Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB

What Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB does

Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB is a German intellectual property law firm headquartered in Munich with a secondary office in Herrenberg near Stuttgart, organized as a PartG mbB (partnership). Founded in 1920, the firm employs roughly 26 professionals, comprising dual-qualified attorneys-at-law alongside patent attorneys, the majority of whom hold scientific or engineering degrees (mechanical, electrical, automotive, chemical, physics, biology, computer science) and several of whom have prior in-house IP experience at companies such as Siemens, Serono SA, and Genentech/Roche.

The firm's core services span the full IP lifecycle: patent and utility model prosecution before the German Patent Office, EPO and PCT; trademark and design registration and strategy; employee inventions advisory; opposition, appeal, nullity, revocation, infringement, and border-seizure litigation; IP searches; technology transfer and licensing; and international coordination through a network of partner law firms in nearly every jurisdiction. Technical coverage is broad and explicitly includes software/AI, semiconductors, battery and fuel-cell technology, biomedicine, and additive manufacturing. Internally, the firm operates proprietary Customized Client Workflows (CCW) for quality management and client delivery, and maintains a multilingual website in German, English, Chinese, and Japanese.

Commercially, Hoefer & Partner operates a sales-led, quote-based professional services model, billing on engagement scope across patent prosecution, representation before patent offices and courts, and IP advisory. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is direct through its Munich and Stuttgart offices, supplemented by long-tenured client relationships and professional referrals. The target base is horizontal across three primary segments: German and European Mittelstand companies, large multinational corporations, and start-ups; the firm does not disclose named customers and historically has not published revenue or ARR figures.

Name

Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB

Legal name

Hoefer und Partner Patentanwälte PartG mbB

Website

https://hoefer-pat.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB is a Munich- and Stuttgart-based German IP law firm founded in 1920 that prosecutes patents, trademarks and designs, advises on employee inventions, and litigates IP matters for Mittelstand firms, large corporations, and start-ups via a network of international partner firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intellectual Property Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Patent Prosecution & Portfolio Management (BPAHAMAA)

Keywords

• Patent prosecution services
• Trademark registration
• Design protection
• Intellectual property law
• IP litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Legal Services: Fees for legal services including patent prosecution, trademark registration, design protection, litigation, and IP advisory. Professional services firm revenue from consultation, filing, representation before patent offices and courts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB is a German patent attorney and law firm founded in 1920 that protects and defends intellectual property worldwide for medium-sized companies, major corporations, and start-ups. The firm provides advisory, prosecution, registration, and litigation services for patents and utility models, trademarks and designs, employee inventions, and related IP matters including searches, technology transfer, and international coordination through partner law firms.

Product overview

Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB is a German intellectual property law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal services for patents, trademarks, designs, and related IP matters. The firm operates as a unified service offering rather than a platform architecture, providing integrated advisory across technical areas (mechanical engineering, automotive, electrical engineering, physics, process engineering, telecommunications, software/AI, chemistry, life sciences, medical engineering) combined with legal expertise (patents/utility models, trademarks/designs, employee inventions, litigation, international consulting, searches, and technology transfer). The portfolio includes prosecution, opposition, litigation, and transactional services across German, European (EPC), and international (PCT) jurisdictions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• International Law Firms NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose cooperation with law firms in almost all other countries worldwide to coordinate patents, trademarks, and designs globally. Enables comprehensive international IP protection services for clients.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Jones Day: Global law firm with a significant IP practice covering patent prosecution, litigation, and licensing across major jurisdictions. Overlaps with Hoefer & Partner on patent prosecution for technology clients but operates as part of a much broader full-service firm.
• Bird & Bird LLP: Global law firm with a leading IP practice across Europe, Asia, and the US. Competes with Hoefer & Partner for large multinational patent portfolios and international IP coordination, but at much larger scale and with a broader practice mix.

Direct peers

• Cohausz & Florack: Düsseldorf/Munich-based IP boutique with a strong patent prosecution and litigation practice across technical fields including physics, engineering, and chemistry. Comparable on boutique scale and full IP lifecycle offerings.
• Hoffmann Eitle: One of the largest European IP law firms, headquartered in Munich with offices across Europe. Directly comparable as a patent prosecution and litigation specialist serving technology-intensive industries with scientifically trained attorneys.
• Bardehle Pagenberg: Germany-headquartered IP law firm with offices in Munich, Düsseldorf, Paris, Barcelona, and Milan. Comparable on full-spectrum patent/trademark/design services and cross-border IP coordination, with a larger geographic footprint.
• Maiwald Patentanwalts- und Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH: Munich-based IP boutique with strong technical specialization (chemistry, pharma, biotech, physics) and European patent prosecution focus. Comparable on size, service mix, and Mittelstand/corporate client base.
• Vossius & Partner: Munich-based IP boutique specializing in patent prosecution, opposition, and litigation with strong life sciences and chemistry coverage. Closely comparable on technical depth and German Mittelstand/European client focus.
• Grünecker Patent- und Rechtsanwälte: Major Munich-based German IP law firm offering patent prosecution, trademark, and litigation services with a large technical attorney bench. Closely comparable to Hoefer & Partner on geography, service scope (patents/trademarks/designs), and target client base of German Mittelstand and corporations.
• Eisenführ Speiser: Bremen/Munich-based German IP law firm providing patent, trademark, and design services with a technical attorney team. Comparable on service breadth and target client segments (Mittelstand and international corporations).

Others

• Siemens Patent Department (in-house benchmark): In-house IP function of a major German industrial corporation. Relevant as a counterparty (potential client) for Hoefer & Partner's IP prosecution services and as a benchmark for technical-vertical IP specialization in engineering/telecom, but not a commercial competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hoeferpartner
• Facebookfacebook.com/hoefer.pat
• Instagraminstagram.com/hoefer_partner_patent
• Xx.com/hoefer_pat
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hoefer-pat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hoefer & Partner Patentanwälte mbB