Florian is a highly experienced German and UPC patent litigator who has been involved in multiple patent infringement cases and campaigns, a lot of them relating to cross-border activities. His work also includes advice on related aspects such as FRAND strategies, obtaining evidence and preliminary measures such as preliminary injunctions. His focus is electronics, telecommunications, automotive and pharma. Florian filed one of the first complaints at the new Unified Patent Court.
Among other things Florian has been lead counsel in the patent litigations Broadcom vs Netflix, Broadcom vs Tesla and Sonos vs Google.
Florian has a teaching position for IP law at a university in Hamburg since 2007. He has a Master of Laws degree in Patent and Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University, and is admitted to the New York State Bar. Florian speaks German and English.
Florian’s work has been repeatedly emphasized in rankings and legal industry publications as well as by clients.
Experience
- Participating in defending a major telecom company against NPE IPCom series of proceedings (SEP and implementation patents).
- Representing a Japanese electronics company and defending against claims by NPEs as well as competitors.
- Representing a U.S. company as plaintiff in cases relating to chips and network equipment, and in defensive proceeding including enforcement activities.
- Acting for an NPE in litigation involving AMR-WB technology.
- Representing a producer of child security products in various cases against competitors (PI and regular actions)
- Acting for a U.S. company in trademark and unfair competition disputes relating to advertising in Germany.
- Representing an Asian company in proceedings relating to LEDs.
- Negotiating license agreements in connection with transactions for a tech company.
Published articles
- Autumn 2018
International In-house Counsel Journal, Requirements in SEP License Negotiations – Substantiating a FRAND Offer (link) - August 2006
Bundesligamagazin, Kennzeichenrechtlicher Schutz von Sportveranstaltungen - January 2005
Computer und Recht, Kompatibilitätshinweise bei Computersoftware und ihre kennzeichenrechtlichen Grenzen - 2003
GRUR, Review of “Thomas Ubber, Markenrecht im Internet, 2002" - 2002
GRUR, Die Verwendung von Gattungsbegriffen als Internetdomains: Zur ‘Mitwohnzentrale.de-Entscheidung des BGH - March 2002
Publication of Institute of lntellectual Property, Parallel Imports, the Exhaustion of Patents, and TRIPS - 2000
GRUR, Zeichenrechtliche Fragen im Internet - 1998
Athen, Die Bedeutung des TRIPS-Abkommens für den Schutz des freien Wettbewerbs
Education and qualifications
Admitted to the State Bar of New York, 2000-
1999 — 2003
Second State Examination, Hamburg Court of Appeal -
1998 — 1999
LL.M in Patent and IP Law, The George Washington University -
1991 — 1997
First State Examination, University of Göttingen
Career history
- 2019 — present
Partner, EIP - 2005 — 2019
Counsel, Bird & Bird - 2003 — 2005
Associate, Pohl & Partner
Awards and recognition
- IAM Patent 1000, 2023."Florian is very creative, aggressive and energetic. He is able to work much faster, and achieve a deeper level of understanding, than many other attorneys. He is able to work effectively across a wide variety of technology areas. Florian is always available to his clients and has consistently been willing to speak very late at night.” (link)
- Best Lawyers, Germany, 2023 - Recognised in Intellectual Property Law, Litigation and Technology Law (link)
- Ranked as a 'Patent Star', IP Stars 2023
- Listed in IAM Strategy 300: Global Leaders 2023 (link)
- WirtschaftsWoche, 2022 - Recommended in "Patent Law"
- JUVE Patent 2022 Germany - Recommended individuals: “incredibly hardworking, determined and creative” (link)
- Listed in IAM Strategy 300: The World's Leading IP Strategists 2022 (link)
- IAM Patent 1000, 2022. Florian is "our go-to attorney for difficult cases that require a fast turn-around and out-of-the-box thinking". (link)
- IP Stars, 2022, Listed as 'Patent Star 2022' (link)
- Best Lawyers, Germany, 2022 - Recognised in Intellectual Property Law, Litigation and Technology Law (link)
- Legal 500 Deutschland Patent Litigation, 2022 (link)
- WirtschaftsWoche, 2021 - Recommended in "Patent Law"
- JUVE Patent 2021 Germany - Recommended individuals: “strong litigator, meticulous worker” (link)
- Listed in IAM Strategy 300: The World's Leading IP Strategists 2021 (link)
- Best Lawyer, 2022 - Ranked in Best Lawyers in Germany 2022 (link)
- IAM Patent 1000, 2021. Florian is an “extremely creative and hardworking attorney who can quickly master new technologies”. (link)
- JUVE Patent 2020 Germany - Recommended individuals: Florian is “hard working, aggressive and creative, very good at finding the best strategy.” (link)
- Best Lawyer, 2021 - Ranked in Best Lawyers in Germany 2021 (link)
- IAM Patent 1000, 2020. Florian is “responsive, thorough and dedicated” and "is driven to get the right result and has a great grasp of all details.” (link)
Languages spoken
- German
- English