200 years of Düsseldorf Regional Court

Düsseldorf, 14.08.2020 – The Düsseldorf Regional Court is celebrating its 200th anniversary. Since its foundation on August 1, 1820, a large number of cases have been heard here. This has resulted in Düsseldorf acquiring an excellent reputation as a court venue over the years. Milestones in Düsseldorf’s history of justice have included the trial against the serial killer Peter Kürten (1931), the Mannesmann trial (2004–2006) or the proceedings concerning the Düsseldorf airport fire (1999–2001). In the 1960s and 1970s, the Düsseldorf Regional Court made an important contribution to coming to terms with the Nazi past through proceedings such as those concerning the Treblinka concentration camp and the Majdanek concentration camp.

In the early days of the Regional Court's history, the trials were still held in Düsseldorf's old town center. Today, the court is located at what is now the fourth location in the Oberbilk district. Here, 12,000 proceedings take place annually. "200 years after its establishment, the Düsseldorf Regional Court is today a court in which experience, innovation and proximity to the people come together," says NRW Justice Minister Peter Biesenbach.

Düsseldorf has particular importance as the largest location for patent disputes in Germany today and as one of the leading patent courts worldwide. The judgments pronounced here attract international attention. In 2019 alone, a total of 361 new cases were filed at the three competent chambers of the Düsseldorf Regional Court. 326 of these were patent disputes, 21 utility model disputes and 14 cases concerned employee inventions. In the same period, the chambers settled a total of 419 litigation cases.

"Especially for small and medium-sized companies, Düsseldorf plays an outstanding role as a patent court location. This role has been further strengthened since the turn of the century when the first proceedings concerning standard essential patents between the world's top-selling companies were conducted in Düsseldorf, the state capital. Overall, Düsseldorf is among the world's leading patent court locations, including those in the USA and China, and not only for standard essential patents," says Gottfried Schüll, patent attorney and partner at Cohausz & Florack. "It is thus only logical for our firm to have its headquarters at this important location.”

Picture credits: COHAUSZ & FLORACK