Marc Pütz-Poulalion

Marc Pütz-Poulalion advises companies on trade mark and design law, copyright law and competition law. His work includes court proceedings, in particular concerning the infringement of intellectual property rights, as well as official proceedings concerning the existence or cancellation of registered rights. He conducts proceedings for his clients up to the Federal Court of Justice and in proceedings concerning European industrial property rights up to the European Court of Justice.

He also specialises in health product law, including the law on the advertising in the field of health, cosmetics law and the law on beauty products in general. He advises companies comprehensively on the admissibility of claims in advertising, be it beauty-related claims for cosmetics or advertising claims for medicinal products and food supplements.

Marc Pütz-Poulalion studied in Cologne and Paris with further training in New York City and Montreal, Canada. From his work as an in-house lawyer for international brand companies, he knows the entrepreneur’s view of brands and brand processes. From his more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer in disputes before trade mark offices and courts, he knows the risks and pitfalls of contentious proceedings and knows when to conduct proceedings and when it is better to avoid them. He is fluent in three languages (French, German, English) and conducts proceedings at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in all three languages.

Recently, Marc Pütz-Poulalion successfully obtained a six-figure compensation amount for a client in a trade mark case. In a much-noticed decision of the Federal Court of Justice (after two referrals to the ECJ), he obtained a groundbreaking judgement for his client on questions of tobacco advertising (Federal Court of Justice & ECJ, Pro Rauchfrei I and Pro Rauchfrei II). In addition, he recently obtained the retransfer of an unlawfully transferred domain by way of an interim injunction. He has been involved in numerous fundamental decisions, including the enforcement of colour marks and the registration of a tactile mark.

He has particular experience in taking over proceedings that have run into difficult waters: Proceedings that take an unfavourable course, whether as a result of sub-optimal advice or conduct of proceedings, or due to other circumstances. The aim is to find ways, even in seemingly deadlocked situations, to give the dispute a new twist or to significantly strengthen one’s own negotiating position.

Marc Pütz-Poulalion regularly publishes on trade mark law, design law, domain law and the law on the advertising in the field of health.