DANCKELMANN UND KERST involved in the very first two video Court hearings at the Regional Court in Düsseldorf

DANCKELMANN UND KERST is also technically at the top of UWG proceedings. The IP partners Nikolaus Konstantin Rehart and Dr. Jan-Felix Isele took part in the very first two video hearings at the Düsseldorf Regional Court on 6 May 2020. Although § 128a ZPO allows oral hearings via video conference - i.e. without the physical presence of the lawyers and parties - in civil law proceedings already since some years now, this provision has rarely been applied in practice. The Corona Pandemic is now (also) changing the way hearings are conducted in the courts.

Video court hearings in intellectual property law have not yet existed in Düsseldorf. The first two hearings in accordance with § 128 a ZPO took place on 06.05.2020 at the Düsseldorf Regional Court. The IP-lawyers of DANCKELMANN UND KERST litigate competition proceedings throughout Germany, frequently in Düsseldorf as well, and were involved in both video negotiations. The presiding judge of the 7th Chamber for Commercial Matters sat in the Court room 2.111 of the Regional Court in Düsseldorf, while the IP partners of DANCKELMANN UND KERST were connected from Frankfurt live into the Court room via video conference technology. The public followed the oral proceedings in the courtroom of the court in picture and sound via a screen. The hearing lasted over three hours. DANCKELMANN UND KERST therefore is already well prepared for all further video hearings in court, which can be expected to increase in the future.

https://www.justiz.nrw.de/JM/Presse/presse_weitere/PresseOLGs/31_03_2020_1/index.php