IP & Copyright Law

Intellectual property is the basis for success in many companies. Therefore, immense importance should be given to the protection of this property, not only so as not to jeopardise future entrepreneurial success, but also to protect against product and trademark piracy and counterfeiting. Our intellectual property and copyright team has extensive experience in protecting existing assets, in creating and establishing new trademarks or rebranding. Thinking strategically and professionally, our advisors put themselves in your company's position.

Our team provides advice at the highest level on industrial property rights, such as trademarks, utility models, patents and species protection rights, as well as on competition, advertising, copyright, press and media law. Our experts always support you in a goal-oriented manner, both in concrete cases of infringement and in the development and implementation of basic IP concepts to secure and optimise your IP portfolio.

We can advise you on drafting contracts, represent your interests in contract negotiations and enforce your rights out of court, in arbitration proceedings and before German, European and Asian courts. If third countries are affected and we do not have our own office in that country, we work closely with our local partner law firms: because in the global age, worldwide brand protection should be considered at all costs.

We advise individual companies as well as international groups. In addition, as a full-service law firm, we can always call in our colleagues from other practice areas, such as tax and transfer pricing experts.

Our broad range of advisory services is rounded off by the outstanding expertise of our team in the reviewing, designing and negotiating of research and development projects, including know-how protection agreements and non-disclosure agreements.

Our lawyers are very familiar with their conception: with the entry into force of the German "Trade Secret Protection Act" (GeschGehG), which is based on the EU Know-how Directive, the requirements for the protection of business and company secrets in companies have changed fundamentally. Regardless of whether secret recipes, purchase prices or customer lists are concerned, the implementation and documentation of "appropriate confidentiality measures" is now always necessary if companies want to invoke the civil and criminal protection of information that secures their competitive advantage.

We can advise you on all aspects of the new legal situation, from the adaptation of your employee and supplier documents (keyword: "NDA") to providing training at all levels within your company up to and including the creation of comprehensive concepts for the protection of secrets. In doing so, we are always aware of the costs, because wherever there are synergies with established processes in your company (e.g. data protection, IP protection or Information Security Management System (ISMS)), we will include them in a cost-saving way.

Our range of advisory services

Advising on all matters pertaining to copyright law, in particular, user agreements and licensing systems
Drafting and negotiating licence agreements
Advising on competition and advertising law

Assisting with application and registration procedures concerning intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, designs, utility models and patents, both domestically and abroad

Carrying out a legal analysis of IP portfolios and providing strategic advice
Developing and implementing protection strategies
Advising on the purchase and sale of industrial property rights
Defending industrial property rights
Enforcing IP rights in court
Advising on the use of IP rights (e.g. as security for loans), including assisting with the respective contract negotiations

Drafting and negotiations

Advising on the German Trade Secret Protection Act (GeschGehG)
Adapting employee and supplier documents
Training management and employees
Creating comprehensive concepts for the protection of secrets
Further information and templates can be found on our page specifically set up to provide information in this regard and on info page and on our blog