Kay N. Kasper

Partner

Kay N. Kasper has worked as an attorney since 2002 and for the past 20 years has primarily been acting in patent litigation cases. The past number of years he has supplemented this established practice with representation of clients in arbitration and he increasingly acts as professional consultant in out of court negotiations, in particular in license negotiations concerning standard-essential patents (SEP). In this capacity he assisted BMW in the negotiations with the licensing platform Avanci. Kay Kasper is a Certified Global Negotiator, certified by the  University St. Gallen (CGN-HSG) and a trained Commercial Mediator. In court he focusses on the coordination of large SEP-portfolio litigation, especially in the telecoms area. Proceedings abroad as well as preparatory strategic consulting in the case of such multinational conflicts form an important part of his practice. Litigation in the field of standard-essential patents and consulting on the criteria of “FRAND” is the areas on which he currently focusses. Kay has gained considerable experience in technical areas such as telecommunications, information technology, automotive and medical devices as well as in the fields of mechanics and coating and packaging technologies.

Kay has specialised in intellectual property and patent law in particular, since starting his studies in 1994. During that time he received practical training with the German Patent and Trademark Office as well as various German and U.S. patent attorney and law firms in Frankfurt, Munich and New York. During his legal clerkship at the Regional Court of Frankfurt, he worked for a chamber which specialised in copyright and trademarks.

  • REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
    • Extensive advice provided to a major German car manufacturer in relation to several patent and competition law matters (2013 – present)
    • Representing a market leader in global mobile telecommunications in numerous cross-border patent litigation cases against various competitors based on a portfolio of standard-essential and implementation patents (2009 -present)
    • Representing and advising a major mobile network operator in numerous patent litigation cases in particular involving standard-essential patents and related antitrust and FRAND issues (2007 – present)
    • Representing a major mobile phone producer in numerous arbitration and patent infringement proceedings involving significant antitrust issues and determination of FRAND license rates (2006 – present)
  • PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
    • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
    • International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
    • German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR)
    • Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
    • Licensing Executives Society (LES)
    • Association of Intellectual Property Experts (VPP)
  • PUBLICATIONS
    • Kasper, Design rights, Berlin Verlag 2007
    • Kanz/Kasper, Management of US Discovery in Continental Europe: A Practice Report from Germany in The IP Litigator, issue September/October 2005
    • Kasper, Urteilsanmerkung zu BGH X ZR 152/03 – Gummielastische Masse II, in: Mitte 2005, 488
    • Kasper, in: Büscher/Dittmer/Schiwy, Industrial Property Law – Copyright Law – Media Law, Commentary, Wolters Kluwer 1st through 3rd edition (patent law; co-author)
  • WHAT OTHERS SAY
    • “always impressive when we are against him”, JUVE 2023/2024
    • “A superb negotiator, Kasper is best known for his skill in handling SEP-related disputes, especially in the automotive space.” IAM Patent 1000, 2023
    • “top team leader and coordination of complex patent disputes”, JUVE 2022/2023
    • “He has good technical understanding and goes legally and technically very deep into the cases.” –  Chambers Europe and Global Guide, 2022
    • Often recommended, “excellent patent law expertise”, JUVE 2021/2022
    • “distinguished expertise in patent law”, JUVE Patent 2021
    • “IP Star” (Patent, Germany), 2021, Managing Intellectual Property 2021
    • ranked in IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists, 2021
    • For telecommunications battles, FRAND and SEP expert Kay N Kasper is “one of the best to turn to”: he recently represented Telekom Deutschland in a set of sprawling infringement proceedings, with support from a group of hotshot attorneys at law including Stefan Richter and Klaus Haft. iam Patent 1000, 2021
    • Global Leader: Life Sciences-Patent Litigation / National Leader Germany: Life Sciences, Who is Who Legal 2020
    • “first-class coordination”, JUVE 2020
    • “Top Lawyer for Patent“, WirtschaftsWoche 2020
    • “one of the best to turn to in respect of complex patent disputes” and is known for his adroit coordination of SEP-related litigation.
      “Kay’s negotiation skills, particularly for complex and multifaceted matters, are unmatched.” iam Patent 1000, 2020
    • Listed as “IP Star” (Patent, Germany), 2020, Managing Intellectual Property 2020
    • “great negotiator” with “super technical understanding.”, Chambers Europe and Global 2020
    • “first-class team leadership and coordination in complex patent proceedings”, JUVE 2019/20
    • “Telecoms titan Kay Kasper’s finely honed counsel is worth its weight in gold – his experience of extracting cutting-edge technology from patent pools pays dividends.” IAM Patent 1000, 2019
    • “excellent industry knowledge and goal-oriented and practically applicable advice” and an “excellent negotiator.” Chambers Global 2019
    • “outstanding negotiator”, Legal 500 Deutschland 2018
    • “Having taught German, European and US patent law, Kay Kasper takes an international perspective on matters and is au fait with global case law; he is a real big-picture guy.” IAM 1000, 2018
    • “Kay Kasper has more than 15 years´ experience in the patent litigation sphere and wins praise for his superb work in the field of medical devices.” (Life Sciences, Who’s Who Legal 2018)
    • Kay Kasper is “goal-driven and an excellent negotiator” who gives “practice-oriented advice” and has “excellent industry knowledge.” Chambers Global 2018
    • “excellent litigation skills”, Patents, Who’s Who Legal Germany 2018
    • “great negotiator”, Legal 500 Germany 2017
    • “Teammate Kay Kasper is another contentious heavyweight, whom peers line up to praise: “He is among the most disciplined people I have ever worked with. He manages things beautifully – nothing will be left behind.” IAM 2017

Assistant details

Visit us

Visiting address:

Steinstraße 20
40212 Düsseldorf
Germany

Postal address:

Steinstraße 20
40212 Düsseldorf
Germany

The facts

Languages

German, English, Danish

Education

Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt (Law, 2002)

Keele University, England (Law, 1996)

University of Frankfurt (Law, 1994)

Admission

2002