Margret Knitter

Partner

IP has been my professional home for many years now. In combination with the various specializations of my peers, I can ensure optimum full-service advice to my clients. We are a strong team, which is why working at SKW Schwarz is very fulfilling.

Margret Knitter advises her clients in all matters of intellectual property and competition law. This includes not only strategic advice, but also legal disputes. Her practice focuses on the development and defense of trademark and design portfolios, border seizure proceedings and advice on developing marketing campaigns. She advises on labelling obligations, packaging design, marketing strategies and regulatory questions, in particular for cosmetics, detergents, toys, foodstuffs and Cannabis. She represents her clients vis-à-vis authorities, courts and the public prosecutor's office.

In the field of media and entertainment, she mainly advises on questions of advertising law, in particular product placement, branded entertainment and influencer marketing. She is a member of the board of the Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA) for the DACH region and Co-Chair of the European INTA Bulletins Committee.

Career

Studied law in Regensburg, Passau, Edinburgh
Traineeship in Munich and New York
Postgraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh (Great Britain)
1998 - 2012 Lawyer and partner in a Patent & IP boutique law firm in Munich
Since 2012 with SKW Schwarz

Awards & Recognitions

Chambers and Partners 2022
Chambers Contributor Expert Focus 2022

Client Choice Award 2022
Winner in the category „Intellectual Property – Trademark Agents & Attorneys“, Germany

Handelsblatt in cooperation with Best Lawyers: Germany's best lawyers 2021-2023
Recommended lawyer in the category "Intellectual Property Law" (2021-2023)
Recommended lawyer in the category "Art Law" (2022, 2023)

Managing IP STARS 2020-2023
Recommended lawyer among the Top 250 Women in the category "IP“ (2021-2023)
Recommended lawyer in the category "Trade Mark Stars" (2020-2023)

JUVE Handbook: Commercial Law Firms 2020/2021-2023/2024
Frequently recommended lawyer in the category “Trademark and Design Law / Competition Law” (2020-2023/2024)
Client about her: “very good communication, great results, very efficient & proactive” (2021/2022)

The Legal 500: Germany 2019–2024
Recommended lawyer in the category “Intellectual Property: Trademarks" (2022-2024)
Recommended lawyer in the category "Intellectual Property: Competition Law" (2023-2024)
Recommended lawyer in the category “Intellectual Property: Trade Marks and Unfair Competition Law” (2019-2021)
"Margret Knitter demonstrates attention to detail and is exceptionally professional in her approach. Her prompt, precise and flawless advice was extremely helpful to us. She follows a realistic approach and is very experienced in legal matters and their implementation. Her advice is fully comprehensive and completely focused on the client's business model." (2023)
“Margret Knitter is a top trademark and competition lawyer who has an excellent track record and is very technology-savvy. She is always on top of current trends in her advice and has excellent knowledge that she knows how to apply. She is also very pleasant to work with.” (2021)
“Margret Knitter is an outstanding attorney. Very knowledgeable about the law, but at the same time very practical and precise in her advice. Understands the client's needs exactly. Can always be reached by phone or email and never leaves an inquiry unanswered.” (2021)
“Margret Knitter and [...] are especially recommended.” (2021)
“Margret Knitter is very approachable and knowledgeable. She is also extremely pragmatic and always keeps a strategic perspective in mind.” (2021)
“She thinks progressively about trends in society that could have an impact on IP, then reacts with pinpoint accuracy and speed on behalf of the client.” (2021)
“Margret Knitter is very smart and engaging. She puts a lot of effort into penetrating the sectors she covers (for example, social media, food). She is easily reachable and always delivers excellent work.” (2021)
“Margret Knitter is an exceptional lawyer, very accurate, very responsive. Very experienced in trademark and unfair competition law. Her advice is always clearly articulated while being pragmatic.” (2021)
“Margret Knitter is an excellent trademark and competition lawyer who quickly and comprehensively grasps and processes complicated matters. She has very large expertise in these areas and extensive experience in court. She keeps constantly in touch with the latest trends (or ahead of them) in connection with the latest technical and business developments.” (2020)
“Her work is characterized by solution orientation and high precision.“ (2019)

The Legal 500: EMEA 2022, 2024
Recommended lawyer in the category "Intellectual property: Trade marks" (2022/2024)
Recommended lawyer in the category "Intellectual property: Unfair competition" (2024)

WWL: Germany IP – Trademarks 2019 – 2024
Thought Leader

WWL: Germany Intellectual Property 2018 – 2024
Recommended lawyer

WTR 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2019–2022, 2024, Germany
Global Leader (2021, 2022, 2024)
Recommended lawyer (Gold Tier), 2021-2022, 2024
Recommended lawyer (Silver Tier), 2020
Recommended lawyer (Bronze Tier), 2019
“Margret is detail oriented, extremely professional and knowledgeable. Her timely, precise and immaculate business advice is invaluable. Margret is always realistic with her recommendations and maintains a commercial outlook at all times.” (2024)
“Margret is one of the best choices in Germany. She has broad IP knowledge and can provide comprehensive yet understandable advice. Her business approach is skilfully used in negotiations, enhancing the chances of a positive outcome.” (2022)
“Heading up the trademark group is Margret Knitter, who has done much to increase its visibility in the branded content and influencer marketing space, and brings a wealth of product labelling knowledge to the table. ‘Margret is quick, pragmatic and provides excellent analysis,’ enthuses one client. ‘She is also extremely responsive, an effective communicator, a great strategist and a tenacious litigator and negotiator. We attribute much of our success to her talents and tenacity’.” (2021)
“Margret Knitter ‘is widely recognised and respected in the community for her analysis and application of trademark law in Germany and the European Union. She is always involved in high-profile litigation and her advice is both practical and realistic. She takes the time to follow up with her clients on every occasion.’” (2020)
“Knitter has been handling complex litigation in China for Tom Storyteller and Tower10 Story regarding the title and trademark Tiger-Team.” (2019)

India Business Law Journal 2019, 2020
Recommended lawyer for India-related work (2019, 2020)
“The firm offers ‘significant experience on cross-border transactions between India and Germany and thus has had the opportunity to give more holistic advice to their clients’. (…) Margret Knitter is an expert in all matters of intellectual property and competition law” (2020)
“Margret Knitter is an expert in all matters of intellectual property and competition law” (2019)

Memberships

Margret Knitter is member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), INTA Bulletins Committee, Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group (PTMG) and she is a member of the board of the Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA) for the DACH region.

Other activities

Margret Knitter is Co-Chair of the European Subcommittee of the INTA Bulletin Committee for the 2020-2021 term.Margret Knitter is a frequent speaker and publisher on trademarks, designs, branded content and advertising in social media. In particular, she publishes in the INTA Bulletin, the newsletter of PTMG (Pharmaceutical Trademarks Group), is co-author of the blog BEO Branded Entertainment Online (https://brandedentertainment.de/autoren/1250-margret-knitter/) and the book Fifteen Years, A Branded Content Story of BCMA (2018, https://www.thebcma.info/bcma-book-fifteen-years-a-branded-content-story-now-available/). She regularly holds workshops at the Confectionery and Textile Association and is a sought-after speaker at industry get-togethers such as dmexco, see https://youtu.be/fPI6m6WagAo (scip to minute 2:20).