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  • Benedikt Rohrßen
Dr. Benedikt Rohrßen
Dr. Benedikt Rohrßen

Dr. Benedikt Rohrßen

Partner

  • Munich Germany
Contact Me Today
+49 89 21038-0
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Featured award

Legal 500 2025

Recommended lawyer for Trade, distribution and logistics

Scroll to featured award

Benedikt heads the practice group Commercial Agreements & Distribution at Taylor Wessing. He advises clients on entering the European market and on strategically structuring their distribution systems, including the product compliance required for distribution (“no compliance, no market”), also for products with embedded artificial intelligence. His industry focus is on the highly regulated electronics, mechanical engineering, and automotive sectors.

Benedikt is also the editor of the Zeitschrift für Vertriebsrecht (Journal for Distribution Law), author of numerous articles, webinars and workshops on distribution, product liability, product compliance, and in particular AI, a lecturer at the Munich Business School, the German expert for distribution law of the International Distribution Institute, Bitkom-certified AI manager and a member of the “Task Force AI Act” of Germany’s digital association Bitkom.

Expertise

Services and Groups

Commercial & consumer contracts
Artificial intelligence
Italy group

Sectors

Technology, media & communications
Consumer & retail
Manufacturing & industrials
Automotive & mobility
Machine learning
Glass.Mapper.Sc.Fields.Image?.Alt
Manufacturing & industrials

New Machinery Regulation: the most important changes and what companies need to do

4 July 2023
Briefing

by Dr. Ulrich Spiegel and Dr. Benedikt Rohrßen

Click here to find out more
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Commercial & consumer contracts

New book release: EU Competition Law for Vertical Agreements

Digital, Dual, Exclusive and Selective Distribution plus Franchising

Quick read

by Dr. Benedikt Rohrßen

Click here to find out more

CV

Since 2022 Head of Commercial Agreements & Distributions
Since 2021 Partner, Taylor Wessing
Since 2016 Lecturer, Commercial Law (Handels– und Vertriebs– sowie Vertriebskartellrecht), Munich Business School
2016 – 2021 Salary Partner, Taylor Wessing
2013 – 2015 Senior Associate, Taylor Wessing
2010 – 2012 Associate, Taylor Wessing
2007 – 2009 Legal clerkship, Hamburg and Brussels
2009 Doctoral degree, doctor iuris
2003 – 2007 Work as assistant, inter alia, chair in civil law, civil procedure, conflict of laws and comparative law
1998 – 2004 Legal studies, universities of Münster and Rome

Career

Since 2022 Head of Commercial Agreements & Distributions
Since 2021 Partner, Taylor Wessing
Since 2016 Lecturer, Commercial Law (Handels– und Vertriebs– sowie Vertriebskartellrecht), Munich Business School
2016 – 2021 Salary Partner, Taylor Wessing
2013 – 2015 Senior Associate, Taylor Wessing
2010 – 2012 Associate, Taylor Wessing
2007 – 2009 Legal clerkship, Hamburg and Brussels

Education

2009 Doctoral degree, doctor iuris
2003 – 2007 Work as assistant, inter alia, chair in civil law, civil procedure, conflict of laws and comparative law
1998 – 2004 Legal studies, universities of Münster and Rome

Publications

EU Competition Law for Vertical Agreements; Springer; 2023

Germany: Franchise & Licensing, in: The Legal 500: Country Comparative Guides, 2021, Martin Rothermel, Giorgia Carandente and Ulrich Spiegel 

Vortrag „Das ABC im Onlinevertrieb, Plattformverbote, Preisvergleiche, Bestpreise & Geoblocking“, November 2019, Studium Generale TW München

Webinar „Das aktuelle ABC im Onlinevertrieb“, July 2019, Forum-Institut

Vortrag Distribution Day „Vertrieb im Internet“, May 2019 (New edition 2020 missing cause of COVID-19)

Digitalizing Distribution – Two trends: Directing the Distributors & Direct Distribution, PlugIn – Wir denken das Recht der digitalen Zukunft, Edition #19, March 2019

Internetvertrieb 2019/20–Vertriebsvorgaben, (Best-)Preise & Platform-to-Business-Verordnung, ZVertriebsR 2019, 341 ff.

Rohrßen/Tenkhoff, Kein generelles Vertriebsverbot hochpreisiger Produkte im Discounter-Umfeld, GRUR-Prax 2019, 235

Vortrag „Effects of the Coty Case on e-commerce“, Third Annual T.R.A.D.E. Conference by AIJA, Athen, April 2019

Digitalizing Distribution – Two trends: Directing the Distributors & Direct Distribution, PlugIn – Wir denken das Recht der digitalen Zukunft, Ausgabe #19, March 2019

Erschöpfungseinwand bei Selektivvertrieb, GRUR-Prax 2018, 578 (together with Christian Tenkhoff)

Internetvertrieb nach Coty – Von Markenware, Beauty und Luxus: Plattformverbote, Preisvergleichsmaschinen und Geoblocking, ZVertriebsR 2018, 277 ff.

Provisionsrückzahlung bei teilweiser Nichtausführung des Vertrages, IWRZ 2018, 107 ff. (together with Heiko Franke)

Unterlassungsanspruch gegen Vertrieb durch nicht-autorisierte Händler, in: GRUR-Prax 2018, 235 (mit Dr. Christian Tenkhoff)

Internetvertrieb: „Nicht Ideal(o)“ – Kombination aus Preissuchmaschinen-Verbot und Logo-Klausel, in: ZVertriebsR 2018, 118 ff.

Internetvertrieb von Markenartikeln: Zulässigkeit von Plattformverboten nach dem EuGH-Urteil Coty – Auswirkungen auf Fachhändler- bzw. Selektiv-, Exklusiv-, Franchise- und offene Vertriebsverträge –, in: DB 2018. 300-306

Vertriebsvorgaben im E-Commerce 2018: Praxisüberblick und Folgen des „Coty“-Urteils des EuGH, in: GRUR-Prax 2018, 39-41

Rohrßen, Internetvertrieb nach Coty –Von Markenware, Beauty und Luxus: Plattformverbote, Preisvergleichsmaschinen und Geoblocking, ZVertriebsR 2018, 277 ff.

Rohrßen/Tenkhoff, Erschöpfungseinwand beim Selektivvertrieb, GRUR-Prax 2018, 578

Podiumsdiskussion „IoT and the Supply Chain“, IP/TMT Conference :Internet of Thing, AIJA, Frankfurt a.M., June 2018

Rohrßen/Tenkhoff, Unterlassungsanspruch gegen Vertrieb durch nicht-autorisierte Händler, GRUR-Prax 2018, 235

Rohrßen, Vertriebsvorgaben im Internet, Praxisüberblick, GRUR-Prax 2018, 38 ff.

 Rohrßen, Internetvertrieb von Markenartikeln, DB 2018, 300 ff.

Rohrßen, Internetvertrieb: „Nicht Ideal(o)“ – Preissuchmaschinen-Verbot und Logo-Klausel, ZVertriebsR 2018, 120 ff.

Distribution & Agency: Germany, in: Getting the Deal Through 2015, 2016, 2017

Ingmar Reloaded – Zum Handelsvertreter-Ausgleich bei umgekehrter Ingmar-Konstellation, in: ZVertriebsR 2017, 182 f.

Internetvertrieb in der EU 2018 ff. – Online-Vertriebsvorgaben von Asics über BMW bis Coty, in: ZVertriebsR 2017, 274-281

Der Ausgleich geht um – Zugleich Besprechung von BGH, Az. I ZR 229/15: Ausgleichsanspruch bei Kommissionsagenten (mit Dr. Heiko Franke), in: IHR 2017, 62-70

Vortrag „Distributing online: especially on platforms: a choice full of traps?“, First Annual T.R.A.D.E. Conference by AIJA, Bratislava, October 2017

Rohrßen, Internetvertrieb in der EU 2018 ff. – Online-Vertriebsvorgaben von Asics über BMW bis Coty, ZVertriebsR 2017, 274 ff.

Rohrßen, Plattformverbote im Selektivvertrieb, ZVertriebsR 2016, 278 ff.

Plattformverbote im Selektivvertrieb – der EuGH-Vorlagebeschluss des OLG Frankfurt vom 19.4.2016, in: ZVertriebsR 2016, 278-283

Kein wirksamer Vorab-Ausschluss des Vertragshändler-Ausgleichsanspruchs im EWR –Entscheidungsbesprechung zum BGH-Urteil vom 25.02.2016 - VII ZR 102/15 (mit Dr. Heiko Franke), in: IWRZ 2016, 125

Vortrag „Help – my franchisor goes online!” Frictions in cross-channel franchise systems“, AIJA Double Seminar „The Art of Franchising & Restructuring and other Answers for Companies in Financial Crisis“, Frankfurt 2015

Vortrag „Help – my franchisor goes online!” Frictions in cross-channel franchise systems“, AIJA Double Seminar „The Art of Franchising & Restructuring and other Answers for Companies in Financial Crisis“, Frankfurt 2015

National Report Germany: „State Court Participation in Arbitration – Help or Hindrance?”, AIJA Congress 2015 (gemeinsam mit Donata von Enzberg), London 2015

Vortrag „Litigation, Arbitration ... Hesitation? – In which cases are arbitration clauses in international construction contracts necessary?“ (Co-Speaker), AIJA Seminar „Hot Topics in International Construction Contracts“, Stuttgart 2015

Vortrag: „New distribution chains of food & beverage: web platform and just in time delivery“, Chair des Panels, AIJA Seminar „AIJA @ EXPO“, Mailand 2015

„Food & Wine, Fashion & Design: Frequently Asked Questions im B2B-Vertrieb“, 2014 (together wirth Stefanie Ritter, Donata von Enzberg and Michael Kieffer)

Vortrag „Contracts without borders – the clicks that bind“, AIJA Half Year Conference, Luxemburg, November 2013

Vortrag: Contracts without borders – the clicks that bind“, AIJA Half Year Conference, Luxemburg 2013

Vortrag: „Combining the best of all worlds: Choice of arbitration, forum and choice of law“, AIJA Seminar „Fight for your right … to distribute – Litigation and Arbitration Strategies in International Distribution“, Munich 2012

Nach Vertragsende: Vorsicht bei Wettbewerbsverboten für Arbeitnehmer und Handelsvertreter, in: Deutscher AnwaltSpiegel 20/2010, S. 17

Memberships & Associations

Editorial board of ZVertriebsR (magazine for distribution law)

AIJA (Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats / International Association of Young Lawyers), Brussels – President of the T.R.A.D.E. Commission (Trade, Retail, Agency, Distribution, E-Commerce)

Italian Chamber of Commerce Munich–Stuttgart e.V. (Camera di Commercio Italo-Tedesca e.V.)

International Distribution Institute (IDI), Turin

IBA, International Franchising Committee

Additional languages

English French Italian Spanish Swedish

Awards

Legal 500 2025

Featured

Recommended lawyer for Trade, distribution and logistics

Legal 500 Germany 2025

Next Generation Partner for trade, distribution and logistics and supply chain compliance

JUVE Handbook 2024/2025

Frequently recommended lawyer for distribution law

The Best Lawyers™ in Germany 2024

Leading individual: Franchise Law

Next Generation Partner for trade, distribution and logistics

Stand-out Lawyer

"Another special feature of the practice is its expertise in the Italian market: together with a lawyer who is also qualified in Italy, the Munich partner Rohrßen advises Italian companies […] i.a. with regard to franchise law and online distribution, as well as (multinational) clients […] on their business activities in Italy." "Strengths: Regional focus on Italy."

Recommended Lawyer: Germany - Franchising

National Leader - Germany - Franchising 2023

Frequently recommended lawyer for distribution law

Frequently recommended lawyer for distribution law

"forward-looking and very competent, advice to the point", client

Leading individual: Franchise law

Thought Leaders - Germany - Franchise 2022

'Dr Benedikt Rohrßen is very knowledgeable and we have a very trustworthy partner in him. If he is not able to provide information ad hoc on a certain topic, he informs himself or involves foreign partners, for example. We feel very well guided and advised.'

"implements current developments well", competitor

"very good at implementing current developments", competitor

Recommended for distribution law

Selected within Germany's top 15 franchise practitioners by Who’s Who Legal, for leading expertise in a broad range of franchise matters for both international and domestic clients: “Benedikt Rohrßen at Taylor Wessing draws praise from international sources for his excellent work in the franchise space. He has experience advising national and international clients on distribution and franchise systems.”

Benedikt's news & insights

View Benedikt's insights
Click here to find out more
Technology, media & communications

New EU ecodesign requirements and the circular economy

3 March 2025

by multiple authors

Interface - ESG and products

Waste packaging and sustainability

Katie Chandler, Megan Howarth, Benedikt Rohrβen and Ulrich Spiegel look at current and incoming rules on waste packaging in the UK and EU.

26 February 2025

by multiple authors

3 of 7 Insights

Click here to find out more
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Commercial & consumer contracts

VBER 2022: EU Competition Law for Vertical Agreements

18 February 2025
Quick read

by Dr. Benedikt Rohrßen

Click here to find out more
View Benedikt's insights

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