Office
Mitscherlich has been providing legal services in Intellectual Property since 1896. Today, a dynamic team of attorneys builds upon this rich tradition to effectively protect our client’s IP for the challenges of the future.
Some clients have counted on Mitscherlich for more than 50 years. Our attorneys have advised them during their transition from small companies into large international corporations. Mitscherlich proudly shares with its clients these long stories of success – of ground-breaking patented inventions and famous trademarks. While the pace of industrial innovation is steadily accelerating, our principle of guaranteeing continuity has remained essentially the same for more than 100 years.
About us
Mitscherlich was founded in Berlin in 1896 and moved to Munich in 1951 where also the German Patent and Trademark Office was established after the Second World War. The development and success of Mitscherlich has always been characterised by the stability and quality of the firm and the continuous relationship with our clients. Today, Mitscherlich is amongthe largest IP law firms in Germany, with approximately 30 patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law and a combined staff of more than 100 employees. The ongoing expansion of our prosecution capacity is demonstrated in the following graphs:
The Mitscherlich team
A dedicated team with top legal and technical qualification offers close and personal service. The Mitscherlich team has a thorough understanding of the industrial sector and the technology concerned, with its inherent risks and prospects of intellectual property.
Mitscherlich’s large prosecution teams are working hard to produce high quality patents, trademarks and designs in order to protect the R&D investments of our clients and ultimately safeguard the scope of protection against their competitors.
DIRECT CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
A strong focus on direct client relationship enables Mitscherlich’s attorneys to better understand their client’s needs with regard to their specific technology and market environment. A company’s national and cultural identity are also important “soft” factors that have to be taken into account while we represent their rights and manage their IP portfolio.
It is not only experience that counts today but also the ability to keep learning and to stay abreast with the fast pace of technical innovation on the one hand, and the development of IP law on the other. Mitscherlich’s partners regularly travel to visit their client’s factories and offices, even if it means flying to the other side of the planet. We prefer to stay in close contact with our clients in order to attain a better understanding of their ideas and concerns. We observe our client’s operations, listen to their needs and exchange innovative ideas with their legal/technical teams. At our presentations and in-house client workshops, we believe in demonstrating the concrete problem/solution approach through hands-on examples: A method that leaves nothing to abstract speculation and can be applied on the job.
Direct and personal communication ensures that potential points of conflict are identified and solutions are sought before a real problem arises. This holds true for technical IP work as well as for personal relationships between a Mitscherlich attorney and a client. It works both ways.
Rooted in Industry
The strong techological background of our firm’s culture as a whole and of Mitscherlich’s attorneys and patent engineers in particular ensures that any field of technology can be covered by a qualified expert from within the firm. We consider it a privilege to serve a large number of globally active corporations, including medium-sized businesses whose patented innovations have led them to becoming market leaders in their particular niche.
Munich: Europe‘s centre of IP
Its Munich office (opened in 1951) places Mitscherlich at an important junction of intellectual property prosecution and litigation:
The headquarters of the European Patent Office (EPO) and the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) are situated in Munich. While German is one of the official languages of the EPO, we, of course, also file patent applications in English and French.
The German Federal Patent Court and the Munich Regional Court as well as the Munich Higher Regional Court with their busy patent and trademark chambers have increased Munich’s importance as a centre of patent and trademark litigation over the years.
Legal Safety
German court proceedings are well respected internationally; over 60 % of IP litigations in Europe are processed in Germany.
German and international clients alike appreciate the professionalism of the judges and lawyers in this country, which ensures a high standard of legal safety. This results in decisions being more predictable. And this predictability is further sustained by the experience of our attorneys-at-law in all matters of patent, trademark and design.
The IAA Frankfurt, CeBIT Hanover, IFA Berlin, BAUMA and ISPO in Munich are only a few examples of world-leading trade fairs in Germany. Mitscherlich’s attorneys are regularly active at international trade fairs, pursuing border seizures of IP-infringing goods for the firm’s clients.