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Study visit to Munich on “Expert witnesses in Germany”

Published: November 8, 2019
During talks at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in Munich
During talks at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in Munich
Russian Federation

From 5 to 8 November 2019, the IRZ organised a study visit to Munich on “Expert witnesses in Germany” as part of a project supported by the German Foreign Office. As well as four patent attorneys from Moscow and St. Petersburg, two representatives from the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent), which is the equivalent of the German Patent and Trademark Office, and a scientific officer from the expert witness centre at the Russian Ministry of Justice also took part in the study trip.

This visit gave participants the opportunity to visit the Regional Court of Munich I and to discuss the following topics with judge Anna-Lena Klein:

  • Overview of the basic and specific principles of the Munich procedure in patent lawsuits, at which expert witnesses are only heard in particularly complex and rare patent lawsuits
  • calling upon expert witnesses in individual cases
  • advantages and disadvantages of expert assessments

The Russian delegation was also welcomed by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in Munich and the German Federal Patent Court, where they were introduced to IHK certification for expert witnesses. Another subject discussed during the visit was the specific nature of so-called technical judges at the German Federal Patent Court. These are all judges with training in a technical and/or scientific field.

The IRZ also organised expert discussions with Manuel Soria Parra and Andrea Kabisch from the “Meissner Bolte mbB” firm of patent attorneys. This meeting covered the following points:

  • uniform examination of patent attorneys according to the German Patent Attorney Code (PAO)
  • the procedure for authorising and appointing patent attorneys
  • work in court cases with expert witnesses
  • patent attorneys as expert witnesses
The study visit provided an opportunity for intense expert discussions between the Russian delegation and their German colleagues, which will be continued next year if possible.