Europe is home to many life sciences companies, so IP regimes throughout the continent’s jurisdictions need to provide cost-effective, speedy and certain litigation environments if patent disputes are to be satisfactorily settled.
LSIPR talks to Thomas Friede and Johannes Heselberger about why Germany fits this mould.
LSIPR: What are the advantages of litigating a life sciences patent in Germany?
Thomas Friede: I believe that the litigation procedure in Germany is an advantage. It is a very streamlined procedure, which is basically an exchange of written briefs—usually two rounds— before an oral hearing. The oral hearing is very condensed and focused. Even in a large case, a hearing would only be four or five hours long. If that is compared to a full trial in the US or the UK, it’s a fraction of the time and therefore it costs less.
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litigation, patent disputes, Germany
