Dirk Harmsen

Dr. Dirk Harmsen is a German Patent Attorney, authorized representative before the European Patent Office as well as before the EUIPO and has been a partner at VOSSIUS & PARTNER since 2008.

In his work as a patent attorney he focuses on grant, opposition and nullity proceedings before the European Patent Office, the German Patent and Trademark Office and the German Federal Patent Court. Dr. Harmsen has extensive experience in compiling validity and freedom-to-operate expert opinions as well as in the area of IP due diligence.

Dr. Harmsen’s profound expertise is particularly rooted in the fields of pharmaceutical chemistry, pesticides and polymer chemistry, including polymerization catalysts.

Dr. Harmsen was involved in a number of patent infringement actions. Especially notable are legal proceedings regarding the pharmaceutical active agents Torasemide, Oxaliplatin, and Methotrexate. He also represented clients in appeal proceedings before the German Federal Court of Justice.

His clients are both small and medium-sized companies located in Germany and leading global companies, in particular from the USA, Japan and Israel.

Dr. Harmsen studied chemistry at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster with a main emphasis on organic and organometallic chemistry and obtained his Ph.D. in the field of bioorganometallic chemistry.

With VOSSIUS & PARTNER, he is responsible for organizing and running an annual, two-week training course regarding “European and German Patent Law” which has been held in high esteem in Germany and abroad for more than 25 years.

Professional associations: German Patent Attorneys' Association, German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Association of German Chemists, European Patent Institute

Languages: German, English