Hogan Lovells

Firm overview:

Peers acknowledge global firm Hogan Lovells is a leader in trademarks in Germany. A former lawyer says: “I started as a trainee at the top, at Hogan Lovells. They had five or six rooms filled with details on 30,000 trademarks cases, an enormous resource! In trademarks we have to admit they are ahead.” Hogan Lovells’ five offices in Germany - Berlin and Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich - are located in key IP judicial and business centres in the country. The firm draws on its leading IP practices in the US, Europe and Asia on its “huge cross-border practice”. This peer adds: “It is a really strong team, large manpower, huge clients and they’re also very strong in Düsseldorf ”.

In Germany the trademarks practice ranked fifth in the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO) 2023 filing of Top 25 Representatives by Number of European Union trademarks (EUTMs) Received by owners from Germany with 2,645 EUTMs. The firm is recorded at the EUIPO as registering trademarks for Top 50 German brands Deutsche Telekom, Adidas (as well as acting on litigation) and Allianz. Says a peer: They are very strong, one of the larger full service firms with a standalone IP practice. They are very strong on prosecution and also very strong on the disputes side.”

A global client describes a favourable experience with the firm: “We have used Hogan Lovells who are very strong and strategic litigators, very efficient and with high quality. We have recently onboarded Hogan Lovells for an important case. We used to work with them on some more minor matters but we have been impressed and gave them a complex matter to handle for which they have been excellent. So I would definitely work with them again.”

Team overview:

Burkhart Goebel is experienced in complex, particularly trademark, litigation across the European Union and especially in Germany and Spain. He has handled some of the largest multiple jurisdiction disputes in the history of IP litigation. Unusually among IP litigators, he has expertise in IP-related public international law. Burkhart argued the lead case before the European Court of Human Rights establishing that both trademarks and trademark applications are protected through the property guarantees of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Thorsten Klinger advises companies on trademark and competition law. With over 10 years of successful professional experience, he assists his clients in building and protecting their IP portfolio, from name clearance to enforcement. IP litigator, Morten Petersenn advises on trademarks, designs, copyrights and false advertisement claims, with specific experience on enforcement and liability questions in the online space. Senior associate Charlotte Reimers, advises national and international clients, focusing especially on trademark and unfair competition law.

Dr. Morten Petersenn is “highly recommended in Trademark law related to the internet”. An international referral firm says of working with Petersenn and Charlotte Reimers, “they are professional, knowledgeable, and helpful and it's a pleasure to work with them”.

Key matters:

• Hogan Lovells represented adidas AG in its application for TWISTKNIT as a European Union trade mark in Class 25 Clothing, headgear. The European Union Intellectual Property Office objected to the application because the applied mark was “descriptive and devoid of any distinctive character”. Adidas AG was given leave to appeal the decision.
• Hogan Lovells manages Deutsche Telekom's global trademark and domain name portfolio. The firm advises Deutsche Telekom on complex colour mark and other non-traditional trademark litigation in Europe and US.

Clients:

Adidas, Allianz, BSN medical, Deutsche Telekom, GlasfaserPlus, Lusini, Nestlé,  Telekom Deutschland