Sebastian Fuchs is a patent litigator in EIP's litigation team in Düsseldorf. He advises and represents domestic and international companies from various industries, most notably, electronics, telecommunications, automotive and pharma.
Sebastian’s areas of expertise in contentious patent matters include patent litigation at all relevant patent infringement courts in Germany. He regularly acts in disputes with a licensing background involving a FRAND defence. Sebastian is also skilled in pre-procedural evidence gathering (both applicant and defendant-sided) and the effective handling of "takedowns" in case of trade fairs.
In non-contentious matters, Sebastian regularly advises on the realisation of client interests in agreements (e.g. licensing, transfer of intellectual property and employee inventions), assessing the IP conformity of a method or product (Freedom to Operate Analysis) as well as on IP strategies.
Prior to joining EIP, Sebastian has worked for major international IP law firms. Having researched the Unitary Patent system for his thesis, Sebastian is well placed to advise clients on the new Unified Patent Court (UPC). He regularly publishes articles on the latest developments in patent law, e.g. at EIP Amar, our alliance created to support clients in litigation before the UPC.
Sebastian is a native German speaker and fluent in English.
Recent work
- Acting for IP Bridge v Huawei, ZTE, and Xiaomi in comprehensive standard-essential patent litigation relating to FRAND licencing. (link)
- Acting for Sonos v Google in comprehensive patent litigation relating to wireless multiroom audio. (link)
- Acting for Conversant Wireless v Daimler in comprehensive standard-essential patent litigation relating to FRAND licencing in complex supply chains for connected cars. (link)
Published articles
- August 2023
EIP Amar, Provisional Injunction granted by the Unified Patent Court (link) - June
WIPR, The limits of an 'opt-in' to the UPC (link) - May 2023
EIP Amar, The limits of an “opt-in” to the UPC – How and when can national actions block the way back to the UPC? (link) - May 2021
WIPR, UPC update: the roadblocks hampering the rollout (link) - May 2020
IPRB, Das Patentrecht und die Covid-19 Pandemie, 116
Education and qualifications
-
2016
Second State Examination, Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf -
2015
PhD degree (Dr. iur.), Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany -
2011
First State Examination, Higher Regional Court of Hamm -
2006 — 2011
Study of Law, Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster -
2004 — 2006
Study of Law, Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg
Career history
- 2020 — present
Attorney-at-law, EIP - 2016 — 2020
Attorney (Senior Associate) in Patent Litigation, Bird & Bird LLP, Düsseldorf - 2020
Attorney (Senior Associate) in Patent Litigation / IP, Bird & Bird ATMD, Singapore - 2014
Legal Trainee in Antitrust / IP Litigation, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Hamburg - 2013 — 2014
Legal Trainee in IP Litigation, Clifford Chance LLP, Düsseldorf - 2013
Legal Trainee at Directorate General Internal Market and Services, European Commission, Brussels - 2013
Legal Trainee with Presiding Judge at the Regional Court Ulrike Voss (now Higher Regional Court), Regional Court Düsseldorf, Civil Chamber - 2011 — 2012
Research Assistant in IP Litigation and competition law, Clifford Chance LLP, Düsseldorf
Awards and recognition
- Ranked as "Rising Star", IP Stars 2023 (link)
- Best Lawyers, Germany, 2023 - ‘One to Watch’ for competition/antitrust law and litigation. (link)
- Ranked as "Rising Star", IP Stars 2022 (link)
Languages spoken
- German
- English