Christof Karl

Intellectual Property / Patents, Licensing

Attorney-at-Law (Rechtsanwalt) & German and European Patent Attorney, Partner; Attorney-at-Law admitted to practice in Germany and New York

»As an attorney-at-law and a patent attorney I am perfectly positioned to understand both the technical and the legal issues of our clients. So I am able to outline the solution which fits them best.«

Dr. Christof Karl specializes in litigation and prosecution of patents, particularly in the technical fields of computer hardware and software. He has extensive experience in multi-jurisdictional cases in the field of telecommunications, including with regard to all aspects of patent-related anti-trust law. He also advises clients on issues of licensing, employee invention law, copyright law and Internet law.

Dr. Karl represents clients in patent infringement proceedings before the German Regional Courts and the Courts of Appeal, and in patent invalidity proceedings before the European Patent Office, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the German Federal Patent Court, and the German Federal Court of Justice. One of the main areas of his patent prosecution practice relates to the patentability of software and other computer-implemented inventions.

His clients include leading U.S. companies in the computer, computer-network, telecommunications and financial-services sectors, a major Japanese computer game manufacturer, a world market leader in tobacco articles and e-cigarettes, as well as small and medium-sized German and international companies operating in industries relating to software, electronics, laboratory equipment, car parts, sports articles, hygiene products, and food.

With his unique multiple qualifications as an attorney-at-law licensed to practice in Germany and New York, a computer scientist, and a German and European Patent Attorney, he is able to handle both the legal and technical aspects of a case. His technical knowledge is particularly valuable in patent infringement proceedings, when the technical facts need to be precisely defined and communicated. In turn, his litigation experience and international focus allow him to draft patent claims proving to be both valid and powerful in the case of enforcement, and to give strategic advice in developing and exploiting cost-effective international patent portfolios.

Dr. Christof Karl teaches patent law at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC), at the Université de Liège, and at the Center for Advanced Study and Research on Intellectual Property (CASRIP) of the George Washington School of Law. He also regularly speaks at German and international IP Conferences. Dr. Christof Karl is author of the book “Der urheberrechtliche Schutzbereich von Computerprogrammen”, as well as several other publications, and co-author of the book “Patent Law and Theory”.

2011 European Patent Attorney

2009 Awarded “Dr. iur.” (PhD) degree in Law, University of Munich.

2009 Admitted as attorney-at-law to the New York Bar; Admitted to the German Bar of Patent Attorneys

2007–2008 LL.M. studies in Intellectual Property Law at George Washington University (GWU), Washington DC

2002–2008 Doctoral thesis at the University of Munich (subject: scope of copyright protection for software)

2003 Second State Examination (bar admission exam), admitted as German attorney-at-law

2000 First State Examination (degree-level qualification)

1996–2000 Studied Law at the University of Munich

1996–1997 Diploma course in Computer Science at Cambridge University, UK

1994–2002 Software developer with various companies, including iXOS Software AG, jambit GmbH, Siemens Business Services; 2000–2002 Trainee at law firms in Paris, Madrid and San José, Costa Rica; ;; ; 2009 German patent attorney

1993–1999 Studied Computer Science at Munich Technical University, graduating with a “Dipl.-Inform.” degree