Erik Schäfer is partner of Cohausz & Florack, a firm focussing strongly on technology and IP with a holistic approach. His main areas of practice are intellectual property and related areas of the law with all aspects concerning commercial exploitation of technology, arbitration matters with a technical ‘flavour’ (technology law, IT), and (international) commercial transactions. Since 1994 Erik has been acting either as counsel in German court cases, or arbitrator in national and international arbitration proceedings. The subject matters of the disputes included inter alia software-projects, engineering and civil construction, oil-exploration & development, IP-licenses, outsourcing, purchase, distribution, and R&D agreements, distribution agreements, service and marketing contracts, shareholder and IP-purchase agreements, e-payment clearance disputes, external inventor matters, know-how, copy right, patent, and unfair competition law related disputes. Erik advises German and foreign clients in relation to their agreements during any stage of the life cycle of such agreements. Erik speaks and writes English, Spanish, French, and German. He has conducted arbitral proceedings as chairman or sole arbitrator in these languages.

Erik co-chairs the Task Force on IT & Arbitration and co-chaired the Task Force on Expertise Proceedings of the ICC Commission on Arbitration. He is member of the Emergency Arbitrator Task Force. He was member of the eDisclosure Task Force and chaired the Austrian German Section of the CEA. In 2015 he was appointed trustee of the DIAC. He is member of GRUR, LES, MARQUES, ASA, CEA, IBA, ICCA, CELA, and DIS. He is listed by HIAC, KLRCA, and SIAC (2015) as ip-dispute panelist. He is a trained mediator.

Erik’s publications cover a variety of topics pertaining to the fields in which he is active.