Team

Back to team overview

Partner

Dr. Derk Vos

Partner

German Patent Attorney

European Patent Attorney

UPC Representative

Chemist

Derk specializes in the fields of chemistry and pharmaceuticals, with particular emphasis on medicinal products (e.g. small molecules), plant protection agents, lubricants and chemical processes.

Derk provides counselling on patent portfolio strategies and portfolio management across a wide range of IP-related matters including validity, infringement and nullity proceedings, supplementary protection certificates, due diligence and freedom-to-operate. He drafts patent applications and oversees patent prosecution worldwide. He has successfully conducted numerous opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO, including petition for review proceedings before the Enlarged Board of Appeal. He has been involved in and coordinated national and international nullity and infringement proceedings, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

since 2009
Partner, shareholder and managing director at Maiwald
since 2007
Patent attorney at Maiwald
2004 - 2007
Patent attorney trainee at Maiwald
2000 - 2004
Management consultant at an international strategy consulting company with projects in Germany, the USA and Sweden

2023
Admitted to practice before the UPC
2007
Admitted to practice as European patent attorney
2007
Admitted to practice as German patent attorney
2004 - 2006
Studied law for patent attorneys at the University of Hagen
1997 - 2000
Doctoral degree in the field of organometallic chemistry from Bielefeld University
1991 - 1997
Studied chemistry at Bielefeld University and the University of Utah

  • Opposition, appeal and nullity proceedings
  • Supplementary protection certificates proceedings
  • Freedom-to-operate and validity analysis
  • Patent prosecution and portfolio management
  • Filing strategies and drafting patent applications
  • Patent litigation

  • Listed as "Excellent" in the Patent Litigation category and as "Highly recommended" in the Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals category in the Leaders League Rankings Germany 2024
  • Recommended in Handelsblatt | Best Lawyers "Germany's Best Lawyers" 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Recommended in MIP IP Stars 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Recommended in Legal 500 EMEA 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Recommended in Legal 500 Deutschland 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Recommended in IAM Patent 1000 “World’s Leading Patent Professionals” 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Recommended in the Leaders League Rankings Germany 2022 and 2023 in the category Patent Litigation
  • Recommended in WirtschaftsWoche 2015
  • Scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation
  • Scholarship from the German Fund of the Chemical Industry

  • Representation of a generic company in nullity proceedings regarding a supplementary protection certificate for a combination product (combination sitagliptin / metformin, Janumet®, see also German Federal Patent Court Decision 3 Ni 2/20)
  • Representation in validity proceeding (EPO, German Federal Patent Court and Supreme Court) and infringement proceedings for medical devices with parallel validity and infringement proceedings in the US and China.
  • Representation of various generic companies in infringement proceedings and nullity proceedings regarding a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) for a cholesterol-lowering combination (combination ezetimibe / simvastatin, Inegy®, see i.a. German Federal Patent Court 3 Ni 4/19 or OLG Düsseldorf I-2 U 58/18)
  • Representation of a generic company in infringement proceedings and nullity proceedings for a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) regarding several combination drugs for HIV treatment (see i.a. BGH X ZR 172/18 – Truvada)
  • Defending patent portfolio in opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO (incl. petition for review proceedings before the Enlarged Board of Appeal) as well as several infringement and preliminary injunction proceedings in relation to the painkiller Oxygesic®

  • German Patent Attorney Association
  • epi
  • GDCh

  • German
  • English