About us

MERH-IP Matias Erny Reichl Hoffmann is a Munich-based patent law firm founded by four patent attorneys with longstanding experience as former partners of three prominent international IP firms. Since its foundation in 2009 the firm has been constantly growing to an medium-sized IP Boutique with more than 50 members today including 7 partners, 15 patent attorneys and 9 technical experts.

We counsel in all matters of Intellectual Property including patents, utility models, trademarks, designs, domains, employee’s inventions, copyright and unfair competition law. The firm represents clients ranging from renowned multinational corporations from Europe, the United States and Japan, to medium-sized companies and start-ups.

Our professional understanding of servicing in the IP-field makes very high demands on the quality of our work in view of both technical and legal aspects. Expert knowledge in a broad range of cutting-edge technologies as well as in-depth expertise in intellectual property law enables us to safeguard your interests in the field of Intellectual Property and to represent your company successfully before courts and offices. Attorneys of our firm have outstanding track records in hearings, trials and oral proceedings.

We can guide you through even complex IP issues to turn your ideas into enforceable registered rights with commercial value and to secure a competitive advantage in all areas of Intellectual Property.


Team





Law


Patent Prosecution

MERH-IP provides a complete, high-quality service including drafting patent applications in German or English language as first filings and prosecuting as German, European and International patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
In addition to this, we have significant experience handling high-volume patent prosecution of second filings for globally acting corporations before the German Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office.
By tapping our international network of associated IP law firms distributed over the globe, our attorneys are able to coordinate the protection of intellectual property rights – worldwide.

Patent Litigation

Attorneys of our firm are continuously representing clients in multinational patent infringement cases in close and longstanding co-operations with attorneys at law specialized in patent litigation, especially in the fields of telecommunication and electronics.
Due to their technical expertise attorneys of MERH-IP have been appointed by German District Courts as technical experts in infringement proceedings.

Trademarks, Designs, Product Piracy

The most valuable assets of many companies are their brands. Our attorneys understand the commercial significance of strong protection for a company‘s trademarks. We secure the necessary trademark rights for our clients and defend those rights by opposing and cancelling conflicting trademarks.
We handle the filing and registration of design applications in Germany and the European Community and advise in relation to rights applicable to unregistered designs.

Employee's Inventions, Copyrights, Unfair Competition

Our attorneys have assisted companies in setting up new systems for handling of employees inventions and related remuneration and have successfully negotiated in employees invention disputes.
MERH-IP advises in questions of copyright protection. Imitation of products may be an issue of unfair competition which is of particular relevance in cases where patent protection is not available.

Licensing, Due Diligence and Patent Valuation

MERH-IP understands licensing as a permanent and integral part of counseling clients in the field of intellectual property. We advise our clients on licensing contracts with regard to patent, trademark, design and copyright matters including software forms.
We have accompanied clients in due diligence projects and have co-ordinated the transfer of entire patent portfolios between multinational enterprises.
Attorneys of our firm have developed an approach for subjective valuation of patents and have successfully applied it as a tool for supporting clients to manage their patent portfolios.



Technology


The patent attorneys are graduates in the fields of electrical engineering, communication technology, mechanical engineering, microsystems technology, process engineering, materials science, physics, crystallography and chemistry.
All the four founding partners and other patent attorneys in our law firm furthermore worked as R&D engineers in industry prior to their patent attorney training and are, therefore, familiar with product development processes starting from the concept to the finished product from their own experience and the perspective of an inventor.
Our technical expertise and experience include especially the fields of:

Mechanical engineering, mechatronics, process engineering, materials

Automotive engineering
Automotive components and systems, control systems, navigation
Machine tools and cutting machinery
Power generation, including nucler power, gas turbines
Renewable energy, batteries, wind energy
Power plant engineering
Materials engineering, nanotechnology, metallography
Railway and utility vehicles
Aerospace engineering
Robotics
Joining technology including welding
Combustion engines, transmissions, drives
Construction machinery
Packaging technology
Air conditioning and heating technology
Building and domestic technology
Materials handling engineering
Automation and manufacturing technology
Environmental technology

Electrical engineering, information technology, telecommunication

Optoelectronics
Semiconductor structure, semiconductor circuit technology and semiconductor manufacturing
Mobile terminal devices
Telecommunications networks
Computer, Software, quantum computer
Data storage systems
Cryptography
Satellites and satellite communication
Signal analysis and signal processing
Electronic components
Circuit technology
Power electronics
Measurement and control technology
Electric machines
Electric drives, electromobility
Internet-of-Things (IoT), Industry 4.0

Physical Engineering

Optical and other physical measurement technology
Medical technology
Laser
Projectors
Sensors, actuators
Printers
Acoustical and sound engineering
Displays