Dr. Bolko Ehlgen

Bolko is a Partner in the IP/Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations practice based in Frankfurt. He specialises in intellectual property litigation, predominantly regarding patents. Bolko is experienced in enforcing intellectual property rights and defending clients against allegations of infringement, particularly in a cross-border context.

Bolko is admitted to practice in Germany and New York. He has been awarded with the Rising Stars Awards Europe 2020 in the “Patents” category by Managing IP/IFLR. WirtschaftsWoche (2019) and Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers (2022) rank him among Germany’s most renowned lawyers for patent litigation.
IAM Patent 1000 ranks him as recommended individual (2020).

Work highlights 

Bolko has advised on many significant cases. These include representing:

• A globally leading LED manufacturer: Representing the client in its successful enforcement of several patents of its core portfolio against competitors in a cross-border patent dispute (USA, Germany, UK, France, Italy, South Korea, China) and successful defense against infringement allegations.
• A globally acting pharmaceutical company: Representing the client in a patent infringement proceeding in relation to novel HIV medication in Germany as part of a global dispute against a key competitor.
• A globally leading pharmaceutical joint venture: Representing the client in a cross-border patent dispute in the US, UK, France and Germany in the field of monoclonal antibodies.
• A globally leading pharmaceutical manufacturer: Representing the client on the enforcement of patents protecting a drug used for the treatment of a rare disease.
• The German Ministry of Health: Representing the client in a complex copyright and database rights litigation relating to a medical classification.
• A globally acting company in the field of security technology: Representing the client in a patent infringement proceeding regarding technology for security features for identity documents.

Bolko Ehlgen has been with Linklaters since 2015. In 2021 he was made Partner. Before his time at Linklaters, he was working at another global law firm in the field of patent litigation.

Bolko is a member of the German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR), the Association of Intellectual Property Experts (VPP) and of Licensing Executives Society (LES).

Bolko studied law at the Universities of Heidelberg and Cologne. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Cologne and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia, USA.

Bolko is admitted to practice in Germany and the State of New York (USA). He is a certified specialist lawyer for industrial property rights (Fachanwalt für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz).

He speaks German and English.

• Proportional Liability and Liability for Loss of a Chance, Tübingen 2013 (doctoral dissertation).
• Paukenschlag oder gewohnte Bahnen - Erste einstweilige Anordnung des EPG in: GRUR 2023, page 1507-1511.
• Anti Anti-Suit Injunctions – Wie viel Vorverlagerung darf sein?, Bestandsaufnahme nach OLG Düsseldorf „Ausländisches Prozessführungsverbot“, in: GRUR 2022, page 537 - 541.
• Unterlassungsanspruch wegen drohender Beeinträchtigung der Rechtsausübung - Anti-Suit Injunction – Annotation to judgment of the Munich Higher Regional Court of 12 December 2019 - 6 U 5042/19, in: GRUR 2019, page 379 - 384.
• Zum Umfang der Erschöpfung bei System- und Verfahrensansprüchen, in: Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte, 3/2016, page 104-111 (in collaboration with Julia Schönbohm).
• Annotation to the decision of the German Federal Court of Justice of 2 December 2014 – X ZB 1/13, BeckRS 2014, 23276, in: GRUR-Prax 2015, page 35.
• Annotation to the decision of the Regional Court Mannheim of 10 December 2013 – 2 O 4/13, BeckRS 2014, 09712, in: GRUR-Prax 2014, page 280.
• Wenn Nichtstun nicht genug ist, in: Intellectual Property Magazin 2018, page 20-22.
• The Office giveth and the Office taketh away – US Supreme Court rejects constitutional challenge to inter partes review process, in: Intellectual Property Magazin 3/2018, page 3-6.
• K. o. in der letzten Runde? – Das UPC hat bereits einige Runden überstanden – sorgt das Verfassungsgericht für das Aus?, in: Intellectual Property Magazin 3/2017, page 3-5.
• Einigung mit gewissen Vorzügen – „Pay for Delay“, oder: Wenn ein Vergleich eines Patentverletzungsprozesses Wettbewerbshüter misstrauisch macht, in: Intellectual Property Magazin 1/2017, page 10-12.

• Erweiterte Auslegung hilft der Praxis - Wie die „Verletzungsfalle“ bei bestimmungsge-mäßem Gebrauch von Standardbauteilen zu vermeiden ist, in: Intellectual Property Magazin 1/2015, page 17-19 (in collaboration with Julia Schönbohm).

Events and lectures

Bolko lectures and presents regularly at conferences and seminars in relation to intellectual property law.

• Seminar of the Center for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) of the University of Strasbourg on “Standard Essential Patent and Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) Licensing: The interplay between IP, competition and contract law” – Presentation on German jurisprudence in FRAND cases, 25 March 2021
• Managing IP International Patent Forum 2020 – Presentation on the topic “Case law updates and remedies for patent owners in key jurisdictions” especially on the status of the patent law reform in Germany and the consideration of proportionality for injunctive relief, 4 March 2020