JUVE Patent

AstraZeneca's Director Patents moves to IP boutique Evolve

After six years, AstraZeneca's Director Patents, Rose Hughes (35), has joined IP boutique Evolve. The Cambridge-based firm specialises in patent advice and support to the pharmceutical and biotech industries at all stages of development. Hughes is well known in the patent community for her contributions to the popular blog IPKat. At AstraZeneca, Hughes advised neuroscience and biopharma cell therapy business units on IP strategy and deals. In her new role, which she begins in May 2025, Hughes will focus particularly on cell and gene therapies, AI-assisted drug design and life cycle management strategies for biologics. Hughes began her career at Marks & Clerk as a trainee patent attorney after having previously studying natural sciences at Cambridge. She spent just over two years at Reddie & Grose before joining AstraZeneca in 2019, initially as senior patent attorney. In 2023 Hughes was appointed as director patents. When asked about her decision to move, Hughes told JUVE Patent, "I am ready for a new challenge. What I enjoy about my role as a patent attorney is working with the scientists and business to support the development of life-changing medicines." AstraZeneca has not yet appointed a successor.

Image: ©Rose Hughes

Huawei hires Simmons & Simmons counsel

On 1 March, Sebastian Horlemann joined Huawei as senior IP counsel. The lawyer was previously counsel at Simmons & Simmons. From 2016 to April 2024 Horlemann worked at the Munich office of Bardehle Pagenberg, where he was also counsel for the last few years until his move to Simmons & Simmons. He worked primarily on SEP and FRAND cases and was a member of the Bardehle team that defended Oppo against lawsuits brought by Nokia. At Simmons Horlemann was part of the team leading several UPC cases for Networks Systems Technologies against Texas Instruments and various car manufacturers. He also represented SiBio Bioscience and Pohl-Boskamp in other UPC proceedings unrelated to mobile phone patents. At Huawei, he will now work closely with EU IP litigation counsel Thomas Dreiser, who also used to work at Bardehle. Horlemann will now support patent licensing and litigation projects in Europe, focusing on SEP and FRAND issues. Huawei recently waged an intensive campaign against Netgear at the UPC but this was settled at the turn of the year.

Image: ©Huawei

ETSI prepares for EU SEP regulation by appointing a chief policy officer

Martin Chatel has been appointed chief policy officer at standards body ETSI. He took up the role on 10 February, which entails leading the policy affairs department. In its announcement yesterday, the standards body said Chatel "will spearhead ETSI’s strategic policy engagement with the European Commission" and other bodies, associations, policymakers and stakeholders, reporting to ETSI Director-General Jan Ellsberger. Chatel holds a masters in international law from Sciences Po Paris and an LLM from the Institute of European Studies. He has previously held a variety of roles including senior IP legal services and product manager (patents) at IP firm Dennemeyer & Associate in Germany and manager of legal affairs at Cenelec (the European Electrotechnical Committee for Standardization) in Brussels. Ellsberger says, "The Policy Affairs Department will play a crucial role in supporting the European Union’s commitment to ethical, secure, and privacy-preserving technology deployment." Chatel's responsibilities are likely to include representing the interests of ETSI in the context of the EU Commission's planned SEP reform, which will affect a large proportion of the patents in the ETSI standards. One of the key proposals is a competence centre, which would carry out non-binding essentiality checks. Additionally, FRAND-rate determination by mediators would be mandatory, if non-binding, before parties can then litigate in UPC countries.

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Nokia names new president of IP department Nokia Technologies

Patrik Hammarén is the new president of Nokia Technologies. The division manages and monetises Nokia’s intellectual property portfolio, including licensing Nokia's SEPs. It has end-to-end responsibility for Nokia's patent portfolio, focusing on automotive, consumer electronics, IoT, and video streaming. Holding degrees in law and science, Hammarén began his career at Nokia in 2007 as legal counsel. He has since held various roles at the company, including chief licensing officer wireless technologies, head of IoT licensing program, and head of patent licensing China. Hammarén has been acting president of Nokia Technologies since October 2024 and officially took up the position of president on 22 January. He has played an active role in the renewal of Nokia’s smartphone licence agreements and the growth of Nokia’s IoT licensing program. Nokia settled various litigation battles last year, including its global battle with Oppo and its SEP dispute with Vivo. In August Hammarén negotiated a multi-year licence with Verifone, bringing the patent infringement litigation in Germany, India and the UPC to an end. As stated in the financial report released today, Nokia also signed several licensing deals, e.g. with HP, Samsung and mobile device vendor Transsion, a market leader on the African continent. Hammarén will be based in Finland and report to Pekka Lundmark, Nokia’s president and CEO.

Image: ©Nokia

Magna appoints director intellectual property from Maikowski

Automotive supplier Magna has appointed a new director of intellectual property. As of January 2025, patent attorney Matthias Euler from Maikowski & Ninnemann holds the role. He succeeds Gabriele Rausch, who is retiring at the end of March. Euler began his career at the firms Bardehle Pagenberg and Jones Day, before spending almost three years as IP counsel at tech company Heraeus. He then joined Maikowski & Ninnenmann in 2019. As a qualified electrical engineer, Euler's focus lies on electrical engineering, software, automotive, communications and medical technology. At Maikowski & Ninnemann he was active for big-name clients such as Oppo and Apple in their disputes with Nokia and Ericsson respectively. Euler is a European patent and trademark attorney and also a registered UPC representative. At Magna, he heads the European patent department, which comprises nine employees. When asked about his reasons for moving, Euler explained his new role would provide greater opportunities to be involved in business decisions. The company recently settled major litigation with its competitor Valeo. The two were locked in a billion-euro dispute spanning national courts in Germany and France as well as the UPC.

Image: ©Matthias Euler

AI company Orbem hires new head of IP from Bardehle Pagenberg

In January, Munich-based tech company Orbem appointed a new head of intellectual property. Humphrey Morhenn was formerly a counsel at German IP firm Bardehle Pagenberg. The German and European patent attorney began his career at the firm as a patent engineer and technology expert in 2013. He spent just over eleven years there, becoming counsel in 2023. Morhenn's work included patent litigation at the German courts for prominent clients such as Microsoft and Xiaomi, as well as Intellectual Ventures in the dispute with Deutsche Telekom. He was also active for TomTom as co-litigant in the connected cars battles Daimler vs Nokia and Conversant. He also conducted prosecution work before the EPO in telecommunications, mechanics, robotics and AI amongst other things, e.g. for Qualcomm. Founded in 2019, Orbem is active in the field of AI-powered imaging. Morhenn told JUVE Patent, "I am inspired by the unique dynamics of Orbem - agile, visionary and growth-oriented. Orbem is developing groundbreaking technologies that combine AI and imaging techniques with the potential to fundamentally change entire industries. I am excited to work with an ambitious team towards a sustainable and healthy future." In his new position Morhenn will oversee the development of a global IP strategy with the aim of building a strong IP portfolio for targeted use in growth, cooperation and licensing. Morhenn is also a registered UPC representative.

Image: ©Humphrey Morhenn

Steve Faraji becomes new IP litigation head at Volkswagen

Patent attorney Steve Faraji is the new head of IP litigation at Volkswagen. He succeeds Sven-Uwe Döring, who is retiring. Faraji is responsible for IP litigation for the parent company. His work also focuses on licensing and brand protection. Faraji reports to Silke Reinhold, general manager corporate IP, who has managed the group's IP since April 2022. Previously, Faraji worked for Audi as head patents vehicle and production. The premium car brand also belongs to the Volkswagen Group. At Audi Faraji was also responsible for the company's IPR policy. He spent almost 10 years at the company before joining Volkswagen at the beginning of November. The electrical and information technology engineer completed his training as a patent attorney at Bardehle Pagenberg. Since 2018 Faraji has also chaired the IPR Special Committee of the standards body ETSI and will continue in this role.

Emily O'Neill joins BAT as head of patents

Emily O'Neill (46) has joined British American Tobacco as head of patents in London. O'Neill moves from litigation funder Deminor, where she spent over four years as general counsel and UK director, and was responsible for building up the UK business. At BAT she will lead and manage BAT's Consumables and Innovation Futures patents team. Speaking to JUVE Patent about her decision to move, O'Neill said, "My new role at BAT will enable me to draw on all of the strategic knowledge I have gained from reviewing over 150 patent cases each year and feed into the commercialisation of the portfolio at a more foundational time point." When talking about her future role, O'Neill said, "The tobacco industry is travelling through a period of change as it transitions from cigarettes to smokeless reduced risk products, to have an opportunity to work at the heart of business strategy in an evolving environment is very exciting." Prior to joining Deminor, O'Neill held divisional general counsel and chief counsel roles at Spectris, a high-tech instrument and test equipment manufacturer. Furthermore, she has a degree in chemistry and a PhD in materials chemistry. She spent over seven years at Bird & Bird before moving in-house.

ETSI elects new director general

French standardisation body ETSI has elected Jan Ellsberger as its new director general, according to various reports. Following a vote at the ETSI general assembly, which took place on 16 April, the standardisation body voted in favour of Ellsberger, who is Huawei’s former VP of industry development in Germany. His previous positions also include VP of industry & technology at Ericsson, and a founder and board member of associations including the 5G Automotive Association, and OPNFV. The latter facilitates the development of NFV (network functions virtualisation) components across open-source ecosystems. Ellsberger also sat as a permanent expert for ETSI between 1995 and 1998. ETSI’s members elect the position for a five-year term of office, which may be extended by the members for a further three years. The assembly chooses between three final individuals, shortlisted down from over 200 candidates. In the running was also incumbent Luis Jorge Romero and Gilles Brégant. Current director general Luis Jorge Romero has held the position since July 2011, while Brégant is current director of ANFR, a government agency that manages all radio frequencies in France. Ellsberger will take up the position in July 2024.

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Recordati hires group head IP counsel from Zentiva

Italy-based pharmaceutical company Recordati has hired Kristin Cooklin for the newly created role of group head IP counsel. Her position will involve caring for the company’s various IP assets and preparing the company for any potential litigation. Previously, Cooklin spent six years at generic drug company Zentiva. While currently based in Prague, where Zentiva has its headquarters, Cooklin will soon relocate to Basel.

Pinsent Masons loses associate to LOGEX in the Netherlands

Healthcare data company LOGEX has hired Maud de Haas as legal counsel following a two-year stint at Pinsent Masons and, prior to that, Taylor Wessing. Working alongside the company's general counsel, de Haas will serve in a strategic support role which applies her pharmaceutical knowledge. She joined the team on 8 April.

Novo Nordisk hires senior litigation counsel from Allen & Overy

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has hired a new senior litigation counsel to be based in Copenhagen. Michal Porubsky moves to the in-house role from his previous position as a senior associate at the Bratislava office of Allen & Overy, having joined the firm as a paralegal in 2012. During his tenure at Allen & Overy, Porubsky spent some time with PayPal as privacy counsel, as well as seven months as senior IP and litigation counsel at Mundipharma. His role at Novo Nordisk falls under the remit of the company’s Global Legal & Patents department and will cover patent, regulatory and biopharmaceutical litigation.

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BASF hires senior IP counsel from Immatics

European multinational chemical company BASF has announced Alexander Bondke as its senior IP counsel. He has moved from a previous role as senior IP counsel at biotechnology company Immatics, which specialises in Adoptive Cell Therapies and TCR Bispecifics. Bondke is qualified as a German and European patent attorney and patent litigator, as well as as a European trademark and design attorney. He began his career as a patent attorney at Munich-based firm Wallinger Ricker Schlotter Tostmann, spending six years there before moving to an in-house position in January 2021 at Immatics. The BASF position is based in Ludwigshafen, a small city close to Mannheim.

Image: ©U.J. Alexander/ADOBE STOCK

Cisco expands in-house IP capacities with Microsoft hire

Digital communications conglomerate Cisco has hired Jennifer Yukoyama as its senior vice president and deputy general counsel, IP and technology. Previously, Yukoyama spent five years at Microsoft – after joining as associate general counsel, IP litigation in 2018, her final position at the company was as corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, cloud and AI. She also has experience at the patent departments of Apple and Nike. In the US, the communication company has recently been involved in a patent dispute with Centripetal, which involved a major damages claim at the country’s Supreme Court in late 2022. According to a Reuters report, in 2020 Centripetal had accused Cisco of infringing three of its patents for network security technology.

InterDigital hires former ZTE chief strategist as new IP head

InterDigital has announced Mang Zhu as its new VP, head of IP. She moves to the role following almost seven years at ZTE where she was chief IP strategy officer, head of patent asset management. According to Zhu's LinkedIn profile, at the company she will be ‘responsible for development and maintenance of company’s patent portfolio and long-term patent strategies’. The move, which was announced last week, comes at a busy time for the patent holder: it also declared the conclusion of multi-year royalty-bearing global licence with Lenovo, covering InterDigital’s HEVC video patents. The development ends all related HEVC litigation between the two companies and has led to a partial settlement of the companies’ global dispute. Over the past few years, InterDigital and Lenovo have been especially active in the UK courts, where Gowling, Bird & Bird and Kirkland & Ellis have all been involved for the parties’ FRAND litigation.

JUVE names Siemens In-house Team of the Year 2023

JUVE has awarded German conglomerate Siemens the acccolade of In-house Team of the Year at its annual ceremony, which takes place every year in Frankfurt. The judges chose Siemens as the award recipient based on the company setting itself the highest of standards with regard to the quality of its own intellectual property rights. Accordingly, it reorganised its own patent department. Under the leadership of Beat Weibel, head of the IP department, Siemens is also playing a leading role in the public debate on improving the quality of European patents. Read JUVE Patent's full news story on the company's win, as well as which firm scooped the IP Firm of the Year award, here

Convida Wireless appoints President & Chief Licensing Officer

Convida Wireless has appointed Matteo Sabattini as President & Chief Licensing Officer. Formed in 2012 as a joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and InterDigital, Convida Wireless focuses on research into the future of connectivity and the Internet of Things. Sabattini's previous roles include leading positions at Sisvel Group, InterDigital and most recently Director IP Policy at Ericsson. He brings an electrical engineering background and experience in business, as well as expertise in intellectual property licensing and transactions into his new role. In addition, Sabattini has been active in different organisations such as the Licensing Executives Society (LESI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). At Convida Wireless, he will focus on creating value through licensing the technologies and the patent portfolio.

Electrolux head of patents moves to TWIP

As of October, patent attorney Christian Mohr, head of the German patent department from Electrolux, joins Bavarian patent attorney firm Tergau & Walkenhorst as equity partner and chief visionary officer. The move is one of several measures in a process of realignment for Tergau & Walkenhorst, which is also rebranding to Tergau & Walkenhorst Intellectual Property, or TWIP. Mohr, who has a background in biology, spent seven years at Electrolux, becoming head of the German patent department in 2018 and then interim global head of patents in 2021. At TWIP, he will run the firm's Nuremberg office.

Eon assigns patent department to legal department

Eon has assigned its patent department, headed by patent attorney Michael Pfeffer, to the legal department. The company has thus detached the department from the Innovation Group Division. The move is intended to bundle the service for inventors at the company. In particular, the lawyers who handle licence agreements will work more closely with the patent department. In addition, the legal department 'New Businesses, IP, Legal Operations and Services', headed by in-house lawyer Niklas Rahlmeyer, was recently strengthened after Maximilian Schellhorn (34), an IP specialist from Hoyng ROKH Monegier, joined the department in September. He brings expertise in patents, licensing agreements and trademarks.

BioNTech appoints senior VP of legal & IP to management board

BioNTech has appointed James Ryan to its board of directors, effective September. Previously general counsel and senior VP of legal & IP at the German biotech company, Ryan will hold the position of chief legal officer. According to a press release, Ryan will lead the legal aspects of the company's corporate strategy and global legal affairs, including IP, insurance and data privacy, in addition to transactions and corporate governance. After stints in private practice at Morrison & Foerster and Covington & Burling, where he advised clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices and diagnostics sectors, Ryan moved in-house as head of legal affairs to GW Pharmaceuticals. In 2018, he joined BioNTech as general counsel.