Team

All team members

Partner

Dr. Dirk Bühler

Partner

German Patent Attorney

European Patent Attorney

M.Sc. Biochemistry

Dirk specializes in the management of product-related patent portfolios worldwide as well as the associated opposition, nullity and infringement proceedings in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and personalized therapy and diagnostics. He regularly advises clients on complex SPC matters and freedom-to-operate strategies in these areas.

His extensive experience enables him to bring strategic IP consultancy and patent portfolio creation/management into alignment with the economic interests of his clients in a rapidly changing market environment. Clients value his interdisciplinary approach of combining questions relating to patent law with regulatory requirements for marketing authorization of medicinal products in order to achieve the fullest protection possible.

Dirk has received numerous awards for his professional activities as patent attorney and regularly publishes articles on various aspects of patent law.

since 2007
Partner, shareholder and managing director at Maiwald
since 2004
Patent attorney at Maiwald
2001 - 2004
Patent attorney trainee at Maiwald

2004
Admitted to practice as European patent attorney
2004
Admitted to practice as German patent attorney
2001 - 2004
Studied law for patent attorneys at the University of Hagen
1998 - 2001
Doctoral degree in the field of biochemistry from the Freie Universität Berlin (doctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry)
1992 - 1998
Studied biochemistry at the Freie Universität Berlin, the University of California, Berkeley and Heidelberg University

  • Complex patent portfolio management and patent prosecution
  • Opposition, appeal and nullity proceedings
  • Patent infringement proceedings
  • Supplementary protection certificates proceedings
  • Freedom-to-operate and validity analysis
  • Strategic consulting for biotech start-up companies

  • For many years listed in IAM Patent 1000 “World’s Leading Patent Professionals”
  • Recommended in Handelsblatt | Best Lawyers „Deutschlands Beste Anwälte" 2022, 2023
  • Ranked as "Excellent" in the Leaders League Rankings Germany 2022 and 2023 in the category Patent Prosecution and recommended in the category Patent Litigation
  • MIP IP Star 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Recommended in Legal 500 EMEA 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Recommended in Legal 500 Deutschland 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • "Highly recommended attorney" in JUVE Patent Rankings Germany 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Listed in Managing IP's EMEA shortlist "Practitioner of the Year" 2022, 2023
  • Listed in the WirtschaftsWoche "Die renomiertesten Patentrechtsanwälte" 2020
  • „Frequently Recommended Attorney“ in JUVE German Commercial Law Firms 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022
  • Doctoral scholarship of the Boehringer Ingelheim Fund
  • Scholarship of the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes”

  • Representing patentee in opposition appeal proceedings leading to the BGH X ZB 8/12 Dipeptidyl-Peptidase-Inhibitors decision
  • Representing patentee in SPC application proceedings before the European Court of Justice in case C-650/17 (Royalty Pharma/Sitagliptin)
  • Representing defendant in nullity and opposition proceedings and litigation support concerning non-invasive prenatal diagnostics
  • Representing opponent in opposition proceedings leading to revocation of basis patent for 2nd generation sequencing by synthesis
  • Representing patentees in opposition proceedings relating to basic CRISPR/Cas9 patents of Nobel laureates Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier

  • German Patent Attorney Association
  • epi
  • GBM
  • GRUR

  • German
  • English