Dr Philipp Cepl
Dr Philipp Cepl is a Disputes partner in our patent litigation practice in Düsseldorf.
Philipp has a broad patent litigation practice that covers the tech, life sciences (including pharma, medical devices and biotechnology) and automotive sectors. He represents domestic and international clients in patent infringement and validity cases before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and national German courts, including the Federal Patent Court (BPatG). He has participated in more than 150 patent infringement cases over the course of his 20+ year career.
Philipp is co‑editor of a leading patent litigation commentary and regularly contributes to the German IP community through publications and speaking engagements. He is recommended for Patent Litigation by leading directories such as The Legal 500 Germany and IAM Patent.
Accolades
- "Philipp Cepl is an outstanding patent lawyer. He is absolutely reliable and has enormous knowledge of substantive patent law as well as procedural law and, on top of that, he knows how to assess the judges very well.", Legal500 Deutschland 2025
- Listed in "Best Lawyers in Germany” for Intellectual Property Law, Best Lawyers/Handelsblatt 2025
- "Philipp Cepl is a fantastic lawyer who understands the business needs of his clients. He is a smart strategic thinker, with an impressive knowledge of the law and excellent litigation and drafting skills.", IAM Patent 1000, 2024
Experience & capabilities
Selected matters
- a US‑based company on multi‑patent litigation before the UPC and national courts concerning wireless‑charging technology
- a leading US pharmaceutical company on several preliminary injunction proceedings against various generics manufacturers for infringement of a second medical use patent
- an international telecommunication device manufacturer in a large-scale patent dispute including infringement and nullity actions brought by a non-practicing entity, covering a total of nine standard-essential and implementation patents
- a global pharmaceutical company in a preliminary injunction proceeding on the infringement of a Supplementary Protection Certificate covering a veterinary drug
- a car manufacturer in patent infringement proceedings before German courts concerning the LTE standard
- a globally leading medical device manufacturer on two preliminary injunction proceedings concerning the infringement of a patent for a video laryngoscope at Medica trade fair
- a client in court proceedings concerning the transfer of a patent covering a recombinant pharmaceutical for the treatment of a hematologic disease
- a client in a patent infringement action relating to co-browsing
Services
Background
Philipp studied law at the University of Cologne, where he passed his first State Examination in 1999. He completed his second State Examination at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne in 2003 and obtained his doctorate in law (Dr. jur.) from the Technical University of Dresden in 2004.
Before joining HSF Kramer in 2026, Philipp has been a patent litigator in other leading international law firms in Düsseldorf and Cologne.
