Twice the Impact – Kather Augenstein wins big at the Managing IP EMEA Awards 2025

Kather Augenstein was honoured with two awards at the 20th Managing IP EMEA Awards 2025 in London – “Impact Case of the Year Europe – Panasonic v OPPO (2024)” and “Impact Case of the Year Europe – Mammut Sports Group v Ortovox Sportartikel (2024)” – reaffirming its position as one of the leading law firms in European IP law.

Miriam Kiefer LL.M., Managing Partner at Kather Augenstein, comments on the awards: “With our outstanding team, we successfully led the landmark case Panasonic v OPPO before the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Having succeeded for Panasonic with the first SEP/FRAND case before the UPC is a significant milestone – for our boutique law firm as well as for European patent law in general. We also made history with Ortovox v Mammut. For Ortovox we obtained the first ex-parte preliminary injunction before the UPC, which was confirmed on appeal. These successes confirm our position as one of the leading law firms before the UPC.”

Receiving these awards is a meaningful recognition of our work and commitment. We sincerely thank our clients, peers and everyone who supports us.

Each year, the Managing IP EMEA Awards recognise those in-house teams, law firms and attorneys who are largely responsible for the most innovative and challenging IP work in the past year, as well as those who are driving the international market forward.

Background on the two cases:

On November 22, 2024, the Mannheim Local Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) issued a landmark decision in Panasonic v. Oppo, addressing alleged infringement of a 4G Standard Essential Patent (SEP), see .This was the UPC’s first comprehensive ruling on FRAND licensing obligations under European patent and competition law, setting a key precedent for future SEP cases. In its Panasonic campaign, Kather Augenstein cooperated with patent attorneys of rcp patent and Colonia Patent.

Ortovox has won its case at the UPC Court of Appeal, which upheld a sales ban on Mammut’s avalanche rescue devices in Austria and Germany, see. This marks the first time a company has successfully enforced a preliminary injunction (PI) at both UPC instances for Ortovox. Kather Augenstein cooperated with Hofstetter Schurack patent attorneys.

Further background information about Managing IP Awards can be found here.