More than 45 years of success
The success story of K&W begins in the year 1974, when Rainer A. Kuhnen established a law firm in Freising, which was then established together with Paul-Alexander Wacker as the KUHNEN & WACKER firm in 1976. The two patent attorneys complemented one another perfectly in their long and successful collaboration. The resulting synergies were the basis for our law firm’s excellent national and international reputation.
Rainer A. Kuhnen completed his studies in aerospace technology at the Technical University of Munich and became a licensed patent attorney in 1974. He founded KUHNEN & WACKER and dealt mainly with mechanical engineering applications for patents and designs and the acquisition of new clients. He became part of European legal history with the decision of the “Epilady” case which he brought about. Rainer A. Kuhnen died in March 2015, at age 71.
Paul-Alexander Wacker studied electrical engineering and economics in Munich at the Technical University as well as law at Ludwig-Maximilians-University. He became a licensed patent attorney in 1975. At K&W, he mainly worked in the trademark department. In addition to that, he handled the external presentation of the law firm from its earliest days. After retiring as a partner in 2012, he acted as “of Counsel” to the firm until 2014.
Intellectual property with a tradition – the K&W success story
1974 | Rainer A. Kuhnen founded his law firm and thus laid the foundation for the KUHNEN & WACKER IP law firm established later. |
1976 | Rainer A. Kuhnen and Paul-Alexander Wacker established the KUHNEN & WACKER law firm at an address in Schneggstraße in Freising. The small IP law firm started off with five employees and the three departments of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and trademarks. However, K&W quickly increased its capacity and continued to hire new patent attorneys and specialized staff. |
1991 | The law firm already had 50 staff and moved to larger premises at Alois-Steinecker-Straße. In 1998, another move to the Villa Bertha became necessary. |
2001 | Due to further expansions, K&W moved to the newly renovated and listed Art-Nouveau era building at Prinz-Ludwig-Straße, which has been the law firm’s address since then. |
2004 | Stephan Kopp and Rainer K. Kuhnen became managing partners. |
2008 - 2014 | Dr. Michael Topf, Dr. Christian Thomas, Dr. Michael Zeitler, Detlef von Ahsen and Dr. Florian Kühbeck became managing partners. |
2010 | K&W obtained an independent certification of its quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001. This documented the law firm’s high standards and constituted an important step on the way to the future. |
2011 | K&W expanded again, adding a neighboring building with modern conference rooms, further offices, a large seminar room and a cafeteria. |
2012 | Paul-Alexander Wacker left the firm and continued to act as “of Counsel” to the firm until 2014. |
2015 | Rainer A. Kuhnen passed away. As the generational transition was initiated sufficiently early, the firm’s operations have been continued by seven managing directors. |
2016 | K&W celebrates its 40th anniversary under the motto "500 Years of Beer Purity Law". |
2020 | K&W organizes the annual European Intellectual Property Seminar in Freising for the 30th time. |
2021 | K&W expanded to additional premises near the Theresienwiese in Munich. |
2024 | Julian Graf became managing partner. |
Well-established for the future – our success continues
Today, K&W employs about 90 highly-specialized staff and is one of the most renowned German IP law firms, enjoying an excellent reputation on an international scale as well. Due to our constant strive for continuous improvement, K&W is well prepared for the future.