D Young & Co

Firm overview:

D Young & Co Intellectual Property originates in the UK where it has offices in London and Southampton. The firm opened in Munich in 2016 and has built a solid base of clients, acting for some of the largest brands in the world like ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical. Styled as “Your European IP Partner” the firm combines the specialist IP services of patent and trade mark attorneys, patent litigators, solicitors and Rechtsanwälte in one firm. Referral lawyers say, “The firm is professional, knowledgeable, and helpful and it's a pleasure to work with them.”

The Munich trademark team manages clearance searches and advises on opposition proceedings and trademark infringement in Germany. The team also advises on cross-European strategies to address competitor trademark and design infringement. The firm is notable for the strength of loyalty in its client and referral law law firm feedback. A firm client says, “We use D Young & Co as our primary firm for EU Trademarks and then we use local firms in each country. We use D Young & Co as our primary firm for EU Trademarks and then we use local firms in each country. Before Brexit we just used them in Germany but now we use them in the UK as well. D Young & Co is basically our go to firm for filing oppositions and full blown court litigation, there is no better firm to have work with the trademark office.”

Team overview:

There are three partners and three other lawyers in the Munich team, working with four London partners and eight other lawyers, and two partners and two other lawyers in Southampton. Partner Jana Bogatz attracts strong appraisal. A transatlantic referral lawyer comments: “In Germany my principal contact is Jana Bogatz who has a lot of insight beyond mere legal advice into the statistical likelihood of positive outcome of cancellation and opposition proceedings at the EUIPO. This is as a result of her former in-house role at the EUIPO, so she is a great person to go to on the chances of success of an appeal.“ A global brand turns to Bogatz for EU trademark filings. Partner Yvonne Stone is seen as an essential connection in the team with clients. “She’s very good with client communications if I don’t understand something.” Another explains: “It takes time to develop junior lawyers. They care.”

Key matters:

• D Young & Co partner Jana Bogatz and senior associate Yvonne Stone advise Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the ten leading pharmaceutical companies in the world and the leader in generics, and a longstanding client of the firm for patent, design and UK/EU trademark work. Recently, the German team has been working for Teva on trademarks advice in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria including trade mark clearance, filings and oppositions.
• Dow Chemical, the second largest chemical company worldwide, is a longstanding client of D Young & Co for UK/EU trade mark work. The German office has been advising Dow Chemical on trademark advice concerning Germany, France and Switzerland and the EU, including trademarks filings, absolute ground office actions and opposition proceedings. The team handled a dispute against paint maker Brillux and is managing a dispute against house and garden online retailer hagebau.
• ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded oil and gas companies in the world, is a long-standing trademarks client to D Young & Co in Germany and the UK. The German team, partners Jana Bogatz and Gabriele Engels and senior associate Yvonne Stone, have advised ExxonMobil in recent years in trademarks clearance searches, European Union trademarks applications and litigious work, opposition and cancellation proceedings and related settlement discussions, for example, in relation to MOBIL marks.

Clients:

Asahi Kasei, American Eagle Outfitters, GKN Aerospace, Brompton Bicycles, Teva Pharmaceuticals / Ratiopharm, The Dow Chemical Company, Dupont De Nemours, Inc., Fresenius Kabi AG, Marriott International, Skechers, Lush, KWS Saat, Sunseeker International, Corteva