The Patent 1000 focuses exclusively on patent practice and has firmly established itself as the definitive 'go-to' resource for those seeking world-class legal patent expertise.
Recommended - Firms: prosecution and nullity
“BDPE comprises service-oriented patent attorneys who go above and beyond for their clients. The attorneys exhibit the knowledge level of top technical specialists and, through this, light can be shed on weak arguments of the opposite party. The team is always on top of the technology and creative in finding the right legal solution. Its dedication to its work, combined with exceptional resource management clearly distinguishes it from other patent attorney firms in Germany.” Responsible for the above feedback and giving the outfit its name are physicists Friedrich Emmerling and Karl-Ulrich Braun-Dullaeus. Emmerling counts Huawei among his many high-profile patrons and receives top plaudits for his work: “He has continually demonstrated not only his impeccable technical expertise, but also his close attention to detail, despite a huge number of cases. He is certainly a pleasure to work with, being not only highly respected among his peers and colleagues, but also with the courts. More importantly, Friedrich can think from the commercial perspective – a unique thing not many outside attorneys are capable of.” Braun-Dullaeus also receives high praise, with clients confirming that he “focuses on understanding business and provides constructive suggestions in difficult situations”. “It has been Karl-Ulrich’s strategic masterpiece to join forces with Friedrich Emmerling. With the joint forces of their respective teams, Fritz and Karl-Ulrich are able to accommodate not only the needs of demanding clients but also handle numerous large litigations in parallel.” Joining the pair in the guide this year is Markus Kreuzberg, who brings experience as an engineer in the metal processing industry to his work prosecuting patents and defending them before the registry offices.
Braun-Dullaeus Pannen Emmerling (BDPE) is a genuine boutique dedicated to serving clients with the explicit promise to guarantee exclusive, personal advice in the long term. BDPE ensures that any risk of a conflict of interest is kept as low as possible, especially when it comes to IP litigation.
The firm
The lawyers at BDPE specialise in litigation and prosecution in the field of intellectual property and combine branch-specific and technical expertise with legal competence. The firm’s partners have been well known in their fields for over 20 years and are among the few established experts in their clients’ industries. This means they can support clients not only in an advisory capacity, but also as real business partners who understand their clients’ commercial goals.
The firm’s expertise is focused on patent and utility model law, on trademark, design and copyright law, as well as on competition, domain and employee invention law. BDPE’s client portfolio includes worldwide corporations and leading companies in Germany and abroad. The firm works with an international network of contacts with other law firms and patent attorneys.
Competence
BDPE’s competence lies in legal representation in patent, trademark and design litigation, as well as in copyright and competition proceedings, protecting innovations, new technologies and products, brands and new designs, and handling the corresponding grant, appeal and opposition proceedings. The firm provides strategic advice on patent portfolios and in all areas of IP law.
BDPE advises and represents its clients across a broad range of technical areas such as automotive, computer technology, electrical engineering, electronics, food and beverage production, LED technology, mechanical engineering, medical technology, optical technology, photovoltaic technology, physics, semiconductor technology, software, telecommunications and video/audio encoding. BDPE further specialises in the following industries and sectors: consumer goods, energy suppliers and providers, fashion, furniture and household retailers, and media and communication agencies.
Team
BDPE’s professionals comprise ten patent attorneys and two attorneys at law based in offices in Düsseldorf and Munich, Germany. The firm and its patent attorneys are frequently recommended by renowned publications and ranking organisations, and have garnered a truly remarkable amount of praise since the founding of the firm in 2019. The firm is consistently one of the most active in patent litigation before the German courts. Our lawyers have been involved in various high-profile patent litigation proceedings, many of which have concerned standard-essential patents and have had international implications. Partners Friedrich Emmerling and Karl-Ulrich Braun-Dullaeus are highly regarded in Germany, particularly for their work in the telecommunications field and for their activities in nullity proceedings before the German Federal Patent Court and the EPO.
Diversity
BDPE promotes diversity! Our attorneys and office staff represent a multitude of nationalities from Europe, Asia and the Americas, and speak as many as 10 different languages. This makes it possible, for example, for our firm to interact directly with a broad client base across the globe and understand cultural differences.
We are committed in our hiring practices to seek out diverse lawyers and office staff and to ensure that they are strategically invested in and advanced. We are further dedicated to non-discriminatory hiring practices and believe that a diverse staff is essential to our practice and success.
Jurisdiction