Dipl.-Phys. André Nickel

German Patent Attorney, European Patent Attorney, Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC)

nickel@grunecker.de     S/MIME

+49 (0) 89 21 23 50

Office: Munich

Languages: German, English

Expertise

André Nickel specialises in patent law, particularly in the fields of software, information technology, AI, consumer electronics, automation technology, and electromobility. He represents leading global companies as well as start-ups.

His practice focuses on complex opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office and regular representation in nullity and patent infringement proceedings. To this end, he appears before the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, the Federal Patent Court, the Federal Court of Justice and the patent litigation chambers.

Obtaining and defending software patents is one of his core competencies, and his expertise includes advising and conducting proceedings in borderline areas of technology. He is in regular contact with international colleagues on the relevant European requirements. The network he has built up over many years benefits campaigns to obtain intellectual property rights around the globe.

The foundation of his value-adding consulting practice is a rich pool of patent prosecution proceedings, particularly in the fields of computer technology, process and data modelling, machine learning, deep learning, AI, machine vision, speech processing, communications engineering, networks, virtual machines, cloud computing, automation, sensor technology, autonomous driving, and modified risk products.

André is a member of GRUR, LES, VDE, VDI, I3PM, FICPI and AIPLA.

Areas

  • Patent Law
  • Patent Infringement
  • Due Diligence

Technical Fields

  • Information Technology
  • Artificial intelligence and ML
  • Software
  • Automation Technology
  • Autonomous drive, computer vision and electromobility
  • Aerosol Generating Devices / Modified Risk Products

Vita

  • Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich: Diploma in Physics, 1999
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich & Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics: scientific work in numerical astrophysics
  • University of Strasbourg: Master Droit et Etudes Européennes, IP Law and Management (MIPLM), 2008
  • Partner at Grünecker, since 2016
  • Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC), 2023

Publications & lectures

Legal 500 Country Guide Germany: Artificial Intelligence

How the UPC and European Patents with Unitary Effect Reach Beyond Europe to the United States: ipwatchdog.com

Publications on patent law and IP strategy
e.g. in GRUR Prax

Awards & Rankings

Core Attorney – Prosecution and official Proceedings (Tier 1)
“Key figures in the team include … André Nickel (including computer technology, artificial intelligence, process and data modeling)”, Legal500, 2023