The conversation—like so many that take place in Munich—started over beer. About six years ago, Johannes Heselberger, a partner at German intellectual property boutique Bardehle Pagenberg; Olaf Giebe, a partner at the IP firm Klaka Rechtsanwälte; and several other intellectual property lawyers and judges met after work one evening at Zum Augustiner, a 1300s-era brewery and beer hall, for an informal gathering of young IP practition­ers and judges organized by Heselberger and Giebe.

Seated in the beer hall that features worn wooden tables beneath an opulent brass chandelier and mounted deer heads, Heselberger and Giebe started complaining about the Munich district court, their home venue for patent infringement cases. It was slow and unpredictable compared to its counterparts in Düsseldorf and Mannheim. The most important and interesting cases went to Düsseldorf and lawyers stationed there, says Giebe. "We wanted to be a part of the best cases," he says. In Germany—known as Europe’s patent infringement litigation hub, thanks to the rocket dockets in Düsseldorf and Mannheim—Munich was missing the main action.

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