Gowling WLG

The firm

Munich is a hub for the high-tech and life sciences industry in Germany, with the IP/IT/commercial team providing leading-edge advice. Across the full range of IP rights, the team in Munich advises both domestic and international clients. Partners Manuela Finger, Thomas Mayer and Dr Carsten Schulte are passionate about making sure their clients use their intellectual property in a way that adds value to their businesses. This involves both developing intellectual property exploitation strategies and successfully enforcing rights against infringers.

Partner Manuela Finger specialises in all aspects of IP, in particular trade marks, designs, copyright and unfair competition as well as data protection and general commercial law, whereas partners Thomas Mayer and Dr Carsten Schulte are both experienced patent litigators.

Fluent in languages like German, French, English and Mandarin, the team gets to the core of the issues quickly, whatever the jurisdiction, and can interpret decisions arising from the European courts as they happen.

In close co-operation with its international offices as well as through its extensive network, the firm expertly clears new marks, strategically manages local and international portfolios, and enforces registered rights in a manner that is both commercially sound as well as cost-efficient.

The firm is highly recommended for patent, trade marks, designs and copyright litigation as well as related areas like unfair competition and commercial disputes. Located close to the European Patent Office (EPO), the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) and the divisions of the future Unified Patent Court (UPC), international businesses can trust Gowling WLG when it comes to asserting their intellectual property rights. A regular supply of comments on decisions from the EPO and other IP matters ensures clients stay up-to-date with the latest developments.

From clearance and strategic portfolio advice through to exploitation and enforcement, Gowling WLG works with clients on all facets of branding, including trade marks, designs, copyright, domain names, both contentious and non-contentious. Gowling also advises on licensing as well as product piracy and enforcement, including online enforcement. Compliance and the protection of personal data and data security, including data protection audits, the implementation of the general data protection regulation, advising on security incidents, cybersecurity, the structuring of data processing in multinational groups of companies as well as international transfer of data are further strengths.

Another one of the firm’s focus areas is food and feed law plus adjacent fields of life sciences law such as pharmaceutical, medical devices, cosmetics and chemical law.

Gowling also provides expertise in transactions and commercial contract law. Clients are guided through all stages of project development; whether a transaction involves cross-border contract design, IP safeguards or the restructuring of IP portfolios, data protection or IT, the firm applies deal-specific knowledge to help clients achieve their goals.