Attorneys-at-Law - Klaka Rechtsanwälte

Profile

Dr. Ralf Hackbarth is active at an international level and with special expertise in the areas of trademark law, design patent law and unfair competition law. He provides comprehensive legal advice to German and international clients on the protection of intellectual property. One special focus of his activities is the enforcement of copyright and design patent rights in litigation before the specialized civil courts in Germany. He is a long-standing lecturer inter alia at the German bar association and at the FORUM management institute.

Languages:
German, English, French

references

"This is how you do it in trademark law: consistent, but not brutal", "very competent in trademark law and high knowledge of the automotive sector", competitor - JUVE Handbook of Commercial Law Firms 2023/2024 - Trade mark and competition law
"Flexible, competent and solution-oriented advice on trade mark law, which is tailored to the client’s specific needs." Legal 500 EMEA 2023/2024
"Due to his many years of experience and his extensive knowledge of trade mark law, he maneuvers the client through even most complex procedures with a clever strategy and without losing track." - Legal 500 EMEA 2023/2024
Hall of Fame - Legal 500 EMEA 2024
"Excellent trademark lawyer, very pleasant to deal with; offers targeted and well thought-out solutions. Maneuver through complex proceedings with a great overview." - Legal 500 Germany 2023/2024

Further references

Key Areas

Trademarks
Trademarks
Trademarks communicate the image of your products and are the voice of product marketing. Their value can quickly exceed the material value of a company. We support you in establishing and expanding your trademark portfolio, in monitoring it and in defending it vigorously. KLAKA helps with everything that makes up the "life" of a brand.
More about Trademark Law
Designs
Designs
The protection of products and product parts by registered and unregistered designs has been of increasing importance for many years. It is an effective instrument against counterfeits. This applies to national designs as well as to designs protected within the EU, to the acquisition of design protection as well as to the enforcement of design rights, out of court and before the courts.
More about design patent law
Unfair competition
Unfair competition
The global market is characterised by free trade. The rules of this international economic exchange are expressed in unfair competition law. Comparative or misleading advertising, product imitation, the headhunting of personnel or price dumping may result in unfair competition proceedings. This affects all sectors, from the automotive industry to financial services, from retailers to the internet trade, or from the pharmaceuticals industry to the increasingly deregulated energy supply market.
More about unfair competition law
Geographical indications
Geographical indications
Geographical indications and designations of origin draw people' attention to the special characteristics and particular quality of goods and correspondingly place the products on the market. The EU legislator has continuously reinforced the rights to geographical indications and designations of origin for wines, spirits, agricultural products and foodstuffs in the last few years. A regulation for the protection of geographical indications for industrial products is on the agenda.

More about Geographical indications
Domain names and IT
Domain names and IT
We register, manage and defend your domain names in UDRP proceedings and in court. We also defend your brand and company trademarks against identical domain names and against abusive domain applications and uses. We can here not only rely on our distinctive expertise in trademark law, but also on the experience and know-how of an arbitrator of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in UDRP proceedings who has been acting for many years.
More about domain names and IT

Career

1996		Joined KLAKA
1994		Admission to the bar
1993		Master of Laws, London, (intellectual property)
1993		Doctor of Law with doctorate on the Fundamental issues on the obligation to apply community trademark law, awarded second prize by the German Brands' Association
1992 - 1993		Guest lecturer, University College, London
1989 - 1992		Research assistant at the Universities of Constance (under Professor Fezer) and Cologne (under Professor Wiedemann)
1983 - 1986		Studies at the Universities of Hamburg and Freiburg

Memberships

German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR)
International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
Member of the Board of the German National Group and of the AIPPI Standing Committee on Geographical Indications
International Trademark Association (INTA)
European Community Trademark Association (ECTA)

publications

Dr. Ralf Hackbarth: Buchbesprechung zu Designgesetz 6. erw. Aufl., Eichmann/Jestaedt/Fink/Meiser GRUR 2020, 270.
Dr. Ralf Hackbarth: Lagerhalter besitzt nicht zu Zwecken des Angebots/Vertriebs, EuGH GRUR-Prax 2020, 205
Dr. Ralf Hackbarth: Informierter Benutzer bei Kfz-Modellpflege für Unterschiede sensibilisiert, BPatG GRUR-Prax 2020, 107

Further publications