September 2024 - BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT

Tier 1 at national level for Intellectual Property Law and Media Law. Top rankings for the jurisdictions of Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen and NRW.

The IP law boutique BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT already impressed the jury in the first edition of the “Best Law Firms – Germany 2025” ranking. Due to its outstanding national presence, the firm was awarded Tier 1 in the practice areas of Intellectual Property Law and Media Law.

However, the expertise of the firm’s patent attorneys and attorneys at law was also recognized with top-class ratings for individual jurisdictions. The firm achieved Tier 1 and thus the highest possible rating for IP law for the regions of Bavaria (Munich office), Berlin, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia (Düsseldorf & Bielefeld offices). Other excellent practice areas are media and entertainment law, pharmaceutical law as well as biotechnology law and life sciences practice.

Here is an overview of the rankings achieved:

National Tier 1

Intellectual Property Law
Media Law

Metropolitan Tier 1

Bavaria
Intellectual Property Law
Media Law
Berlin
Entertainment Law
Intellectual Property Law
Bremen
Intellectual Property Law
North Rhine-Westphalia
Intellectual Property Law

Metropolitan Tier 2

Bavaria
Pharmaceuticals Law
Berlin
Media Law

Metropolitan Tier 3

Berlin
Biotechnology Law and Life Sciences Practice

The Best Law Firms – Germany rankings are the result of a multi-layered information gathering process by the British specialist publisher Best Lawyers. The research team gathered the opinions of 3,100 clients and professionals, surveyed 2,700 lawyers and conducted 116 interviews with legal experts. In addition, law firms were asked to provide detailed information by means of a questionnaire.

Further information on the evaluation process and the ranking results can be found at bestlawfirms.com.

The European Patent Office’s method for determining inventive step

In the July issue of the Japan Patent Attorney Association magazine, BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT European Patent Attorney Dr. Makiko Maruyama describes the European Patent Office’s (EPO) approach to determining inventive step.

The European Patent Office uses its own method, the so-called “problem-solution approach”, which is also used by numerous national patent offices in Europe.
This “problem-solution approach” consists of three main steps: determining the state of the art as a starting point for determining inventive step, determining an objective technical problem and checking obviousness. The criteria for each step are precisely defined.

In her article, Dr. Maruyama explains the basics of the “problem-solution approach” and its application to inventions that contain “non-technical features”, such as computer-related inventions. She also discusses numerous points to consider when drafting applications and during the examination procedure at the EPO with regard to the EPO’s criteria for determining inventive step.

BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT among the “Best Law Firms – Germany 2025”