Legal form
König | Naeven | Schmetz ist an exterior partnership (Außensozietät) of Patent and Law Firm König & Naeven (partnership [Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts], partners: Dr. Ralf Naeven und Christian König) and Patent & Trademark Office Schmetz (owner: Walter Schmetz)

V.A.T. Identification Number

Patent and Law Firm König & Naeven: DE  213762816
Patent and Trademark Office Schmetz: DE  239773619

Professional liability insurance
R+ V Allgemeine Versicherung AG
Raiffeisenplatz 1 | 65189 Wiesbaden
Geographical limit: European Union and European Economic Area

Professional Titles and competent Bar Associations
Dr. Ralf Naeven: Patentanwalt, European Patent Attorney, European Trademark and Design Attorney
Walter Schmetz: Patentanwalt, European Trademark and Design Attorney
Christian König: Rechtsanwalt (Attorney-at-law)

Our Patentanwälte are accredited in Germany and members of the German Patentanwaltskammer (Chamber of German Patent Attorneys), Tal 29, 80331 Munich, phone: +49 89 242278-0, www.patentanwalt.de

Our European Patent Attorney is registered at the European Patent Office and member of  the European Patent Institute (epi), Bayerstraße 83, 80335 Munich, phone: +49 89 24 20 52-0, www.patentepi.com.

Our European Trademark and Design Attorneys are registered at the Office for the Harmonisation of the Internal Market, Avenida de Europa 4, 03080 Alicante, Spain, phone: +34 965 139 100, www.oami.eu.

Our Rechtsanwalt is accredited in Germany and a member of the Rechtsanwaltskammer für den Oberlandesgerichtsbezirk Köln (regional chamber of attorneys-at-law Cologne), Riehler Straße 30, 50668 Köln, phone: +49(0)221973010-0, www.rak-koeln.de

Professional Rules and Codes of Conduct
The following professional rules and statutes apply to the Patent Attorneys:

  • German Patentanwaltsordnung (PatAnwO) [German Federal Patent Attorneys Act]
  • German Berufsordnung der Patentanwälte (BOPA) [German Rules of professional practice for Patent Attorneys]
  • Rules and Regulations of FICPI (International Federation of Patent Attorneys)

The German professional rules and codes of conduct are accessible at www.patentanwalt.de. The Rules and Regulations of FICPI are accessible at www.patentepi.com.

For the European Patent Attorney, the following professional rules and regulations apply, as well:

  • Code of Professional Conduct of epi,
  • Rules of the Disciplinary Committee at epi
  • These rules and regulations are accessible via www.patentepi.com (under "Rules and Regulations").

For the Attorney-at-law the following professional rules and regulations apply:

  • Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung (BRAO) [German Federal Lawyer's Act]
  • Berufsordnung der Rechtsanwälte (BORA) [German Rules of professional practice for Attorneys-at-law]
  • Fachanwaltsordnung (FAO) [German Code governing certified specialist Attorneys-at-law]
  • Gesetz über die Vergütung der Rechtsanwältinnen und Rechtsanwälte (RVG) [German law governing the fees of Attorneys-at-law]
  • den Berufsregeln der Rechtsanwälte der Europäischen Union (CCBE-Berufsregeln) [Codes of Conduct of Attorneys-at-law in the European Union]

All these rules and regulations are accessible via www.brak.de (under "Berufsrecht") in German and English

According to their respective rules of professional practice, Patent Attorneys and Attorneys-at-law are not allowed to represent clients in a conflict of interest. Therefore, we examine prior to accepting representation if there may be a conflict of interest.

Mediation out of court
In cases of conflicts between Attorneys-at-laws and their clients, it is possible to apply for mediation out of court with the regional chamber of attorneys-at-law Cologne (according to section 73 (2) lit. 3 and section 73 (5) BRAO) or at the mediation body at the German Federal chamber of attorneys-at-law, accessible via www.brak.de, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

European Online Resolution Platform
Following European Union Regulation 524/2013, the European Union has introduced an Online Resolution Platform for cases regarding online sales contracts and online service contracts between businesses and consumers in the European Union. Further information is accessible at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.