Dr. Julia Schönbohm

Julia leads Linklaters’ global Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) and Intellectual Property (IP) practice, the German IP practice and is a co-head of Linklaters’ global Technology sector group. She is a passionate litigator who focuses on cross-border patent infringement proceedings and other IP disputes. She also advises on all IP-related aspects in technology driven M&A transactions, including carve-outs, licensing agreements and joint ventures. She is admitted to practice in Germany and New York. Julia is widely recognized as a leading IP lawyer in various legal directories, e.g. Global Leaders (IAM Patent 1000), Patent Star (IP Stars), IP Private Practice Powerlist (Legal 500), JUVE and WirtschaftsWoche.

Quotations and Rankings

• „Julia is a very experienced and dedicated lawyer. She is a specialist in the field of IP and very client oriented. She provides counsel that exactly fits patrons’ needs. Her services are highly recommended.” (IAM Patent 1000 2023)

Work highlights

Julia has advised on many market-leading cases and transactions. These include representing:

• Volkswagen: advising on the IP aspects for the proposed 50:50 joint venture with Rivian, a U.S. and publicly traded OEM, as well as on a license agreement for vehicle software technology.
• Carrier Global Corporation: advising on IP aspects (including the key IP license agreements) in relation to several strategic transactions, such as the €12bn acquisition of the Climate Solutions Business of Viessmann Group; the sale of the global commercial refrigeration business Carrier Commercial Refrigeration (CCR) to Haier; the US$1.425bn sale of its Industrial Fire business including the industry-leading brands Det-Tronics, Marioff, Autronica and Fireye, to Sentinel Capital Partners; and the acquisition of Toshiba's 55% stake in their joint venture Toshiba Carrier Corporation (TCC).
• Seoul Semiconductor: representing in and advising on several matters, including a global enforcement campaign of its patent rights against competitors in the US, Germany, Italy, UK, China and Korea and an enforcement campaign at the Unified Patent Court (UPC) concerning patents for a new complex technology increasing the overall efficiency of LEDs.
• ViiV Healthcare: representing in a global patent infringement litigation over a HIV integrase inhibitor against Gilead.
• Sanofi and Regeneron: representing in the defence of a patent infringement related to the monoclonal antibody Praluent in a cross-border case.
• LG Electronics: advising on the IP and licensing structure of the joint venture with Lufthansa Technik for consumer electronics in the aviation sector.
• HELLA: advising on the sale of its front camera software business to Volkswagen car. SW Org Wolfsburg AG (now CARIAD).
• Continental: advising on all IP and licensing aspects of the joint venture with Osram for automotive LED technology, including software licenses.
• Novartis: advising on the IP aspects including employee inventor compensation in connection with the transfer of its vaccine business to GSK.
• The German Ministry of Health: representing in several complex copyright litigation proceedings around the medical procedure classification OPS. 

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

Julia writes extensively and her articles include:

• „Zum Umfang der Erschöpfung bei System- und Verfahrensansprüchen“, in: Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte, 3/2016, S. 104-111 (together with Bolko Ehlgen)

• "„Isoxadifen-ethyl" oder „Ist ein Safener ein Wirkstoff im Sinne der SPC-Verordnung?!"", StoffR, Juni 2014 (together with Frank Gerhards, Peter Loss, Dorothea v. Renesse, Madeleine Seym, Bettina Wanner and Reinhold Wolf)

•  “Employee Inventions and Copyrights“, Key Aspects of German Employment and Labour Law, Springer, 2010

• „Die Durchsetzung von Verfahrensansprüchen unter Berücksichtigung der Rechtslage in den USA“, Festschrift für Thomas Reimann zum 65 Geburtstag, 2009
• „Die mittelbare Markenverletzung gem. Art. 10 UMV am Beispiel des Anbietens digitaler Bilddateien auf einer Plattform“, GRUR  9/2024, 585 (in collaboration with Simone Rohr)

• „Anmerkung zur Vermutung der Rechtsgültigkeit eines nicht eingetragenen Gemeinschaftsgeschmacks¬musters", GRUR 2004, p. 41
• „Die Anpassung des Kfz-Vertriebs an die neuen Voraussetzungen der Kfz-GVO 1400/2002“, WRP 2004, p. 695 ff. 
• „Gewerbliche Schutzrechte als Kreditsicherheiten", Letter of Invest, March 2006
• „Die strategische Durchsetzung von Patenten“, Platow Recht of 24 July 2009
• „Die Durchsetzung von Verfahrensansprüchen unter Berücksichtigung der Rechtslage in den USA“, celebratory publication for Thomas Reimann on the occasion of his 65th birthday, 2009 in collaboration with Jürgen Kicker
• „Employee Inventions and Copyrights“ in Key Aspects of German Employment and Labour Law, 1st Ed. 2010
• „Anmerkung zum Urteil des BGH zur zulässigen Verwendung der Bezeichnung DAX als Bezugsgröße für Finanzprodukte“, WuB, February 2010 No 1.10
• „Rechtsprechung eröffnet Softwarepatenten Chancen", Platow Recht of 22 October 2010„Spielpläne urheberrechtlich schützen", Bundesliga Magazin, August 2011 
• „Platzverweis für Spielplannutzer", Platow Recht of 29 July 2011
• „Erweiterte Auslegung hilft der Praxis - Wie die „Verletzungsfalle“ bei bestimmungsgemäßem Gebrauch von Standardbauteilen zu vermeiden ist“, in: Intellectual Property Magazin 1/2015, p. 17-19 (in collaboration with Bolko Ehlgen).
• „SEPs: Lohnt sich das Klagen noch?", Intellectual Property Magazine, No 16, February 2016 (in collaboration with Atif Bhatti)
• „Zum Umfang der Erschöpfung bei System- und Verfahrensansprüchen“, in: Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte, 3/2016, p. 104-111 (in collaboration with Bolko Ehlgen).
• „Gerichtsurteil sorgt für Preisangleichung – Die „Erschöpfung“ im Patentrecht bringt Pharmaunternehmen in die Zwickmühle“, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, p. 16, 27 September 2017
• „Rechtsverletzung und ausreichende Offenbarung für Patente für zweite medizinische Indikation“ – annotation of the UK Supreme Court judgement [2018] UKSC 56 – Pregabalin (in collaboration with Natalie Ackermann-Blome), GRUR Int. 2019, p. 162-174
• „Patent Compliance - eine zu Unrecht vernachlässigte Materie“, DER BETRIEB Sonderausgabe Corporate Compliance 2020, p. 55-58 (in collaboration with Matthias Seyboth and Atif Bhatti)
• „Zur Modernisierung des Patentgesetzes: Ursache, Wirkung und Abhilfe? - Eine erste Analyse des Diskussionsentwurfs des BMJV", Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte 3/2020, p. 101-108 (in collaboration with Natalie Ackermann-Blome)
• „Zusammenarbeit in der Pharmaindustrie in Zeiten von COVID-19", Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb 2020, 233
• „Die mittelbare Markenverletzung gem. Art. 10 UMV am Beispiel des Anbietens digitaler Bilddateien auf einer Plattform“, GRUR  9/2024, 585 (in collaboration with Simone Rohr)