The Past and the Present
Three generations of the Hoffmann family have contributed to the establishment and successful organisation of our firm since its beginnings in the late 19th century. Emil Hoffmann founded the firm in Berlin in 1892. His son Dr. Erich Hoffmann successfully rebuilt the firm in Munich after the Second World War and worked there until his death in 1976. Erich’s son, Dr. Klaus Hoffmann, was a senior partner at our firm until his retirement in 1993.
In 1892 Emil Hoffmann, the founder of our firm, opened his own office as a self-employed patent engineer. In 1900 he became one of the first German patent attorneys , following enactment of the first legislation on German patent attorneys.
In 1925, Emil Hoffmann’s son, Erich, joined the Berlin office after having studied chemistry in Berlin. He worked in close partnership with his father until Emil’s death in 1944, the year in which the office building, located in the vicinity of the German Reichspatentamt, was totally destroyed in an air raid. Everything was lost, including all of the files.
After the Second World War, Erich Hoffmann undertook the arduous task of re-establishing the firm in Munich under the most difficult of circumstances.
Werner Eitle joined the firm in 1954, entering into partnership with Erich Hoffmann in 1960. Klaus Hoffmann, Erich’s son, also joined the firm in 1959 and became the third partner in 1965.
The firm grew steadily and in 1969 reached a size requiring larger premises. It was for this reason that the firm moved to an office building in the Arabellastrasse in the Bogenhausen district of Munich. This building offered ideal conditions for expansion. In 1987, a second office was opened in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, in the heart of London’s legal district.
Today, Hoffmann · Eitle is one of the largest and most successful intellectual property law firms in Europe, employing a staff of more than 300.
Three continuous generations:
the founder of the firm, Emil Hoffmann,
his son, Dr. Erich Hoffmann, and
his grandson, Dr. Klaus Hoffmann
(from left to right)
Emil Hoffmann's certificate of admission as a patent attorney.
Werner Eitle became a partner in 1960 and later co-eponym of the firm.
News
12-Aug-10 – Hoffmann · Eitle welcomes new European Patent Attorneys – Munich, August 2010 – Hoffmann · ...
more
23-Jul-10 – Our London Office is on the move... – Owing to continued expansion, our London Office is ...
more
05-Jul-10 – Seminar on the Japanese Patent System: Law, Case-Law and Practice on Japanese Patents – The ...
more
15-Jun-10 – Oral Proceedings - A Personal View – Our colleague Stephen Avery, partner at Hoffmann · Eitle ...
more
