Michael Horak, LL.M.

Attorney-at-law · Graduate Engineer
Certified Intellectual Property Law Specialist
Certified Copyright and Media Law Specialist

“We are a team, we complete each other and we only have one goal: Your Success.”

Secretary

Vanesa Fernandez
Tel. 0511.357 356-18
Fax 0511.357 356-29
E-Mail fernandez@bwlh.de

Languages

 German
 English
 French
 Japanese

Biography

Born in 1967; studied law and electrical engineering in Stuttgart, Erlangen and Hannover; 1994 graduated in electrical engineering (main focus on computer science and message processing, seminar paper regarding “analysis and modeling of integrated circuits for image processing“; work of thesis entitled „construction techniques for integrated systems“); from 1995 to 1998 associate at the patent law office; 1996 first state legal examination; 1997/1998 associate at international law offices as Freshfields (Hamburg), Gleiss Lutz (Stuttgart) and Clifford Chance (London); 1997 to 1998 second state legal examination (internationally recognized as a degree in law);1998 to 2002 associate at Ritter, Gross & Partner; 1999 LL.M. (Master of Laws); specialization: “European Management and Employment Law” at the University of Leicester (England); 1998/2003 publications: “Environmental protection and competition”, in EUDUR, Prof. Rengeling, ed.); 2000 advising engineer of the Chamber of Engineers in Lower Saxony; 2003 partner at the Law Firm Horak Attorneys at Law; sworn interpreter/translator for courts and notaries in Hannover district (English). Admitted to Local Court and Regional Court of Hannover, also admitted to the Regional Appeal Court of Celle, licensed to practice in German local and regional courts, with the exception of matters for a civil court. Representative of the German patent and trademark department, of the Federal Patent Court, European office for Harmonization for trademarks, such as the International Bureau of WIPO, Domain-name arbitration court and numerous other offices and courts. Certified specialist for intellectual property law since 07/2006. President of the Preliminary Examination Committee for certified specialist Lawyers in the main areas of legal protection of bar associations in Braunschweig, Oldeburg, and Cell, from the implementation of lawyers for industrial property rights protection, in 2006. Certified specialist for copyright and media law since 2012. University lecturer for higher education institutions (two colleges and one university) in industrial property rights protection and IT-rights. Numerous technical publications in trade journals regarding commercial property rights protection, author and media rights, IT-rights, competition and antitrust law.

Membership

International Bar Association; British-German-Jurist-Association, German-American Lawyers’ Association; American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA); Task Force covering Employment Law of German Lawyer Association; European Economic Interest Grouping (EAK EWiV); Legal Protection of Industrial Property and Copyright(GRUR); German Law and Informatics Association (DGRI);Association of German Electrical Engineers (VDE); Association of experts on Legal Protection of Industrial Property (VPP e.V),

Focuses

Intellectual Property (Patent, trademark, copyright law, domains, etc.):

• Patent law
• Trademark law
• Domain law, domain name law
• Utility models law
• Industrial design
• License right

Competition and anti-trust law

• UWG-Right
• Advertising law
• Trademark law
• GWB law
• Merger control proceedings
• Procurement law

Technical rights (including IT, internet, energy and telecommunication)

• IT rights (Computer right, Software right, legal protection of data)
• Energy law (In particular energy law and energy antitrust law)
• Internet right, online right
• Telecommunication law
• Right of technical standard
• Construction law, engineering law, architects' law
• Copyright law (moral rights, copyright of exploitation, copyright utilization rights and ancillary copyright) and Media Law
• Music law
• Publishing law
• Artist contract law
• Photo right
• Film right
• Event right

Contractual law

European Law

Pharmaceutical and food law

Taxes Law and Economic Criminal Law (with reference to the aforementioned legal areas)