Especially when violations of intellectual property rights (like trademarks, designs, patents or utilty models) or violations of unfair competition law are at issue a warning letter (German: Abmahnung) is very popular in Germany to potentially avoid a law suit. Either you have already received such a warning letter (mainly in connection with a cease-and-desist declaration) or you want to send such a letter to a competitor it is recommendable to entrust a lawyer (e.g. Certified Intellectual Property Lawyer or Patent Attorney) to take care of such a matter. The handling and the reaction to such warning letters and the respective declaration of discontinuance / cease-and-desist declaration) has lots of potential pitfals which can lead to severe consequences if not done right. There are often legal options to defend yourself against too extensive claims or to reduce the lawyer’s fees of the opponent. Also an attack on the potential violator without a lawyer may have negative consequences if no extra-judicial solution can be found with him.

Our specialized team of a Certified Intellectual Propoerty Lawyer and a German and European Patent Attorney (European Trademark and Design Attorney) has a lot of experience in dealing with various kind of violations of intellectual property rights and respective warning letters and would be happy to assist you.

Just give us a call or send us your questions in connection with the warning letter or other IP issues in Germany or Europe and we will revert to you as soon as possible.