New president Patent Division Düsseldorf Appeal Court

Judge Kühnen, the wel known patent judge in the reginal District court of Düsseldorf for patent litigation, has recently been appointed as the new chairman of the Patent Division at the Düsseldorf Appeal Court (Oberlandesgericht). He succeeds Judge Steinacker, who retires after many years as the chairman of the court.

The Düsseldorf courts for patent litigation are the most popular patent trial forums for patentees in Europe. Just the regional court has about 500 cases a year, which is more than anywhere else in Europe. It is not clear who will succeed Judge Kühnen as the chairman of the regional court in Düsseldorf, but there are strong indications that Judge Ulrike Voss will be the new District Court President. She already heads one of the two chambers for patent litigation at the regional court provisionally.

It would be a good thing if we would find an opportunity to have decisions by the main German patent courts available online as soon as they are handed down, and of course it would mean wider distribution if those could be provided in english as well. Hopefully sponsors can be found to make these patent decisions available online in english right after delivery. Who picks up the gloves?