Overview
Dr. Henrik Holzapfel advises on all aspects of intellectual property law. He focuses on litigating patents, including the enforcement of patents essential to industry standards and FRAND defenses. Henrik also has extensive experience in litigating trade secret matters. Other areas of his practice include advising on IP licensing agreements, including advice on European competition law, drafting R&D agreements and advising on employees’ inventions. Henrik’s clients represent a wide variety of industries such as IT, pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices, chemicals, automotive and engineering.
Henrik graduated with a degree in law from the University of Bielefeld and the University of Tübingen in 2000. He then obtained his Doctorate in 2004 and was a University Assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, in Munich. Henrik joins McDermott from a full service German law firm and has held positions at international firms in Germany and London.
He has authored multiple publications on intellectual property law and is a lecturer on patent law. He is also a regular contributor to McDermott’s IP Update blog. He has been recognized by major industry guides for his strategic thinking and excellence in patent litigation.
Recognitions
- JUVE Handbook 2020/2021 recommends Dr. Henrik Holzapfel for patent litigation (“has excellent knowledge of the standardisation scene around mobile radio“, client) and also has a reputation for litigation around chemical and pharmaceutical patents.
- WirtschaftsWoche 2020 recommends Dr. Henrik Holzapfel as “Top Lawyer 2020” for Patent Law.
- IAM Patent 1000, 2020: Highlighted by a client as having “a holistic approach, combining the view on the legal and economic aspects of the cases. He can look at complicated issues as a whole, seeing the important issues and resolving them. His negotiation skills are very good and in the courtroom Henrik is also very skilled – he is always very clear in his presentation, and very good both on infringement cases and invalidity actions.”
- IAM Global Leaders Guide – Listed for Germany 2021
- The Legal 500 Deutschland, 2020
- IAM Patent 1000, 2019: “Henrik is an excellent litigator with an outstanding ability to handle cases holistically, managing their strategic and legal elements thoroughly.”
“He has a ‘take-charge’ personality, in the most positive way. He has a very balanced approach, does not waste time and innately understands where he can add strategic value.”
Community
- German Association for Intellectual Property Law
- European Patent Lawyers Association
