Dr. Axel Grätz

IT Law and Data Protection

Experience

Axel Grätz advises and represents national and international companies in all matters of IT and data privacy law as well as e-commerce.

He has special knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence, in particular in the legal appraisal of processes in connection with artificial neural networks, machine learning and expert systems. Axel Grätz also has an indepth knowledge of intellectual property law. He is a member of the Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.

Education

Axel Grätz has been a lawyer at Oppenhoff since 2023. He studied law at the University of Bonn and the University of Cologne. He subsequently completed his doctorate at the University of Bonn at the Institute for Civil Law, Law of the Data Economy, Data Protection, Digitisation and Artificial Intelligence. For his dissertation thesis " Künstliche Intelligenz im Urheberrecht“ (Artificial Intelligence in Copyright Law), Axel Grätz was awarded the TELEKOM Prize for best academic work in the field of civil law and civil procedure law. While working on his doctorate, Axel Grätz worked in the field of IT and data protection law at a medium-sized law firm in Cologne. Prior to this, he was employed as a research assistant in a large international law firm and several medium-sized law firms. Axel Grätz supported additional law firms during his legal traineeship at the Aachen Regional Court.

Dr. Axel Grätz

AssociateAttorney

Languages
German, English

Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 23
50668 Cologne
T +49 221 2091 604
M +49 170 929 593 6

Business card

Articles and Essays

Kein Schadenersatz ohne Schaden [No compensation for damages without damage]
PinG dated 9 February 2024, pp. 246-248 (in collaboration with Dr. Vanessa Pickenpack and Dr. Jürgen Hartung)

Neues vom EuGH zum datenschutzrechtlichen Schadensersatz bei Cyberangriffen [News from the ECJ on data protection damages in the event of cyberattacks]
Datenschutz-Berater Datenschutz-Berater dated 9 February 2024, pp .27-30 (in collaboration with Dr. Jürgen Hartung)

LG Frankfurt a. M. – Zauberwürfel [Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main – Rubik’s Cube]
IPkompakt dated 1. February 2022

Künstliche Intelligenz und kreatives Schaffen – Eine immaterialgüterrechtliche Bewertung [Artificial intelligence and creative work – an appraisal under intellectual property right law]
Legal Revolutionary dated 1. January 2021, S. 159- 165

OLG München – Champagner Sorbet [Higher Regional Court of Munich – Champagne sorbet]
IPkompakt dated 1. September 2021

BGH – Schwarzwälder Schinken II [Federal Court of Justice – Schwarzwälder Schinken (Black Forest ham) II]
IPkompakt dated 1. March 2021

BGH – RETROLYMPICS [Federal Court of Justice - RETROLYMPICS]
IPkompakt dated 1. February 2021

BGH – YOOFOOD/YO: Maßstab bei der Prägung des Gesamteindrucks eines Zeichens [Federal Court of Justice – YOOFOOD/YO: Criteria for characterising overall impression of sign]
IPkompakt dated 1. November 2020

BVerfG – Prozessuale Waffengleichheit (auch im UWG) [German Federal Constitutional Court – procedural equality of arms (also in the German Act against Unfair Competition)]
IPkompakt dated 1. September 2020

BPatG – MÄDELSABEND: Missverständnisse und Abgrenzungsbedarf [German Federal Patent Court – MÄDELSABEND (girls‘ night): misunderstandings and need for delimitation]
IPkompakt dated 1. August 2020

BPatG – Farbmarke Orange: Beweislast bei Feststellung der Verkehrsdurchsetzung [German Federal Patent Court - Colour mark orange: burden of proof when determining distinctiveness acquired through use]
IPkompakt dated 1. July 2020

BPatG – Carrera: Handel mit Eigenwaren keine Einzelhandelsdienstleistung [German Federal Patent Court – Carrera: trade in own goods does not constitute retail service]
IPkompakt dated 1. June 2020

BPatG – MOSFET-Vorrichtung: Änderung des Beschreibungstitels erfordert Einverständnis des Anmelders [German Federal Patent Court – MOSFET-device: change of description title requires applicant’s consent]
IPkompakt dated 1. May 2020

EuGH – Schweißzentrierstifte: Auslegungsgrundsätze der „ausschließlich technischen Bedingtheit [European Court of Justice - Welding pins: design principles of "exclusively technical conditionality]
IPkompakt dated 1. November 2018

Books and Legal Commentaries

Künstliche Intelligenz im Urheberrecht – Eine Analyse der Zurechnungskriterien und der Prinzipien der Verwandten Schutzrechte vor dem Hintergrund artifizieller Erzeugnisse [Artificial Intelligence in Copyright Law - An Analysis of Attribution Criteria and Related Rights Principles against the Background of Artificial Products]
Cologne 2021 (Diss.)