SONNENBERG HARRISON PARTNERS

What SONNENBERG HARRISON PARTNERS does

Sonnenberg Harrison Partners is a private intellectual property and technology law firm founded in 2020, operating through two independent legal entities — Sonnenberg Harrison Partnerschaft mbB in Germany and Sonnenberg Harrison Partners SARL in France — with six offices across Munich, Berlin, Paris, London, Vienna, and Zurich. The firm provides patent prosecution and litigation, trademark registration and enforcement, copyright and design protection, data protection and IT law, employee invention law, competition law, and advisory on the new Unified Patent Court / Unitary Patent system. Beyond conventional IP work, it offers specialized practices in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, Industry 4.0, and software, with partners admitted as representatives before the European Patent Office, the German Federal Patent Court, the EUIPO, the Federal Court of Justice, and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The client base comprises local and foreign corporate clients, funded start-ups, cooperative research centres and research institutes, and investors, served through a partner-led sales motion built on professional reputation, cross-border referrals, and direct engagement with assigned responsible attorneys. The firm's revenue model is professional-services billing: fees calculated on a regularly updated schedule, charged primarily on hourly rates (billed in six-minute units) or pre-set scale items, or a combination of both, with rates adjusted by professional expertise, urgency, value added, and matter risk, billed monthly. No external investment or parent-company ownership is indicated; the partnership is controlled by its founding partners Fred Sonnenberg, Harald Hofmann, Alexander Schmidt, Marko Brumnik, and Robert Harrison, with H.-Peter Staudt serving as Partner Emeritus following the end-2023 merger of his Ingolstadt patent firm into the partnership.

The technical depth of the team is a defining feature: partners and associates hold qualifications spanning physics (TU Munich, Oxford, Max Planck Institutes, Saclay CEA), mechanical engineering with automotive specialization, chemistry and nanoscience, biophysics, telecommunications, and semiconductor technology, enabling the firm to prosecute and litigate patents across the deep-tech stack rather than purely transactional IP work.

Name

SONNENBERG HARRISON PARTNERS

Legal name

Sonnenberg Harrison Partnerschaft mbB

Website

https://sonnenbergharrison.law

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sonnenberg Harrison Partners is a private European intellectual property and technology law firm operating across six offices in Germany, France, the UK, Austria, and Switzerland, serving corporate clients, funded start-ups, research institutes, and investors with patent, trademark, and litigation services plus specialized AI and quantum IP advisory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Legal Services: Fees calculated primarily according to a regularly updated schedule. Fees are usually based on hourly rates, pre-set scale items, or a combination of both. Hourly rates are charged in six-minute units and vary according to the expertise of the professionals involved and the nature of the work performed. Charges may be adjusted for skill level required, urgency, value added, risk, and use of unique precedent libraries and knowledge management systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sonnenberg Harrison Partners is an international intellectual property and technology law firm providing comprehensive patent prosecution, trademark registration, IP litigation, and specialized advisory services across AI, quantum technologies, software, IT law, Industry 4.0, data protection, and competition law. The firm acts for corporate clients, funded start-ups, cooperative research centres, and research institutes through offices in Germany, France, the UK, Austria, and Switzerland.

Product overview

SONNENBERG HARRISON PARTNERS is a dual-entity intellectual property and technology law firm operating as Sonnenberg Harrison Partnerschaft mbB (Germany) and Sonnenberg Harrison Partners SARL (France). The firm provides comprehensive IP legal services across 17 distinct service offerings organized into core IP services (patents, trademarks, litigation), specialized technology advisory (AI legal services, quantum technologies, software, IT law, Industry 4.0), and enforcement/procedural services (border seizures, UPC proceedings). The portfolio includes strategic advisory services (IP strategy, data protection, competition law, employee invention law, merchandising/licensing) and copyright protection. The firm serves international clients from offices in Germany, France, UK, Austria, and Switzerland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Patent Services Comprehensive patent prosecution, litigation, and portfolio management services including European, German, and international patent applications, opposition proceedings, and patent disputes for corporate clients and inventors.
• Trademark Services Trademark registration, prosecution, and enforcement services including European and German trademark searches, applications, and litigation for brand owners.
• IP Litigation Services Legal representation in patent litigation, trademark disputes, and intellectual property conflicts before German and European courts including the Unified Patent Court.
• Software and IT Law Services Legal advisory on software-related intellectual property, computer-implemented inventions, software licensing, and information technology law including data protection and digital business matters.
• Artificial Intelligence Legal Services Legal advisory services specifically addressing intellectual property issues related to artificial intelligence technologies for AI developers and adopters.
• Quantum Technologies Legal Services Legal advisory services for intellectual property protection in quantum computing and quantum technology domains for research institutes and technology companies.
• IP Strategy and Management Strategic consulting on intellectual property portfolio development, exploitation, and commercial optimization for corporate clients and investors.
• Data Protection Services Legal compliance advisory on GDPR, data protection regulations, and privacy law requirements for businesses operating in Europe.
• Copyright Services Legal protection and enforcement of copyright and related rights for creators, publishers, and content-based businesses.
• Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent Services Legal representation and advisory for the European unitary patent system and UPC proceedings for patent proprietors seeking pan-European enforcement.
• Trade Secrets Protection Legal strategies for protecting confidential business information and trade secrets through contractual and litigation measures.
• Employee Invention Law Legal counsel on employee invention rights, compensation, and assignment agreements for employers and inventors.
• Merchandising and Licensing Licensing negotiation and merchandising rights management for intellectual property assets and brand portfolios.
• Border Seizure Services Customs enforcement actions against counterfeit goods and piracy at border crossings for brand owners.
• Competition Law Services Legal advisory on antitrust and competition law aspects of intellectual property for businesses.
• Industry 4.0 Legal Services Legal advisory for intellectual property in advanced manufacturing, IoT, and Industry 4.0 technologies.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• European Patent Office (EPO)coreOthersFirm members are registered representatives before the European Patent Office. European Patent Attorneys are members of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (EPI). The firm handles patent prosecution and litigation before EPO.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mewburn Ellis LLP: UK-headquartered firm of European Patent Attorneys and solicitors specializing in high-tech, software, AI and life sciences IP; comparable technically-fluent, mid-sized competitor for European patent work.
• Vossius & Partner Patentanwälte Rechtsanwälte mbB: Munich-based IP boutique active in patent prosecution and litigation before EPO, German courts and UPC; comparable in size and focus as a technically-specialist competitor in the DACH market.
• Hoffmann Eitle: Large Munich-based patent and trademark attorney firm with deep EPO and German Federal Patent Court practices; highly comparable as a German-rooted, technically-specialist IP firm serving corporate clients in electronics, mechanics, and life sciences.
• Bardehle Pagenberg: Munich-headquartered IP boutique with offices in Germany, France, Spain and beyond offering patent prosecution, trademark and litigation; directly competes with Sonnenberg Harrison for European IP mandates and UPC work.
• Maiwald Patentanwalts- und Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH: German IP law firm covering patents, trademarks, designs, litigation and licensing with strong pharma, biotech and chemistry practices; comparable mid-sized European IP specialist competing for the same corporate and startup IP work.
• Grüner Kanzlei (Grüner Rechtsanwälte): Munich-rooted IP and technology law firm; comparable German boutique competitor with overlapping patent prosecution and IP litigation practices.
• Zacco A/S: Pan-European IP consultancy with offices across Scandinavia, Germany, UK and beyond offering patents, trademarks and IP strategy; comparable multi-jurisdiction platform serving corporate IP portfolios.

Broad incumbents

• Bird & Bird LLP: Global full-service law firm with one of the largest dedicated IP practices in Europe and significant UPC capacity; competes for the same cross-border IP mandates from a much larger platform.
• Hogan Lovells International LLP: Global law firm with a leading IP, patent and technology practice; competes for high-stakes European patent litigation and portfolio work, especially UPC matters, from a far larger scale.

Others

• Siemens AG IP function (in-house benchmark): Large in-house IP department at a Munich-headquartered industrial technology company; representative of the type of corporate client that engages European IP boutiques and represents demand for sophisticated patent prosecution and litigation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sonnenbergharrison

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 SONNENBERG HARRISON PARTNERS