With effect from 1 July 2025, Maiwald, one of Germany’s leading intellectual property law firms, has appointed Alexander Feil, Dr. Johannes Scholz and Dr. Fabian Wiescher as Counsel. All three were previously senior associates at Maiwald.
Alexander Feil has been with Maiwald since 2023. He specialises in providing full-service advice to small and medium-sized enterprises, universities and start-ups. He acts as a one-stop shop for Maiwald’s Austrian clients and for German clients with subsidiaries and affiliates in Austria. He coordinates their national IP strategies based on specific national requirements and best practices.
Alexander Feil covers the entire spectrum of intellectual property law in the fields of patents (including employee invention law), designs and trademarks – from filing right up to enforcement of intellectual property rights. He has extensive experience in conducting patent grant proceedings as well as handling opposition and infringement proceedings for corporate clients from various industries. He also specialises in computer-implemented inventions, particularly with regard to AI, 4IR and software applications.
He studied industrial engineering, with the focus on mechanical engineering, at the Technical University of Braunschweig, the University of California/Santa Barbara and San Diego State University, followed by ‘Law for Patent Attorneys’ at the FernUniversität Hagen. Alexander was admitted as a German patent attorney in 2019 and in the five years that followed, he was admitted as a European patent attorney, an Austrian patent attorney and to the UPC. He has worked as a patent attorney at various IP law firms and completed a traineeship at the German Patent and Trademark Office and the Federal Patent Court before joining Maiwald in 2023.
“Alexander is unique in possessing triple qualifications as an Austrian, German and European patent attorney. Thanks to his expertise in both legal systems and the experience gained from handling innumerable patent applications, he is adept at resolving cross-border IP disputes in a very focused and successful manner. We are delighted to welcome Alexander to our team of Counsel and wish him every success in his new role,” says Maiwald partner Dr. Christian Schäflein.
Dr. Johannes Scholz specialises in patent prosecution and portfolio management, crafting filing strategies and drafting patent applications. He also handles legal validity and infringement proceedings. His expertise covers a wide range of technical fields, especially mechanical engineering, automotive and toolmaking, biophysics and medical technology. Johannes advises and supports his national and international clients from the patent application stage right up to patent grant. He also represents clients in opposition proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office, in patent infringement proceedings and in nullity proceedings before the Federal Patent Court.
After studying biophysics at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Johannes Scholz obtained his doctorate at the Institute for Medical Technology at the Technical University of Munich. He successfully completed the course of studies entitled Law for Patent Attorneys at the FernUniversität Hagen. In 2019, he was admitted as a German patent attorney, later as a European patent attorney and admission to the UPC. Following a seven-year stint as a technology expert and patent attorney candidate at another renowned IP law firm, Johannes joined Maiwald in 2023 as a fully qualified German patent attorney and European patent attorney.
“With Johannes, we are appointing to Counsel a colleague who is an acknowledged expert in many technical areas. We wish him all the best and every success in his new role,” says Maiwald partner Alexander Ortlieb.
Dr. Fabian Wiescher possesses wide-ranging expertise thanks to his background in both medicine and natural sciences. He specialises in areas such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, nutrition and agriculture, medical technology and imaging, mobility and energy, as well as measurement and process technology.
An important area of his work is acquiring and defending patent rights in Germany, Europe and worldwide. He helps clients to define and develop the underlying idea for which protection is being sought; he prepares the application documentation and handles the proceedings from filing right up to grant before the German Patent and Trademark Office or the European Patent Office. Another focus of Fabian’s work is researching the state of the art and analysing it in detail, as well as conducting opposition and appeal proceedings.
Fabian first studied biology and chemistry and later veterinary medicine at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich. After obtaining his veterinary licence, he worked as a research assistant at the LMU’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine with a dissertation in the field of biotechnology. Fabian then completed his training at the German Patent and Trademark Office and the Federal Patent Court. He was admitted as a German patent attorney and European patent attorney in 2016. He afterwards studied physics at LMU Munich. In 2023, he was admitted to the UPC. After working as a patent attorney and European patent attorney at other IP law firms, he joined Maiwald as a patent attorney and European patent attorney in 2022.
“Fabian is a great asset to our team of Counsel. His wide-ranging knowledge means he is highly adept at working across disciplines and in bringing together the fields of physics, mechanics, mechanical engineering and life sciences/biotechnology in particular. We wish Fabian every success in his new role,” said Maiwald partner Dr. Christian Pioch.
