Biography: Trademarks

The practice of Alexander von Mühlendahl, Dr iur, JD, LLM (Northwestern) covers advice and litigation in German, European and international trademark law, design law and unfair competition law.

In November 2005 Alexander von Mühlendahl joined the Bardehle Pagenberg firm, bringing with him more than four decades of professional experience gained in leading positions in German and European trademark legislation, practice and academia. For 11 years (1994 to 2005) he was vice president of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (trademarks and designs) in Alicante, Spain, and from 1985 until 1994, he was the head of the division for trademark and unfair competition law at the German Ministry of Justice. Among the legislation for which he was responsible were amendments to the German Unfair Competition Act, the IP legislation following the unification of Germany in 1990 (the Erstreckungsgesetz of 1992) and the new German Trademark Act of 1995. Throughout this period he represented the German government in the negotiations in Brussels on the European trademark law, as well as in WIPO matters. From 1966 to 1979 he was in academic research at the Munich Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Patent, Copyright and Competition Law.

Alexander von Mühlendahl advises and represents small, medium-sized and large producers of trademarked goods from various European countries in proceedings before the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. He also acts in matters of plant variety protection before these courts.

Dr Alexander von Mühlendahl teaches at the University of Strasbourg (CEIPI), at the University of Alicante (Magister Lucentinus), at the Fernuniversität Hagen, at the University of Szeged (Hungary), at the College of Law of Chicago-Kent University, Chicago, at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary, University of London. He is co-author of Die Gemeinschaftsmarke (The Community Trademark) and has published many articles in German, English, French and Spanish on topics of his practice.

He is an honorary member of the ECTA (European Communities Trademark Association); an honorary member of the Hungarian Trademark Association; and a member of GRUR (German Association of Intellectual Property and Copyright Law), committee for trademark and competition law.