Languages

Finnish, Swedish, English

A man in a black suit, white shirt, and patterned tie stands against a plain light purple background, smiling slightly with his hands clasped in front of him.

Vilhelm Schröder

Specialist Partner IP & Technology

A man in a black suit, white shirt, and patterned tie stands against a plain light purple background, smiling slightly with his hands clasped in front of him.

Languages

Finnish, Swedish, English

Vilhelm Schröder advises domestic and international clients in complex commercial disputes, with a particular focus on intellectual property litigation. He has exceptional experience managing large-scale mass litigation portfolios, often involving multiple parties, a wide range of claims, and different procedural forums. His work often involves navigating complex technical, regulatory, and evidentiary issues at scale. With well over a decade of experience in private practice, he has represented leading companies across a wide spectrum of industries, including life sciences, artificial intelligence, gambling, video gaming, media, telecommunications, IT, food & beverage, sports, paper & pulp, oil & gas, insurance, and financial services.

Vilhelm has acted as counsel in complex high stakes disputes before all major Finnish courts ranging from the Market Court to the lower general courts and appellate courts to the Supreme Court as well as administrative courts, including the Supreme Administrative Court. He also has hands on experience litigating before the Unified Patent Court, both at the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal, making him one of the first Finnish practitioners with substantive UPC experience.

The combination of extensive courtroom experience, international exposure, and advanced academic credentials enables Vilhelm to deliver clear, strategic, and commercially focused guidance in high value IP, regulatory, and commercial disputes.

 

Selected References

Hannes Snellman successfully represented Kesko Oyj and several K-Citymarket stores in multiple administrative court proceedings where Regional State Administrative Agencies had introduced restricting conditions to the alcohol retail trade licences of the K-Citymarket stores. 

Kesko and the K-Citymarket stores appealed the decisions of the Regional State Administrative Agencies, and in its first four decisions, the Administrative Court of Northern Finland ruled in favour of the appellants by revoking the conditions of the alcohol retail trade licences to a large extent and ordering the authorities to compensate for part of the legal costs incurred by the appellants.

The decisions of the Administrative Court of Northern Finland were appealed by the Regional State Administrative Agencies and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. On 19 June 2024, the Supreme Administrative Court handed down a precedent ruling (KHO:2024:90), where the Court ruled in favour of the K-Citymarket stores. The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that the Alcohol Act does not require that only the licence holder or their staff could hand over alcoholic beverages to the customers. Neither does the Alcohol Act require that the payment for an alcoholic beverage could only be received by the holder of the alcohol retail trade licence or an entity legally authorised to process payments. Therefore, the Regional State Administrative Agency could not impose the conditions in the retail trade licence based on the grounds it had asserted. The Supreme Administrative Court held that there was no reason to change the outcome of the decision of the Administrative Court of Northern Finland. 

In the three other cases, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the authorities’ applications for leave to appeal, wherefore the outcome of the decisions of the Administrative Court of Northern Finland was not changed in these cases either.

The Supreme Administrative Court ordered the Regional State Administrative Agencies and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health to compensate EUR 15,000 of the legal costs incurred by the K-Citymarket stores in each decision.

Contacts

Hannes Snellman successfully defended Continental Automotive GmbH (“Continental”) in an action brought by Nokia Technologies Oy (“Nokia”) concerning the right to claim priority for a patent. The Market Court held that the matter did not concern the registration or validity of a patent. The Market Court also held that Nokia lacked declaratory interest. Consequently, the Market Court found that it lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the action without considering the merits as requested by Continental.

The Market Court ordered Nokia to compensate EUR 500,000 with legal interest to Continental for the legal costs incurred.

The decision is not final.

Contacts

Counsel to a Nordic group in a patent infringement and invalidation proceedings before the Market Court. The infringement case concerned both the direct infringement and doctrine of equivalents 

Contacts

Counsel a public company in a copyright dispute before the Market Court and the Supreme Court concerning copyright and limitations to the exclusive rights of the copyright holder set forth in the Copyright Act.

Contacts

Counsel to a multinational technology company and its local distributor in patent infringement and invalidation proceedings before the Market Court. The cases were settled out of court.

Contacts

Counsel to Anora, a leading alcoholic beverage brand company operating in wine and spirits markets in the Nordic and Baltic countries, in a dispute before the Market Court against Valvira, the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, regarding Anora Group’s right to disclose information on its key assets, i.e., key brands.

Contacts

Hannes Snellman, together with Hogan Lovells and Gleiss Lutz, successfully represented Supponor entities in the Helsinki Local Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in a case concerning a digital overlay technology. As requested by the defendants, the court dismissed the patent holder’s preliminary injunction application and main action due to lack of jurisdiction, as the asserted patent had initially been opted-out from the UPC’s jurisdiction, and its subsequent attempted opt-out withdrawal was deemed ineffective under Art. 83 of the UPC Agreement due to pending national proceedings. This was the first oral hearing and first decision by the Helsinki Local Division of the UPC since the launch of the UPC on 1 June 2023

Contacts

Counsel to a Finnish listed company in multiple parallel regulatory proceedings pending before different administrative courts in Finland.

Contacts

Rankings

  • Bronze – Individuals: WTR 1000: The World's Leading Trademark Professionals, 2026
  • Notable Practitioner – Finland, Managing IP, IP STARS 2025
  • Leading Associate and key lawyer, Intellectual Property, Legal 500, 2025
  • Bronze – Individuals: WTR 1000: The World's Leading Trademark Professionals, 2025
  • Silver - Individuals: litigation, IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals, 2024
  • Rising Star, Intellectual Property, Legal 500, 2023-2024
  • Bronze - Individuals: litigation, IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals, 2022-2023
  • Notable Practitioner, Managing IP, 2020-2024
  • Rising Star, Managing IP, 2019

Memberships and Positions of Trust

  • Member of the Expert Group on Intellectual Property Law of the Finnish Bar Association
  • Member of the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW)
  • Member of the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP)
  • Member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
  • Member of the Finnish Bar Association
  • Member of the Finnish Association for Industrial Property Rights (STY)
  • Member of the Law Society in Finland
  • Member of the Munich IP Dispute Resolution Forum

Professional Background

  • Specialist Partner, Hannes Snellman, 2026
  • Counsel, Hannes Snellman, 2022
  • Lindfors & Co Attorneys, 2020–2021
  • Trained on the Bench, District Court of Itä-Uusimaa, 2013–2014
  • Roschier Attorneys, 2010–2020
  • Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, 2010

Education

  • LL.D., University of Helsinki, 2022
  • LL.M., Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, 2016
  • Master of Laws, University of Helsinki, 2010

Publications

  • "Publicity of proceedings before the Unified Patent Court", Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Volume 20, Issue 1, 2025
  • "Provisional Measures in Trade Secret Disputes (Fi:Väliaikaiset oikeussuojakeinot liikesalaisuusasioissa)", Edilex, 7 June 2024
  • “Trade Secrets Throughout the World”, Finnish Chapter, Edition 2023/2024 (co-author)
  • "The protection of copyright and the right to privacy – two incompatible rights?", Nordiskt Immateriellt Rättsskydd (NIR), Issue 2, 2023
  • “Lectio Praecursoria” (Introductory lecture at the public examination of doctoral dissertation), Tidskrift utgiven av juridiska föreningen (JFT), Issue 1, 2023
  • “Trade Secrets in European Patent Litigation” (Doctoral Dissertation), Unigrafia, 2022
  • “Obtaining Evidence in Patent Litigation and Trade Secret Protection – A Tale of Two Poles”, GRUR International, April Issue, 2021 (co-author)
  • “The protection of trade secrets in the Nordic countries" Nordiskt Immateriellt Rättsskydd (NIR), Issue 4, 2018 (co-author)
  • “Transformation from a Patchwork Quilt to a Unified Fabric: Discussion on a Few Particular Aspects of the New Finnish Trade Secrets Act and the EU Trade Secrets Directive", Nordiskt Immateriellt Rättsskydd (NIR), Issue 4, 2018
  • “Legislative Update: Implementation of the Trade Secrets Directive – A New Trade Secrets Act Proposed in Finland”, Liikejuridiikka, Issue 1, 2018
  • “Reverse Burden of Proof and the Protection of Trade Secrets in European Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation”, Parts One and Two, European Intellectual Property Review (EIPR), Issues 4 and 5, 2017
  • “Pay-for-Delay Settlements in the EU: Did the Commission Go Too Far?”, European Intellectual Property Review (EIPR), Issue 12, 2016, and European Competition Law Review (ECLR), Issue 12, 2016
  • “Can “External” Bilateral Competition Law Provisions Have an Interpretative Effect Within the Framework of the WTO Dispute Settlement System?”, European Competition Law Review (ECLR), Issue 9, 2016

Speaking Engagements

  • ”AI and Copyright – Best Friends or Worst Enemies”, Helsinki IP Summit, 2025
  • "Securing of Evidence in IP Disputes", IPR Day (Fi: IPR-päivä), AIPPI Finland, STY and IPR University Center, 2025
  • "Data Act and Trade Secrets", webinar, IPR University Center, 2024
  • “Data Act, Trade Secrets and Dispute Resolution”, Hannes Snellman IP & Tech Horizons, 2024
  • “IPR-riidat – Liikesalaisuudet siviili- ja rikosprosessissa”, IPR University Center, 2024
  • “The Unified Patent Court – A Nordic Perspective”, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, 2023
  • UPC Mock Trial at the Finnish Market Court (counsel for the Claimant), organized by the Finnish AIPPI Group and supported by the European Patent Office, 2023
  • “Trade Secrets in European Patent Litigation”, public examination of doctoral dissertation, University of Helsinki, 2022
  • "Protection of trade secrets during civil proceedings”, Delegate for the Finnish AIPPI Group for the Study Question, AIPPI World Conference (San Francisco, US), 2022
  • ”Skyddet av upphovsrätten och rätten till skydd för privatlivet – två oförenliga rättigheter?”, referent, Nordiska Juristmötet (Reykjavik), 2022
  • "Unified Patent Court", seminar, IPR University Center, 2022
  • “Finnish, European and International Perspectives”, webinar on “Damages in IP Law”, IPR University Center, 2022
  • “Standard Essential Patents in China”, moderator of online seminar, IPR University Center, 2022
  • ”Riita-asiat ja IPR”, immateriaalioikeuden käytännön kurssi, Helsingin yliopisto, 2022, 2023
  • “Patenträttegångar”, gästföreläsare på kursen ”Immaterialrättens specialfrågor”, Helsingfors universitet, 2022
  • “Copyright and design issues in video gaming”, moderator of panel, AIPPI World Congress, 2021
  • “Liikesalaisuuksien muuttunut suoja ja sen käytännön merkitys”, IPR-riidat ja sopimustekniikka, Alma Talent/Lakimiesliiton koulutus, 2020
  • “Dialogue of Experts: Trade Secrets in a Time of Pandemic”, online seminar with Prof. Sharon Sandeen (U.S.), IPR University Center, 2020
  • “Trade Secrets in Patent Litigation – A Mock Trial”, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, 2020
  • “Salassapito oikeudenkäynnissä”, Market Court/IPR University Center, 2019
  • “Trade Secrets in European Patent Litigation”, Nordic/German IPR Network Meeting, University of Bergen, 2019
  • “Patent Litigation – Enforcement & Strategies”, Hanken School of Economics, 2018
  • “Law, automation and smart grids”, comments to Prof. Petri Kuoppamäki's presentation, IPR University Center, 2018
  • “Hallintoprosessi – juridiikan perusteet – oikeudenkäynnit”, osa 2, IPR University Center, 2018
  • “Patenttiriidat”, Aalto University, 2018