All team members
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.
"Derk Vos is at home in both organic and inorganic chemistry, counselling pharmaceutical clients as well as industrial lubricant manufacturers. Technically astute and commercially focused, Vos has a long track record of getting the most value out of his patrons’ intellectual assets."
– IAM Patent 1000, 2023
"Derk Vos is a master portfolio strategist and international coordinator with in-depth knowledge of chemical processes relating to everything from medicinal products to plant protection agents and lubricants."
– IAM Patent 1000, 2021
"Derk Vos’s technical hotspot is organic and inorganic chemistry, encompassing everything from pharmaceuticals to pesticides, lubricants, oil recovery and coatings."
– IAM Patent 1000, 2020
"Derk Vos and Marco Stief are both extremely pleasant colleagues who know the market like the back of their hand and are very well connected. Derk Vos advises in an impressive blend of time efficiency with simultaneous substantive brilliance."
– The Legal 500 EMEA, 2024
"Very good, sound and at the same time pragmatic advice. Derk Vos has extremely good industry knowledge, knows all current international parallel and ECJ proceedings and is very well connected. His responsiveness combined with excellent thematic quality is impressive. It is a great pleasure to work with him."
– The Legal 500 EMEA, 2024
Derk Vos comes praised for his “experience supporting in pharmaceutical litigation and exceptional expertise in SPC disputes. He grasps the key points of matters quickly and is very easy to work with.”
– IAM Patent 1000, 2024
"Maiwald is an outstanding firm of patent attorneys. Dr. Derk Vos is a particular highlight. Dr Vos's superb advocacy skills and in depth-knowledge of the procedural aspects of EPO law combine to make him a formidable force in oppositions and appeals."
– Chambers Germany, 2025
- 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
- Focus on: Anmeldeverfahren und Anmeldungen “Nicht immer ohne unerwünschte Nebenwirkungen – Einwendungen Dritter im Prüfungsverfahren vor dem Europäischen Patentamt”, Legal500.de, 2023
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High priority – Priority Entitlement in the EPO (EBA referrals G 1/22 and G 2/22)”, invited lecture at the Basel Intellectual Property Lectures, 2022
- Recent ECJ case law and latest referrals for preliminary rulings on the SPC Regulation, IAM 2022
- Recent amendments to the SPC Regulation, 2020
- Schutzzertifikat widerrufen, 2020
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Plausibility – A new Criterion for patentability?, invited lecture at Basel Intellectual Property Lectures, 2019
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The pitfalls of Article 123(2) EPC – Recent Case Law of the Boards of Appeal, invited lecture at Basel Intellectual Property Lectures, 2012
- High barrier set for revocation of injunctions, 2012
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The EPO’s approach to disclaimers, Managing Intellectual Property – Europe IP Focus 2010
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Towards a new novelty definition for chemical structures, Managing Intellectual Property, 2009
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ECJ to rule on SPC dates, Managing Intellectual Property, 2008
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EBA rules on validity of divisional applications, Managing Intellectual Property, 2007
- 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
