ENGLISH
GERMANGerman and American Intellectual Property Attorneys Unite in Hamburg Germany
By – Christopher J. Menke, Shareholder – Urban Thier Federer & Chinnery, P.A.
The intellectual property attorneys of Urban Thier Federer & Chinnery recently participated in the 2010 annual meeting of the Deutsche Vereinigung für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht (German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property). This year’s meeting was held at the Hotel Grand Elysée located near the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany. Our participation in the meeting further solidified our firm’s focus and commitment to the practice of German-American law. When compared to American law, there are subtle differences in German and European intellectual property law. Knowing these differences and guiding our clients through the German and American legal systems is our firm’s mission.
Many highly respected judges, professors and attorneys provided several presentations throughout the week. One of these sessions was a perspective on the European patent court system by Dr. Fröhlinger, a director at the European Commission, and Dr. Kühnen, Presiding Judge in the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. Prominent European patent intellectuals are advocating change to the European patent court system. Similar to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granting of U.S. patents in the U.S., the European Patent Office grants European patents under the European Patent Convention. Unlike a U.S. patent, however, a European patent is not centrally enforceable. Rather, European patents are enforceable and revocable within the member states of the European Patent Convention, individually. A new European system would create a European Union patent together with a new European patent court system for patent litigation. The new patent court system would have specialized courts with specialized judges and panels. This combination of a European Union (EU) community patent and specialized European patent courts could enhance European patent owners’ ability to acquire and enforce patent rights EU-wide. Discussions are likely to continue for many years on how best to establish and implement such a new European patent system.
In another spirited session, Prof. Dr. Bornkamm, Presiding Judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, and Prof. Dr. Fezer, Chair of Civil Law of the University of Konstanz, discussed the interfaces between trademark law and the German law of unfair competition. Like the U.S., in Germany, trademark and unfair competition laws exist in parallel. In most situations, IP attorneys can differentiate between legal issues arising under trademark law and those arising under unfair competition. These areas of law and unfair competition must both be recognized as useful causes of action in litigation. Otherwise, unfair competition laws, if broadly utilized by litigators and broadly interpreted by the courts, could eclipse trademark law.
Overall, this year’s annual meeting was a success for the IP attorneys of Urban Thier Federer & Chinnery. In addition to learning the latest in German and European patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair competition law, we solidified existing professional relationships with many German IP attorneys while cultivating new relations with several other attorneys. During the meeting, a familiar compliment received by our IP attorneys was how our firm’s unique focus on German-American legal issues dovetails perfectly with European and American intellectual property law. We look forward to seeing our German colleagues next year in Berlin at the 2011 annual meeting.
Filed under the Intellectual Property Law category.
