Ralph Nack is an expert on complex issues of patent law. He advises German and international clients primarily in patent litigation and in nullity and opposition proceedings. He is a leading international expert in patent licensing, especially regarding standard-essential patents (SEP FRAND licensing). His practice focuses on the areas of electronics, telecommunications, mechanical engineering and pharmaceuticals.

Projects

  • Defense of a globally leading smartphone manufacturer in a standard-essential patent litigation in the field of voice coding, including FRAND defense and FRAND determination action
  • Defense of a global smartphone manufacturer in a standard-essential patent litigation in the field of video coding, including FRAND defense
  • Pan-European enforcement of a patent related to digital image overlaying in the field of sports advertising against a competitor
  • Pan-European enforcement of a comprehensive patent portfolio related to network security against a various competitors

Career

  • Legal studies at the University of Heidelberg, University of Munich, Todai University Tokyo (Japan) and the University of Washington DC (USA)
  • Research assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property
  • Program Director of the Munich Intellectual Property Law Centre
  • Practice with an international law firm focusing on patent law in Munich; secondment to the firm's Beijing office
  • At Noerr since 2010
  • Admitted to the Munich Bar Association

Memberships

  • Global board of directors of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
  • Standing Committee on Patent Law of the German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR)
  • Licensing Executives Society (LES)
  • Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA)
  • President of patentdecisions.de
  • Observer at the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA)
  • Board of trustees at Munich Intellectual Property Law Centre (MIPLC)

Lectures

  • Visiting lecturer at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Centre (MIPLC)

Publications

  • (Nack/Picht/Zigann) Beck Online Commentary on the UPC
  • Latest Developments in the SEP Landscape – Is FRAND more than just Willingness? LES Japan News, Vol. 63
  • (Kühne/Nack) Handbook Connected Cars
  • The Power Balance Between SEP Owners and Implementers in SEP/FRAND Litigation in Europe, Journal of the Japan Intellectual Property Association, Vol. 17
  • (Haedicke/Timmann) Patent Law Handbook, § 2 (Patentability)