An Aussie attorney in Germany: Navigating the European IP landscape
As an Australian resident with German cultural roots, Manuel Schmidt recently spent six months on a trip to Europe with his wife and four kids. Living and working in Germany for three of these months provided invaluable insights into the local professional culture and the nuances of German and European IP practice, as Manuel explores below.
Building relationships with corporate clients
One notable observation was the prevalence of small attorney firms in Germany, which will often have a very close relationship with one large corporate client. The abundance of corporate R&D in Germany leads to a higher number of large clients. This also means that there are larger in-house teams, which make a more substantial presence at networking events compared to Australia.
Contentious matters
There is also a greater abundance of contentious matters in Germany, which I’m assuming is because of the larger overall economic value of this jurisdiction. The German courts serve as a litmus test for the entire European Patent Convention spanning 39 member states. Therefore successful litigations carry commercial implications that resonate across the continent.
Process v flexibility
Most of our Australian clients have smaller filing numbers and are more flexible in the way they approach each patent family. In contrast, German filers with large portfolios are often process driven. For them, adhering to established procedures can be more important than pursuing case-specific cost efficiency measures.
The Brexit effect
In terms of developments in the IP industry in Europe, I observed that many UK firms have established a foothold in mainland Europe, with offices popping up in major cities across Germany and elsewhere. This appears to be a direct consequence of Brexit.
Deep-tech
Due to my practice focus on deep-tech, including quantum tech, AI and bioinformatics, I had many discussions about these topics with German attorneys. I had the feeling that the European Union is becoming more protective of IP in these areas. For example, funding for quantum technologies often requires that IP remains in Europe, which makes it challenging for Australian quantum companies to collaborate with European firms. On the other hand, the approach to these subjects by IP Australia and the European Patent Office is relatively similar, which is good to see as harmonisation makes it easier to do business globally.
Navigating office life and cultural contrasts
Day-to-day experiences shed light on disparities in office culture between Germany and Australia. German COVID lockdowns were less severe, leaving them with more of an office culture. Meanwhile, digitalisation in Germany is less advanced than in Australia, evident in the persistence of fax machines and paper notices being scanned. Also, contact with the government is generally not online but in person at certain times during the day at the government office. Even payments by credit card are not possible in government offices – Germany is much more cash based than Australia (we tried three different ice cream shops without success because we didn’t have cash!).
Staying connected
Despite disparities in digital technologies, major cities are very well connected with high speed train lines. So a trip to Paris and then to London (or through northern Italy) is a pleasant journey on the train (I tried it with the family and as a business trip). Although it has to be said that the German trains are struggling with reliability at the moment (very un-German!).
Personal reflections on life in Germany
Cultural nuances and social customs extended beyond the professional. We particularly noticed a difference in approaches to customer service. In Germany, customer service staff (e.g., restaurant wait staff) are not there to please the customer but to keep the ship running. So it is not unusual to be told off as the customer for ordering the wrong way or doing something else that is not the correct way. Interestingly, this also applies to foreign restaurants where the staff have seemingly adopted the German love of process more than the German language.
We also noticed that Germany does not have a pub culture like England or Australia. Instead the German social life is characterized by public events, feasts, and expansive beer gardens.
In conclusion, my time as an Aussie attorney in Germany taught me that despite differences, a shared commitment to quality remains a common factor and the key to what clients in both Australia and Germany expect from their IP provider.
I very much enjoyed my time in Germany and I do appreciate the slightly different perspectives of our two cultures. I look forward to working with my German and other European (including UK) colleagues on deep-tech patents in the future!
