Infringement of industrial property rights - enforcement and defence

If one of your industrial property rights is infringed by a third party, we will advise and support you in cooperation with specialised lawyers and participate in the corresponding infringement proceedings before the civil courts.

We also can provide you with advice if you are sued by a third party for an alleged infringement of intellectual property rights and, together with specialised lawyers, we will assist you in defending you in the corresponding proceedings before the civil courts.

Defence of industrial property rights

If one of your industrial property rights is challenged with the aim of having it cancelled, revoked or declared null and void, we will advise you and represent you in the associated proceedings before the relevant national or international authorities, the Federal Patent Court, the Federal Court of Justice (in patent invalidity matters), and the Unified Patent Court. In proceedings before the civil courts, we participate at the side of specialised attorneys-at-law.

If your foreign intellectual property rights are challenged or at risk of being challenged, we will advise and support you in cooperation with our foreign correspondence attorneys.

If you wish to take action against the intellectual property rights of third parties in order to restrict or revoke them, our corresponding service is of course available to you to the same extent.

Border seizure

Product piracy, i.e. the introducing into circulation of counterfeit and pirated goods, as well as goods that infringe intellectual property rights, causes considerable economic damage and also affects the commercial viability of the companies concerned. In addition, there is a risk that consumers will be deceived and harmed by counterfeit goods.

Since counterfeit goods often enter a market from outside, a very effective means of combating them is their confiscation by the customs authorities or the temporary detention of the goods infringing the intellectual property rights by the customs authorities (simply referred to here as ‘border seizure’) before they enter the market within the customs territory.

Border seizure can be achieved in two ways, namely at the national level or at the EU level. Since intra-Community trade within the EU is no longer subject to customs controls, the more effective approach is likely to be EU border seizure. In certain cases, however, a national border seizuren may be necessary or required.

After submitting an application to the relevant customs authority, the customs authorities monitor the import of goods and inform the applicant in case of suspicion. The applicant then has the opportunity to take legal action against the import of the counterfeit goods within a legally prescribed period. In certain cases, the customs office itself can also seize the counterfeit goods.

We would be happy to provide you with more detailed information about the possibilities of enforcing your rights by means of border measures and keeping counterfeit versions of your products off the market.

Mediation and arbitration proceedings

We also represent you in mediation and arbitration proceedings, be it before the Arbitration Board for Employee Inventions at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office or before other national or international institutions for the out-of-court settlement of disputes in the field of industrial property protection.

As part of his professional development, Dr. Schlimme has completed theoretical and practical training in ‘negotiation and conflict resolution’ with the now emeritus director of the ‘Program on Negotiation’ at the renowned Harvard Law School, Professor Bob (Robert H.) Mnookin.