Michael Gross

German

Language:

English, German

Present Function:

Head of License Team, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Munich, Germany (1/1988-2/2022);
License Team, Fraunhofer-IIS, Erlangen, Germany since 3/2022;
Attorney-at-Law, Müller Schupfner & Partner, Munich, Germany.

General Expertise:

Professional legal or litigation experience related to the scope of competence of the PMAC

He has over 42 years of professional experience, having acted as counsel in more than 400 court proceedings in Germany at both first-instance and appellate levels. Since 1988, his work has included extensive involvement in technology-driven transactions, including licensing and R&D agreements across multiple technical fields worldwide. Since 1993, he has participated in 22 arbitration proceedings in Germany, Switzerland, and the USA (12 as arbitrator, including as presiding arbitrator; 6 as in-house counsel; and 4 as expert), involving disputes up to EUR 22 million and covering intellectual property, patent infringement, technology and software agreements, R&D liability, payment defaults, and company law matters. Outcomes included 15 settlements and 6 awards, with one proceeding currently pending. Since 1995, he has also been active in mediation, participating in 31 proceedings (including 7 as in-house counsel) involving disputes up to USD 80 million, primarily in IP, patent, technology, and corporate matters; 29 mediations resulted in settlement. Proceedings have been conducted in German and English.

Memberships and/or accreditations

Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit, since 1994;
Round Table on Mediation and Conflict Management of the German Economy (RTMKM).

Practical experience of conducting mediation or conciliation or judicial settlement conferences or out-of-court dispute settlements in disputes related to the scope of competence of the PMAC

Since 1995, he has participated in 31 mediation proceedings (including 7 as in-house counsel), with increasing frequency in recent years, involving disputes of up to USD 80 million. The matters concerned intellectual property (licensing agreements, patent, software and hardware purchase agreements, research and development agreements, liability for defects, payment defaults), patent infringement, and company law (transfer of capital shares). The duration of proceedings typically ranged from seven weeks to six months, with one to three joint mediation sessions in person. Of the 31 mediations, 29 resulted in settlement, while two were discontinued; the overall settlement rate exceeds 95%.