Europe Germany Intellectual Property: Trade Mark & Unfair Competition

Harte-Bavendamm boasts an outstanding trade mark and unfair competition team that often acts for clients from the fashion, pharmaceutical and retail industries. It also advises a number of companies from the food sector. The firm is particularly active on contentious matters, representing clients in trade mark enforcement, opposition and infringement proceedings, offering notable experience in handling 3D trade marks. Harte-Bavendamm also advises on deceptive advertising, passing off and unfair competition matters, further assisting clients with prosecution matters.

Hogan Lovells is an acclaimed market leader in intellectual property, advising on high-profile patent, trade mark and unfair competition issues. The law firm acts on global infringement proceedings and brand name disputes, additionally managing trade mark and brand portfolios. It also handles copyright disputes, anti-counterfeiting issues and unfair competition claims, including preliminary injunction proceedings. Hogan Lovells often acts on patent infringement cases, including defending clients against non-practising entities. The team is popular with clients from the technology, telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries.

Bird & Bird has an outstanding reputation in the field of patent litigation, with a strong track record of representing both plaintiffs and defendants in infringement and nullity proceedings. The law firm is a strong choice for clients from the TMT and life sciences industries. It demonstrates additional experience in trade mark and unfair competition litigation, including injunction proceedings, frequently acting for clients from the media and automotive sectors. The team also assists clients with the management of international trade mark portfolios.

CMS has a sizeable IP practice with expertise in trade mark opposition and unfair competition proceedings. It is popular with clients from the medical and pharmaceutical sectors as well as the food and drinks industry. The law firm assists clients with cross-border trade mark portfolio management and prosecution, further advising clients on market access and new product launch strategies. CMS acts on advertising matters, particularly the admissibility of claims in advertising, and also assists clients with trade secrets matters.

Lubberger Lehment holds a strong track record of assisting brand owners with trade mark, unfair competition and copyright law. Its clients hail from the luxury goods, cosmetics and technology industries. The team has notable expertise in portfolio management and selective distribution matters, further assisting with parallel import cases. The law firm is also well versed in the intellectual property aspects of transactions, including due diligence.

Baker McKenzie is a popular choice for international clients looking for advice on management of global trade mark portfolios and registration of trade marks. The law firm represents clients in trade mark litigation and enforcement cases, including opposition and cancellation proceedings. It offers additional experience in product piracy cases. The team also advises on parallel imports, employee invention matters, unfair competition cases and advertising matters.

BARDEHLE PAGENBERG boasts a broad-based IP practice with thriving teams in both the patent and trade mark arenas. The law firm regularly handles large-scale patent and utility model infringements, and validity and opposition proceedings, particularly for clients from the TMT and automotive industries. The team assists clients with patent prosecution and opposition at both German and European levels. It additionally covers contentious trade mark and unfair competition matters, as well as trade mark prosecution for clients from the food and drinks industry, also advising on the management of global trade mark portfolios. BARDEHLE's expertise also encompasses design rights and design filing strategy.

Gleiss Lutz offers strength in the soft IP space, frequently advising on unfair competition and trade mark infringement cases, including those concerning colour marks. The law firm assists with enforcements and oppositions, additionally advising on transactional IP matters. The team is also well versed in product piracy cases, advertising and branding disputes.

Grünecker stands out as an extremely well-resourced IP firm with a first-rate reputation for patent prosecution. It also represents clients from the technology and life sciences sectors in patent infringement litigation. The law firm's scope of expertise also extends to soft IP, representing clients in trade mark prosecution as well as infringement disputes. It further assists clients with counterfeiting issues, also advising on unfair competition matters, design enforcement and injunction proceedings. Grünecker is particularly popular with clients from the TMT, fashion and automotive sectors.

Klaka regularly handles disputes concerning trade marks, including trade mark enforcement, opposition and cancellation proceedings, as well as unfair competition cases and protected designation of origin matters. The law firm showcases extensive experience in patent infringement cases, as well as opposition, nullity and compensation proceedings. It further demonstrates particular expertise in standard-essential patent and FRAND cases. Klaka represents a roster of longstanding clients in numerous sectors, including pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and automotive.

Taylor Wessing boasts notable activity in patent litigation, representing clients in infringement and nullity cases in the life sciences, telecommunications and technology sectors. The law firm additionally acts for clients on a range of trade mark litigation, including disputes concerning customs seizures and trade mark enforcement. It also advises on unfair competition and advertising matters, as well as assisting clients with portfolio management.

Boehmert & Boehmert is particularly well known for work on patent prosecution matters, acting for clients from a range of fields including electrical and mechanical engineering, life sciences and technology. The team's areas of expertise also include trade mark applications and unfair competition law. The law firm is additionally equipped to assist with the protection of design rights, further advising on the management of worldwide trade mark portfolios and indication of origin matters.

Noerr showcases a solid presence in the area of soft IP, where the team chiefly handles trade mark litigation, acting on the defence side. The firm possesses prowess in preliminary injunction proceedings related to trade mark infringement and product piracy issues. Its further strengths include advice on trade mark portfolio management, unfair competition issues and anti-counterfeiting strategies. Noerr's clientele comprises clients from the electronics, retail and fashion sectors.

ARNOLD RUESS offers a strong practice in the areas of patent and design infringement. The team's expertise extends to unfair competition claims in licensing and advertising. The law firm acts for clients from the TMT industry, including notable standard-essential patent litigation cases, having further expertise in FRAND advice. It also frequently acts on anti-anti-suit injunctions. ARNOLD RUESS is also adept at assisting clients from the life sciences sector with second medical use claims and biosimilar litigation.

Freshfields is prominent in high-profile patent litigation cases in the technology, telecommunications and life sciences sectors, representing leading multinationals in cross-border infringement, parallel entitlement and enforcement proceedings. The law firm frequently handles standard-essential patent disputes. Its team is additionally well versed in contentious matters in the areas of trade mark and unfair competition, as well as advertising disputes. Freshfields also offers expertise in the IP aspects of large-scale transactions, including restructurings.