Michael Dahmen

KEIL & SCHAAFHAUSEN, a patent attorney partnership based in Frankfurt am Main, has been named Patent Law Firm of the Year in Germany at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025. Describing itself as a traditional partnership of patent attorneys specialising in industrial property rights, the firm advises across patents, utility models, trademarks and designs, and acts for clients both in securing rights and in enforcing them.

The firm serves national and international companies of all sizes, together with public institutions and private individuals, offering both advisory counsel and representation in contentious matters. Its stated priorities are straightforward and client-focused: the highest quality of patent attorney work, a genuine understanding of clients' business interests, and collaborative relationships built on mutual trust. From its offices on Bockenheimer Landstraße in central Frankfurt, the firm provides the full range of industrial property services required to protect innovation.

Among its partners is Michael A. Dahmen, a patent attorney whose technical background lies in mechanical engineering and mechanics. He studied at the Technical University of Darmstadt and at Trinity College, Dublin, and gained practical industrial experience with Hoechst AG in Frankfurt and with Dornier Satellitensystem in Friedrichshafen, working on manufacturing methods, plant engineering and lightweight construction. He moved to Frankfurt am Main in 2000 and has since become a partner at KEIL & SCHAAFHAUSEN.

As well as being a German patent attorney, Mr Dahmen is a European patent attorney and a European trademark and design attorney, and he represents clients before the Unified Patent Court. His technical fields encompass operating processes, automation technology, mechanical engineering and manufacturing, medical technology, environmental technology and material science, alongside trademarks and designs. This breadth allows him to advise engineering-led and industrial clients whose inventions span mechanical, process and materials disciplines.

Patent law is inherently interdisciplinary, requiring an adviser to master both the technology in question and the legal frameworks that protect it. The strength of a firm such as KEIL & SCHAAFHAUSEN lies in pairing deep technical understanding with procedural expertise before the German Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office and, increasingly, the Unified Patent Court, whose arrival has reshaped the landscape for patent protection and litigation across Europe. Practitioners qualified to represent clients before that court, as Mr Dahmen is, are well placed to help rights-holders navigate the new pan-European system.

The firm's long-standing focus on industrial property, combined with the calibre of its attorneys, has earned it a reputation as a dependable partner for those who need to secure, manage and defend patents and related rights. Whether the task is drafting and prosecuting an application, building a coherent portfolio, or enforcing rights against infringers, the firm brings a consistent emphasis on quality and on serving the client's commercial objectives.

The Corporate INTL award recognises KEIL & SCHAAFHAUSEN as a leading German patent practice and reflects the expertise of partners such as Michael Dahmen. For innovators and industrial businesses seeking to protect their technology in Germany and across Europe, the firm offers technically grounded, trust-based counsel from a team steeped in the disciplines of patent and industrial property law.