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Dr. Ulf Heil

German Attorney at Law since 1981
Certified Intellectual Property Law Specialist since 2007
Partner

  +49 69 95508-147
  heil@schiedermair.com
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Languages: German, English

  • Competition Law and Trademark Law
  • Pharmaceutical Advertising
  • Copyright and Industrial Design Law
  • Freedom of Expression and Defamation Issues
  • Distribution Law
  • Litigation in the Above-Listed Areas

For more than 30 years, Ulf has been advising and representing clients in intellectual property matters, media law, protection of right to privacy issues, and distribution law.

As to his intellectual property practice, his primary areas of expertise include trademark law, copyright and design law as well as competition law, including pharmaceutical law. This includes comprehensive advice on all questions concerning the registration of intellectual property rights (in particular trademarks), trademark administration, and their monitoring).

In the area of distribution law, in particular franchise law, he has many years of experience advising on establishing franchise systems and drafting contracts therefor.  Ulf also supports franchisors in legal disputes with franchisees, including negotiating out-of-court settlements.

Ulf has industry-specific experience, especially in the areas of confectionaries and soft drinks, medical products, cosmetics and detergents, toys, consumer goods and services as well as in the cultural arena.

  • Represent Ferrero Deutschland GmbH in competition and trademark disputes regarding product piracy at all court levels in Germany
  • Advise Coca-Cola GmbH in competition matters
  • Represent a leading pharmaceutical company in various legal disputes with one of the world’s largest competitors at all court levels in Germany
  • Comprehensive competition and distribution advice to German Mattel GmbH
  • Defended a significant chocolate manufacturer in its rights to the traditional Easter Bunny figurine against its competitor, Lindt and its “Gold Bunny” (“Goldhase“) (seven court instances over an 11-year period)
  • Provide competition and distribution law advice and litigate related disputes for one of the largest cosmetics and cleaning detergent producers
  • Advise an international manufacturer of batteries, household goods, and hygiene products in competition and distribution law matters
  • Provided distribution law advice to, and litigated on behalf of, one of the largest suppliers of prefabricated houses
  • Provide franchise law advice to several companies in the catering industry

Selected Publications

  • Einheitliche Einwilligungserklärung für mehrere Werbekanäle? (Uniform Declaration of Consent for Multiple Advertising Channels?), WRP 2018, pp. 535 et seq.
  • Erstbegehungsgefahr durch Ausstellen auf internationaler Fachmesse (Danger of First Infringement by Product Presentation at International Trade Fairs) WRP 2015, pp. 688 et seq.
  • Werbung mit Gewinnspielen (Advertising with Promotional Contests), Absatzwirtschaft Volume 7/2006, p. 54
  • Produkthaftung für Medizinprodukte (Product Liability of Medical Products) in Anhalt/Dieners, Handbuch des Medizinprodukterechts (Handbook of Medical Products Law), 2nd Ed., C.H. Beck, Munich 2017, pp. 835 et seq. (co-authored with Dr. Andrea Mayer-Sandrock)
  • Gewinnspiele – Eine unendliche Geschichte? (Promotional Contests – A Never-Ending Story?) WRP 1998, p. 839
  • Zur dreifachen Schadensberechnung bei Übernahme sonderrechtlich nicht geschützter Leistungen (Treble Damages Calculation Upon the Transfer of Unprotected Performance) GRUR 1994, p. 26 (co-authored with Dr. Michael Roos)
  • Zur wettbewerbsrechtlichen Zulässigkeit von Gewinnspielen (Permission of Promotional Contests Under Competition Law) WRP 1989, p. 647
  • Various other articles concerning competition law and on advertising in the health care system in pertinent journals
  • Various short articles and columns in magazines and newspapers

Memberships

  • German Association of Intellectual Property and Copyright Law (Deutsche Vereinigung für Gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht e.V. (GRUR))
  • International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (Internationale Vereinigung für den Schutz des geistigen Eigentums (AIPPI))
  • Inter-Disciplinary Center for Intellectual Property at the University of Mannheim (IZG Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Geistiges Eigentum an der Universität Mannheim e.V.)
  • German Judicial Day Association (Deutscher Juristentag e.V.)

Activities

  • Lecturer at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts since 2012
  • Judge with the Hessian Disciplinary Court for Attorneys since 2005

Ulf is a German Attorney at Law as well as a Certified Intellectual Property Law Specialist and has been a Partner at SCHIEDERMAIR in Frankfurt since 2005. Before joining SCHIEDERMAIR, Ulf was a Partner in the international law firm Clifford Chance (formerly Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster) in its Frankfurt office.

He studied law at the Ruhr University in Bochum, where he received his doctorate in 1983 with a thesis on civil procedure.

Ulf  has been a judge at the Hessian Bar Court since 2005. Since 2012, he has held a teaching position at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in the field of copyright law.

Various editions of JUVE Handbook of Commercial Law Firms describe Ulf as a “very experienced, reliable, competent, top negotiator” and as a lawyer who “gets to the heart of things both orally and in writing”. He is attested as providing “highly professional advice in trademark law” and gives a “very confident appearance in court”.

Furthermore, Ulf has been listed as one of the “World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” in the World Trademark Review for several years and is listed as one of “Germany’s Best Lawyers 2022” by the Handelsblatt.