Integrated team of lawyers and patent attorneys
Patent disputes are among the most complex and economically significant matters in IP protection. They sit at the intersection of law, technology and business strategy. It is therefore a great advantage for clients to be able to draw on a patent litigation department embedded within an integrated firm of lawyers and patent attorneys. Success in patent disputes depends not only on excellent litigation skills or technical expertise, but on the close interplay of both disciplines. This is precisely the integration we offer to a particularly effective degree.
While our lawyers contribute their experience in the court enforcement and defence of claims, procedural strategy and litigation tactics, patent attorneys ensure the necessary deep technical understanding of the issues in dispute and the precise analysis of the IP rights at stake. For clients, this means holistic support from a single source. Technical and legal questions are not considered in isolation, but are analysed jointly from the outset and aligned strategically. This leads not only to higher substantive quality, but also to greater efficiency, faster decisions and clearer communication.
Especially in patent infringement and nullity proceedings, close coordination between technical assessment and legal argument is crucial. At Meissner Bolte, lawyers and patent attorneys work together as a well-coordinated team, without time- and cost-intensive interfaces between different external advisers. This facilitates the development of robust litigation strategies, improves response speed in time-critical situations and ensures that even complex technical matters can be presented convincingly in court proceedings.
Moreover, patent litigation can seldom be considered in isolation. It is often part of a broader economic and strategic context, such as securing market share, fending off competitors, preparing product launches or within the framework of licensing negotiations. Our patent litigation department can grasp these interrelationships comprehensively and advise clients not only in the specific proceedings, but also with regard to their patent portfolio, innovation strategy and business objectives. This is particularly valuable when infringement proceedings, opposition or nullity proceedings, as well as international disputes, need to be coordinated in parallel.
We support clients at every stage of contentious patent disputes. This includes enforcing patents against competitors as well as defending against allegations of infringement. We develop offensive and defensive strategies, analyse technical and legal risks, handle nullity, opposition and appeal proceedings, and assist with main proceedings, interim injunctions and inspection proceedings, as well as settlement and licensing negotiations. It is not only about precise legal and technical handling of the case, but always about developing a solution that best serves the client’s commercial interests.
Meissner Bolte therefore offers a decisive added value: we combine legal firepower with deep technical understanding and strategic advice. For clients, this means efficient, consistent and well-considered representation in highly complex disputes – and thus a clear advantage in an environment where every detail can determine success.
Since 1 June 2023, enforcement of your patents is possible not only via the national German route but also through a European route before the Unified Patent Court. We provide strategic advice on selecting the forum most effective for your matter and represent you in both.
Before the German courts, we conduct infringement proceedings before the specialised patent chambers of the Regional Courts and, on appeal, before the Higher Regional Courts. We challenge or defend the validity of patents in nullity proceedings before the Federal Patent Court. We are thoroughly familiar with all stages of national infringement and validity proceedings thanks to many years of practice.
Before the Unified Patent Court (UPC), we enforce your patent in a single action with effect across all participating Member States. A single action can therefore secure an injunction in currently 18 EU Member States, rather than having to conduct parallel national proceedings in each individual country. The UPC has jurisdiction over both patents with unitary effect (Unitary Patents) and classic European bundle patents, insofar as these have not been opted out of its jurisdiction. We will work with you to determine, based on your commercial objectives and the specific infringement scenario, whether targeted enforcement in Germany, the most economically significant market, or the broad, cross-border reach before the UPC is preferable.
It is often not possible to determine patent infringement from the outside. Here, inspection proceedings provide a powerful and effective means of securing the necessary evidence before the other side has the opportunity to remove it. Before both the German courts and the UPC, we can obtain an examination of the allegedly infringing embodiment by an expert, regularly without prior notice to or hearing of the opposing party, thereby establishing at an early stage a reliable factual basis for subsequent infringement proceedings.
Where rapid intervention is required, effective interim relief is available. By way of an interim injunction, we can obtain relief at short notice — in trade fair matters even within one or two days — whether before the German courts or the UPC, and through border seizure we can have infringing goods stopped by customs upon import. In this way, we prevent infringing acts from continuing unchecked while the substantive proceedings are ongoing.
