KLAKA Rechtsanwälte

Firm overview:

“Great boutique” KLAKA Rechtsanwälte provides trademarks and competition law advice, on litigation and prosecution, to permanent clients BMW, Nestlé, UniCredit, Deichmann and Longchamp and has onboarded new DAX company clients Beiersdorf and Infineon. The firm’s clients are drawn from well-known groups in the automotive, banking/insurance, pharmaceutical, energy, fashion/sport and luxury goods sectors. In addition to advising German companies, the firm represents international groups, from Europe, the USA and Japan.

Team overview:

The firm has 8 partners, 2 of counsel and 3 associates specialising in trademark law and competition law. In line with the strong growth and the ongoing increase in mandates, KLAKA plans to further strengthen its staff.

Dr Ralf Hackbarth leads the team's extensive work for BMW AG concluding significant trademark disputes as well as acting on numerous new court proceedings. Peers admire him for his legal nous, he is “a leading individual for being a moving dictionary. You can ask him any detail on a case and he will tell you.” Ralf Hackbarth and Florian Schmidt-Sauerhöfer are “highly recommended” by clients. Schmidt-Sauerhöfer supports Hackbarth on infringement proceedings in Germany, while Dr Carola Onken assists BMW in numerous cases before the EUIPO and DPMA. In addition, Dr Susanne Schackert continues to work increasingly for BMW AG. Peers see Dr. Wolfgang Götz as a “professional first-class colleague”.

Key matters:

• KLAKA partner Oliver Rauscher leads the firm’s prosecution and strategy advice to Deutscher Fußball Bund (DFB) e.V., the German Football Association, in ongoing counselling and representation in trademark prosecution.
• KLAKA partners Oliver Rauscher, Dr. Carola Onken and Dr. Susanne Schackert advise Deichmann SE, one of Europe's largest footwear retailers headquartered in Essen, on trademark litigation, prosecution and representation in multiple trademark application and opposition proceedings, as well as on trademark transactions. The team advises Deichmann on the continuous international expansion of the company’s trademark portfolio.
• KLAKA represented Deichmann in a trademark cancellation proceeding before the Court of Justice of the European Union against Munich S.L. The action was brought in February 2021 with oral proceedings before the Court of First Instance in February 2022. The case is interesting for dealing with the protectability of two crossing stripes on a sports shoe. The CFI refused to consider the design of two crossing stripes as non-distinctive.

Clients:

BMW AG, Deutscher Fußball Bund (DFB) e.V. (German Football Association), Deichmann SE, Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, Beiersdorf AG, Nestlé Deutschland AG / Nestlé Nutrition GmbH / MAGGI GmbH, UBS AG, YOUR NOW, Holding GmbH, Heinrich Hugendubel GmbH & Co KG, NÜRNBERGER Versicherungen Reusch International SpA, Elatec GmbH, Continentale Insurance Association, Snipes SE, Börlind, Finori GmbH, Lackmann Fleisch- und Feinkostfabrik GmbH (Lackmann Meat and Delicatessen Factory GmbH), Villeroy & Boch AG, Poulsen Roser AS, Denmark, Vignal Systems SA, Venisseux, France