JUVE Comment
With its renowned litigation practice spanning a wide range of technical fields, this IP firm is among those challenging the market leaders. Largely thanks to its outstanding contacts among pure patent attorney firms, Preu Bohlig is especially well established among large SMEs, which entrust the team with their high-stakes cases involving mechanics and electronics patents. This broad client base gives the partners a wealth of experience in a wide variety of technical sectors. At the same time, the litigation experts are called on time and again for pharma and mobile communications suits and are fighting on behalf of Stada subsidiary Aliud Pharma in the large-scale dispute over Bayer’s cancer drug Nexavar and for Huawei against various NPEs over SEPs. However, the team is not active in the latest lawsuits that Huawei filed over their own mobile phone and wifi 6 patents.
Strategic advice to pharma companies is also on the increase. Here, clients benefit from the firm’s well-established expertise in regulatory pharma law, which allows it to provide all-round advice – on the market launch and licensing of products or on licence agreements, for instance. Preu Bohlig also provides patent advice on the interface with the protection of trade secrets and expanded this area of expertise by hiring a former public prosecutor as of counsel. He specialises in the criminal law aspects of the protection of trade secrets in IP.
Strengths
Litigation with a broad technical spectrum, including SEP and FRAND claims.
European set-up
The German IP firm with strong roots among SMEs opened its own Paris office a few years ago, through which it acquires and advises French clients. An unusual investment, but one that has so far paid off. Lawyers from Paris and Munich, for example, advised French client Girard Sudron in the dispute against Liquidleds. It was also a Munich-Paris team that filed a UPC claim for core client Fives against a competitor at the Hamburg local division.
Preu Bohlig also frequently cooperates with numerous foreign firms within non-exclusive relationships. Because of its client structure, however, the firm has so far only been active for Huawei in important cross-border cases. With well-established offices also in Düsseldorf and Hamburg, Preu Bohlig is present at all important UPC venues except The Hague and Milan.
Recommended individuals
Christian Donle, Daniel Hoppe (“very entrepreneurial”, “unbeaten in creativity in application of law, would entrust him even with hopeless cases”, competitors), Christian Kau, Axel Oldekop (“technically adept”, “very good with regards to content”, competitors).
Specialties
Very strong focus on IP. Alongside patents, also trademarks and unfair competition and pharma law. Litigation predominates. Invention law, know-how protection, licensing and R&D contracts.
https://www.juve-patent.com/firm-rankings/rankings-germany-2023/preu-bohlig-partner-germany-2023/
