Intellectual Property
The German Industrial Property / IP practice group forms an integral part of one of the leading international practice groups in this field.
Our entrepreneurial thinking, our experience in managing complex projects and our close cooperation with specialists in other countries and from other areas of expertise create unique added value for our clients, for example in parallel infringement disputes in several countries and continents or as regards the structuring of licences for the tax-optimised exploitation of industrial property rights in international markets.
Our offering
Patents and know-how
- Representation and litigation in patent disputes, often in cross-border contexts and multi-national disputes (especially EU/U.S./China)
- International arbitration proceedings on patent and licence disputes
- High profile patent litigation in the fields of life sciences, electronics, telecommunication and mechanics
- Offices in all German cities in which the local divisions of the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) will be located
- Advice on protecting know-how and confidential information
- Representation and litigation in disputes on the betrayal of business and trade secrets, including issues relating to unfair competition and criminal law
- Advice on complex licensing arrangements, R&D projects and joint ventures
- Employee inventions and incentives to innovation
Trademarks and designs
- Advice and representation in disputes regarding trademark and design infringements, with special experience in interim relief matters
- Trademark prosecution and opposition proceedings
- Cancellation procedures on absolute grounds for refusal or against mala fide applications
- Advice on branding concepts, for example in connection with the expansion or modernisation of established trademarks, the implementation of new trademarks or rebranding concepts after company restructurings
- Advice on comprehensive product protection using trademark, design, copyright and related rights, in addition to patent protection
- Drafting and negotiating of agreements, in particular in the fields of licences, co-marketing and product development
- Co-existence and demarcation agreements in order to avoid disputes or in the course of spin-offs and other restructuring measures
Advertising and unfair competition
- Representation and litigation before Germany’s main unfair competition courts to ensure protection against counterfeiting, unfair commercial practices or misleading advertising
- Advice on all legal issues with regard to advertising and public relations, for example in connection with the market introduction of new products or with hostile takeovers, targeted advertising, below-the-line advertising, word of mouth campaigns et al.
- Securing the legal framework in connection with image campaigns, comparative advertising or the organisation of customer retention systems and online marketing including user-generated content
- Legal examination of all forms of advertising material and online contracting (e-sales), including websites, tweets, social media marketing etc.
Corporate IP and finance IP
- Comprehensive advice from a single source on all questions relating to research and technology-intense projects, in particular in R&D, licensing and joint ventures
- Advice on all transactions relating to the purchase or transfer of IP rights, copyrights or know-how and other forms of technology transfer
- Advice and organisation of various workstreams in IP-heavy transactions, from preparing a sensible IP structure or setting up a data room and carrying out due diligence to drafting and negotiating transaction documents and achieving closing
- Using intellectual property rights for financing purposes
Meet our lawyers
News and insights
News: 30 November 2023
Allen & Overy boosts IP practice in Germany with hire of Anna Wolters-Höhne
Allen & Overy today announced that renowned life sciences specialist Dr Anna Wolters-Höhne has joined the firm’s intellectual property litigation practice with effect from 1 December 2023. Anna joins…
News: 15 November 2023
Allen & Overy advises SAP on its investment in Aleph Alpha
Allen & Overy has advised SAP SE on its investment in Aleph Alpha GmbH, one of the market leaders in the field of generative AI.
News: 30 October 2023
Allen & Overy advises the Aloys Wobben Foundation on its sale of QUADRA energy to TotalEnergies
Allen & Overy has advised the Aloys Wobben Foundation (Aloys Wobben Stiftung; AWS) on its sale of the 100% green energy provider QUADRA energy to TotalEnergies.
News: 07 September 2023
Allen & Overy advises SAP on acquisition of LeanIX
Allen & Overy has advised SAP SE (SAP) on the acquisition of LeanIX, a provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for managing Enterprise Architecture and multi-cloud environments.
Life Sciences Hub
