On September 11, 2019, S&E held a German IP seminar on “Patent Infringement Litigation Cases and the Protection of Trade Secrets”.
As speakers for this seminar, S&E invited Dr. Matthias Hülsewig, a partner of Preu Bohlig & Partner in Düsseldorf, and Dr. Axel Oldekop, a partner of Preu Bohlig in Munich and Düsseldorf.
The seminar was divided into two sessions, and in the first session, Dr. Hülsewig gave a presentation on “Patent Infringement Proceedings and Recent Developments in Germany“ and explained the number of patent actions in Germany per year, timeframe of infringement proceedings, basic costs and content of patent actions in Germany. In addition, he spoke about the strategic considerations for patent infringement cases and the preparation for infringement lawsuits and their effects on business. Furthermore, he gave an explanation of the Huawei vs. ZTE (C-170/13) decision by the European Court of Justice and focused on current German cases regarding FRAND defenses, licensing negotiations and compensation of damages. For the first session, Mr. Felix Einsel, our firm’s managing partner, provided an interpretation in Japanese.
For the second session, Dr. Oldekop gave a presentation on “The New German Trade Secrets Act”. He provided a detailed explanation of the proceedings of the German Trade Secrets Act which was enacted on April 26, 2019, and its fundamentals, key points to protect trade secrets under the Act, and its effects and consequences. For this session, Mr. Kengo Sakai, attorney at law, provided his interpretation in Japanese.
There was also a lively exchange of questions and opinions during the Q&A session, and we believe attendees were able to gain insight on the latest trends in German patent law and trade secrets act. S&E also had a reception after the seminar to allow participants further opportunities for communication with Dr. Hülsewig and Dr. Oldekop.
