Germany

A&O Shearman is recommended for IP disputes in Germany. A key patent practitioner in the firm is Jan Ebersohl, who is supported by Denise Benz in Munich and Stephan Neuhaus in Düsseldorf. Soft IP is handled by all-rounder Jens Matthes, who can also advise on patent and transactional matters.

IP firm Ampersand is recommended for IP disputes, especially patent litigation in the hi-tech and pharmaceutical sectors. IP Star Hosea Haag is the key contact in the firm. For soft IP, clients have lawyers such as Alexandra Heÿn. The partners are supported by a team of associates. Emily Peller and Jonathan Konietz are practitioners to watch. Konietz, who is a partner, is noted for his patent litigation experience. 

Arnold Ruess is a respected boutique IP law firm based in Düsseldorf. The firm is highly recommended for patent litigation in areas such as telecommunications and pharmaceuticals. Bernhard Arnold, Cordula Schumacher, and Arno Riße are the patent litigation partners at the firm. Peter Ruess specialises in soft IP work, especially trade mark and unfair competition matters. The partners are supported by excellent up-and-coming IP lawyers such as Marina Wehler, Jan Wergin and Tim Smentkowski.

Bardehle Pagenberg is a well-known German boutique recommended for IP disputes and protection work. The firm has an impressive team of lawyers, supported by patent attorneys, for patent disputes in different technical fields including telecommunications and life sciences. Its lawyers are also recommended for trade mark and designs work. 

Bonabry was launched by a team of patent practitioners from IP law firm Preu Bohlig & Partner. The team includes Hamburg partners Daniel Hoppe, Jan Peter Heidenrich, and Carl-Alxander Dinges, Munich partner Alexander Harguth, and Paris-based lawyers Konstantin Schallmoser and Isabell Werner. The Hamburg partners will be supported by counsel Christian Holtz and Sarah Salaschek and associate Alice Pasch.

Clifford Chance is recommended for IP disputes and transactional work. Its IP practice is led by IP Star Claudia Milbradt. She is supported by partners such as Gunnar Sachs, Tobias Hessel and Stefan Richter. The partners have a team of junior practitioners such as Thomas Misgaiski, Florian Reiling and Nicolas Hohn-Hein for litigation and transactional matters.

CMS Hasche Sigle is recommended for IP disputes and transactions, though it is best known for its soft IP work. The firm has a big IP team, including partners and associates, in Germany. Its IP practice is led by IP and technology lawyer Markus Häuser. 

The experienced senior trade mark specialists are Carsten Menebröcker, Alexander von Bossel, Heralt Hug, Peter Endres, Nikolas Gregor and Gordian N Hasselblatt. For copyright mandates, clients will find lawyers like Ole Jani, Winfried Bullinger, Michael Fricke, and TMT practice leader Pietro Fringuelli.

Thomas Hirse, Jens Wagner and Stefan Lüft are notable lawyers for patent disputes, while Heike Blank is the go-to person for trade secrets.

Apart from the above-named lawyers, there are other lawyers who can advise on IP contracts, especially in the life sciences and technology sectors. The key senior transactional lawyers for IP include Jörn Witt, Roland Wiring, Malte Grützmacher and Martin Gerecke. Wiring and Wagner are leaders in the firm’s life sciences practice.

European patent firm EIP has an office in Düsseldorf, from which it conducts cross-border patent litigation for clients in the electronics and telecoms sectors. Christof Höhne and Florian Schmidt-Bogatzky are in charge of its practice in Germany. The partners are supported by a small team of associates, notably Sebastian Fuchs and Isabelle Schaller.

Eisenführ Speiser is recommended for patent protection and disputes work. It has experienced patent attorneys in technical fields such as chemistry, engineering, physics, and life sciences. 

Med-tech and engineering patent attorney Lars Birken and IP lawyer Julian Eberhardt are senior leaders in the firm. The notable patent attorneys in the firm include Ludger Eckey, Jochen Ehlers, Klaus Göken, Holger Veenhuis, Mark Andres, Christoph Fehn, Ingo Schöling, Uwe Stilkenböhmer and Manuel Söldenwagner.

For IP litigation and trade mark work, the firm has lawyers such as Constantin Brecht, Michael Schneider, Rainer Böhm, Sönke Scheltz and Harald Förster.

2023

"They have good expertise in litigating high-level cases."

"We valued their business understanding."

Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek is one of the biggest law firms in Germany. The firm has an IP practice led by senior partners such as Anton Horn, Dominik Eickemeier, Ruben A Hofmann, Christian Spintig and Soren Pietzcker. 

The partners are supported by a team of associates and salaried partners such as Kai Oliver Runkel, Philipp Roman Schroler, Michael Kuska and Julia Mattes. Schroler and Horn specialise in patent litigation while the rest handle soft IP. The firm's patent team is based in Dusseldorf.

HGF established itself in Germany in 2019 thanks to its acquisition of Patronus IP. European patent attorneys Benjamin
Janutta, Bernhard Ganahl and Christian Himmler are notable senior European patent attorneys in the firm's Munich office. They are supported by a team of junior patent attorneys and patent professionals.

Hildebrandt is a boutique firm which specialises in soft IP law, particularly trade marks. IP law scholar and founder Ulrich Hildebrandt is an expert in trade mark and unfair competition law. Hildebrandt left SKW Schwarz in 2021 to set up this firm.

Hoffmann Eitle is highly respected across Europe for patent drafting, prosecution and office proceedings. In Germany, the firm has a strong team of European patent attorneys in fields such as chemistry, biotechnology and engineering. The patent attorney team is supported by an experienced team of lawyers who also deal with trade mark work. The firm has expanded its presence in Europe with a London office which continues to grow.

European IP firm Hoyng Rokh Monegier is one of the trusted law firms in Germany for patent litigation. The firm's lawyers in Germany can also advise on soft IP work, especially trade marks and unfair competition. For cross-border IP disputes, the German team collaborates with colleagues in other European offices. They are often seen in patent disputes in a range of technical fields, including life sciences, telecoms, and engineering.

For patent disputes, clients can have experienced litigators such as Tobias Hahn, Kay N Kasper, Christine Kanz, Martin Köhler and Klaus Haft. Soft IP mandates are led by the likes of Thomas H Schmitz, Christina Tenbrock and Mathis Breuer. The partners are backed by a strong team of associates. Biotech specialist Carolin Wollschlaeger is a notable European patent attorney in the firm.

Isenbruck Bösl Hörschler is recommended for patent and trade mark protection work, including patent litigation support. The firm has a strong expertise in chemistry and biotechnology.

Patent star Raphael Bösl is a key contact for molecular biology and chemistry-related patents, while Wolfram Hörschler and Michael Römer deal with engineering, electronics and mechanics work. Stefan Féaux de Lacroix, Edwin Büchel, Dorothee Hollah, Hans Christoph Rippel, Alexander Schuck and Markus Jacobi all specialise in chemistry. Another notable life sciences patent attorney is Andrea Teschemacher. 

König Szynka Tilmann von Renesse was highly recommended for patent disputes, especially in the life sciences sector. The firm's patent attorneys had expertise in technical fields such as biotechnology and electrical engineering. The firm officially split up in 2025 when Gregor König, Dorothea v. Renesse, and their Düsseldorf team joined Hoffmann Eitle, while Dirk Szynka and his Munich team set up a firm called Szynka Smorodin.

German IP firms Kraus & Weisert and Lederer & Keller merged in 2024 to form Kraus & Lederer. Kraus & Weisert was the firm ranked in IP STARS for patent filing and prosecution work. The recommended patent practitioners in the firm include Hans-Jörg Banzer, Günter Keller and Claus Beckmann. Keller, a biotech specialist, now serves as counsel.

Meissner Bolte is recommended for IP protection work. The firm has experienced patent attorneys to deal with work in fields such as engineering, computer technology, and chemistry. The firm is led by experienced European patent attorneys like Kay Rupprecht, Julian Würmser, Florian Meyer, Stephan Held, Stefan M Zech, Jochen Kilchert, and Ulrich Kreutzer. The partners are supported by a team of junior patent attorneys and consultants such as Uwe Fitzner and Eugen Popp. 

The notable lawyers in the firm are patent litigator Michael Nieder and trade mark and plant variety lawyer Gert Würtenberger; both lawyers have been in practice for many decades. Its merger with Gert Würtenberger's firm, Würtenberger Rechtsanwälte, in January 2022 strengthened its trade mark practice and added a plant variety practice to its offering. In February 2023, the firm partnered with the French IP group Santarelli Group to launch the European Patent Litigators Network (EPLN), an association of firms working together to provide services for the Unified Patent Court. The firm also has a UK practice, which is led by Andrew J Parker.

Meyer-Wildhagen Meggle-Freund Gerhard (MFG) has European patent attorneys who specialise in ICT and mechanics. The firm is led by Frank Meyer-Wildhagen, Till Gerhard and Martin Meggle-Freund. 

Peterreins Schley is an IP boutique focused on patent disputes in the courts and IP offices. Founded in 2015, the firm has grown over the years under the leadership of Frank Peterreins and Jan-Malte Schley. The firm has patent attorneys and lawyers to deal with disputes in fields such as medical devices, engineering, software and telecommunications.

Other notable patent specialists in the firm are Thomas Adam, Felix Glöckler, Markus Coehn, Matthias Traut and Patrick Wiedemann.

IP boutique Peterreins Schley is recommended for patent disputes in the courts and IP offices. Founded in 2015, the firm has grown over the years under the leadership of Frank Peterreins and Jan-Malte Schley. The firm has patent attorneys and lawyers to deal with disputes in fields such as medical devices, engineering, software and telecommunications.

Other notable patent specialists in the firm are Thomas Adam, Felix Glöckler, Markus Coehn, Matthias Traut and Patrick Wiedemann.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is an international law firm whose IP practice is recommended for cross-border patent litigation. The firm has litigators who can handle patent disputes in technical fields such as telecommunications, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. The team can also advise on patent office proceedings.

Patent stars Marcus Grosch and Johannes Bukow are the key contacts for IP at the firm. Grosch is highly respected in electronics and telecoms patent disputes. Bukow is a litigator to instruct when there is an interplay between patents and antitrust. Other notable senior patent practitioners are Jesko Preuß, Jérôme Kommer, and Katrin Gerstenberg.

Michael Krenz, Felix Trumpke, Andreas Duensing and Andreas Hahne are practitioners to watch.

Rohnke Winter dissolved in December 2023 after Christian Rohnke and Thomas Winters decided to part ways and launch their respective firms. Rohnke is a highly respected lawyer who is experienced in dealing with IP disputes in the appellate courts.

Lichtenstein & Körner merged with the law firm SCHALAST on October 01, 2022. Kerstin Gründig-Schnelle and Alexander Hauch are the key IP contacts in the firm.

Simmons & Simmons strengthened its life sciences practice in January 2022 by hiring a team of patent attorneys, including Fritz Lahrtz and Stephanie Nottrott, from the Munich office of Isenbruck Bösl Hörschler. The patent attorneys will work alongside patent litigators Thomas Gniadek and Peter Meyer. 

SKW Schwarz is a commercial law firm whose IP practice is focused on soft IP. The firm is highly recommended for copyright work, and also handles a range of matters relating to trade marks, designs, and unfair competition. Magnus Hirsch, Dorothee Altenburg, Margret Knitter, and Markus Brock are key IP practitioners at the firm. Other notable practitioners include Markus von Fuchs, Sandra Sophia Redeker and Sascha Pres. Christina Kufer and Lara Guyot are up-and-coming practitioners to watch.

Thum & Partner was founded in 2021 by Bernhard Thum, Jonas Weickert and Andreas Mötsch. All three European patent attorneys were previously with Wuesthoff & Wuesthoff, where Thum was a partner. The partners are supported by a team of associates. The firm's patent attorneys are particularly experienced in patent protection and disputes in the engineering sectors.

Twainscore was founded in 2020 by former Ampersand IP lawyer Martin Wintermeier. 

Uexküll & Stolberg is an IP firm with rounded expertise in patent and trade mark protection. The firm is best known for its strength in chemistry but it has experienced European patent attorneys in other technical fields such as biotechnology and mechanical engineering. Lars Manke, Albrecht von Menges, Peter Franck, Ulrich-Maria Gross, Heinz-Peter Muth, Fabian Müller and Johannes Ahme are among the key European patent attorneys in the firm. Anatol Spork is one of the up-and-coming patent attorneys to watch.

For trade mark filing and disputes, clients have lawyers such as Alexander Thünken and Frank Dettmann. 

IP firm Wenzel Nemetzade Warthmüller was founded in 2020 by European patent attorneys Jürgen Warthmüller, Amir Nemetzade and Oliver Wenzel. The firm has expertise in technical fields such as mechanical and electrical engineering. 

Witte Weller & Partner is recommended for patent protection work. The firm has experienced patent specialists to cover a range of technical fields, notably electrical and mechanical engineering.

Wuesthoff & Wuesthoff is recommended for patent prosecution and disputes work. Its patent attorneys cover a range of technical fields, including biotechnology, electronics, engineering and software.

Rainer Röthinger, Rainer Gunzelmann and Hendrik Wichmann are highly recommended in the market. Andreas Beyer, Steffen Schnmidt, Bernd Laqua, Sebastian Mooser, Silvia Schicker, Matthias Frenkel and Axel Katérle are among the notable patent attorneys at the firm.