attack or defence.
- Issuing cease-and-desist letters to the infringer or responding to cease-and-desist letters.
- Conducting out-of-court negotiations and exploring options for dispute resolution (mediation).
- Conducting infringement proceedings before the patent and trade mark divisions of regional courts, higher regional courts and the Federal Court of Justice in collaboration with selected, highly specialised lawyers.
- Managing and coordinating disputes abroad with the involvement of our partner law firms.
Other services
FAQ
If a third party uses a patented invention without permission, this may constitute patent infringement. The patent holder may, amongst other things:
- Submit a request for authorisation
- Issue a cease-and-desist letter
- Seek an injunction or damages, if necessary through the courts
In Germany, patent disputes are heard by specialised patent litigation divisions of the regional courts.
Once a patent has been granted, an opposition may be filed within a specified period (e.g. 9 months at the European Patent Office or the German Patent Office).
By filing an opposition, a third party may argue that the patent is not patentable, for example because the invention is not new or does not involve an inventive step.
The Patent Office examines these objections and may:
- Maintain the patent unchanged
- Maintain the patent with limitations
- Revoke the patent in its entirety.
The patent attorneys at our firm have handled many opposition proceedings and would be happy to advise you.
A patent attorney should be involved as early as possible in the development process of a new product. They can assess whether an invention is patentable, develop a suitable protection strategy and draft the application professionally. A carefully worded patent application is crucial for the subsequent scope of protection and the enforceability of the patent.