Josef Kohler, Jurist

* March 9, 1849 in Offenburg (Baden)
† August 3, 1919 Berlin

After completing his studies with excellent grades, practicing law in Mannheim for a while and publishing his first major work “Deutsches Patentrecht” (“German Patent Law”), Josef Kohler became an ordinary professor at the JMU without habilitating. The Würzburg law school had recognized the outstanding skills of the 29-year-old judge due to his publications. The prominent universal jurist published about 2500 titles in almost any field of law. Kohler was a pioneer in the field of copyright and related rights, comparative law and universal legal history. Furthermore, Josef Kohler founded the theory of intellectual property rights and his writings led him to international fame. He was, for example, appointed by the University of Tokyo in 1886. Even though he rejected this extraordinary offer, he accepted a chair at the University of Berlin in 1888.

His home was in Ludwigstraße.