General Terms of Engagement

I. Scope of Application

  1. The following terms of engagement apply to all present and future agreements between 2SPL – Schuler – Schacht – Platzer – Lehmann Patentanwälte PartGmbB (hereinafter “2SPL”) and its clients for the purpose of legal advice and/or representation (hereinafter “Engagement”). This includes in particular the filing of and prosecution of proceedings for intellectual property rights, the preparation of legal opinions, and representation in administrative or court proceedings, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing or mandatorily prescribed by law. The client’s general terms and conditions shall apply only if expressly agreed in writing between the parties.
  2. Engagements are in principle awarded to 2SPL as contracting party, not to individual partners or persons acting on behalf of 2SPL.
  3. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, third parties are not included within the scope of protection of the engagement (no contract for the benefit of third parties or with protective effect for third parties).

II. Scope and Performance of the Engagement

  1. The granting of an engagement and the issuance of instructions within the scope of an engagement should be made in text form. 2SPL is entitled to execute instructions and orders given orally or by implication, in particular to preserve deadlines or the client’s rights.
  2. The engagement is only concluded upon acceptance of the instruction by 2SPL. Until acceptance, 2SPL remains free to decide whether to accept the engagement.
  3. The subject matter of the engagement is the agreed legal service, not the achievement of a specific legal or commercial outcome. The engagement is performed in accordance with the principles of proper professional practice.
  4. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, the engagement is handled on the basis of the applicable intellectual property protection systems, in particular German law, the law of the European Union applicable in Germany, the European Patent Convention (EPC), the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and US patent law. The inclusion of US patent law is limited exclusively to intellectual property proceedings before the USPTO and does not give rise, in particular, to the application of US tort law, US damages law, or general US contract law. For engagements involving other legal systems, 2SPL employs qualified foreign representatives to carry out the relevant actions.
  5. 2SPL is entitled to engage qualified employees and external third parties (e.g., attorneys-at-law or foreign correspondent attorneys) for the performance of the engagement, provided that they are subject to professional or contractual confidentiality obligations.
  6. Communication between 2SPL, the client, and third parties may be conducted by e-mail. Unless the client instructs otherwise, this is done in unencrypted form. The client is aware of the risks associated with unencrypted e-mail communication (e.g. lack of confidentiality and integrity).
  7. 2SPL is only obliged to file appeals and legal remedies if it has received and accepted a corresponding instruction in text form.
  8. Searches for prior art or earlier rights of third parties are only conducted on the basis of an express instruction in text form.
  9. Use of AI-assisted systems: To increase efficiency and quality, 2SPL may use AI-assisted systems in the processing of engagements, for example for text analysis, preparation of document drafts, or process optimisation. The systems used are operated exclusively on servers within the European Union and are subject to the same strict confidentiality, data protection, and security requirements as our internal systems. The use of client data for training AI models by third parties is contractually excluded. Full substantive and legal responsibility for the work results remains with 2SPL.

III. Client’s Duties of Cooperation

  1. The client is obliged to inform 2SPL fully, accurately, and in a timely manner of all facts and circumstances relevant to the performance of the engagement and to provide all necessary documents. 2SPL is entitled to rely on the client’s information as being correct and complete.
  2. The client is required to carefully review drafts and documents transmitted by 2SPL to verify that the factual information contained therein is correct and complete.
  3. Failures by the client to fulfil its duties of cooperation may result in legal disadvantages, in particular the loss of deadlines. 2SPL shall not be liable for any damages arising therefrom.

IV. Fees, Advance Payments, and Due Date

  1. Fees (honoraria, disbursements, charges) are governed by the agreed fee arrangement or, in the absence thereof, by the applicable fee schedules of 2SPL. Subsidiarily, the statutory fee provisions apply, in particular the German Attorneys’ Fees Act (RVG).
  2. 2SPL is entitled to request a reasonable advance payment for the fees likely to be incurred and to make the commencement or continuation of its services conditional upon receipt of such payment.
  3. Invoices from 2SPL are due and payable upon receipt by the client. If the client is in default of payment, 2SPL is entitled to charge statutory default interest. Set-off against claims of 2SPL is only permissible with undisputed or legally established claims.
  4. If a requested advance payment is not made, or if the client falls into arrears with payments, 2SPL is entitled to discontinue its further activities. 2SPL shall not be liable for any damages resulting from such discontinuation of services.
  5. The client shall provide 2SPL with its VAT identification number, if applicable, and consents to its use in connection with the invoicing process.

V. Liability and Limitation of Liability

  1. For liabilities of 2SPL arising from damages due to deficient professional performance, creditors may only have recourse to the partnership assets of the limited liability partnership (Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mit beschränkter Berufshaftung).
  2. For damages caused by 2SPL through simple negligence – with the exception of damages arising from injury to life, body, or health, as well as damages giving rise to a manufacturer’s liability under § 1 of the German Product Liability Act (ProdHaftG) – all claims for damages by the client arising from this contractual relationship are limited to a maximum amount of EUR 5 million (in words: five million euros) per claim.
  3. 2SPL maintains professional indemnity insurance exceeding the statutory minimum requirements. At the client’s express request, a higher level of insurance coverage may be agreed for an individual case, provided the client bears the additional costs involved.
  4. A claim for damages against 2SPL becomes time-barred after one year from the date on which the client became aware of the damage and the event giving rise to the claim, but no later than six years after the event giving rise to the claim. The claim lapses if legal action is not brought within six months of the written rejection of the claim and the client has been informed of this consequence.

VI. Termination of Engagement

  1. The engagement may be terminated by either party at any time. The right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected. Termination by 2SPL must not occur at an inopportune time, unless the relationship of trust necessary for the handling of the engagement has been permanently and materially disrupted.
  2. Upon termination of the engagement, any services not yet invoiced shall be billed without delay and are immediately due and payable.
  3. Upon termination of the engagement, the client is entitled to the return of its file. 2SPL is entitled to refuse return until all outstanding fee and disbursement claims have been settled, unless retention would be unreasonable in the circumstances.

VII. Governing Law, Place of Performance, and Jurisdiction

  1. The engagement relationship and all claims arising therefrom are governed exclusively by German law, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, German private international law, and with the express exclusion of US tort law and US damages law (US Tort Law).
  2. The place of performance is Munich. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with the engagement relationship is, to the extent permitted by law, the Regional Court of Munich I (Landgericht München I).

VIII. Final Provisions

Amendments or additions to these terms require text form to be effective. This also applies to the waiver of this text form requirement.

Should individual provisions of these terms of engagement be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby. The parties undertake to replace the invalid provision with a valid arrangement that comes closest to the economic purpose of the original provision.

As of: March 2026

General Terms of Engagement (PDF Download)

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