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II. Profiles
pronovem, the Intellectual Property Group

pronovem group is an association of independent local offices providing services in the field of Intellectual Property (IP), particularly patents, trademarks, copyrights, unfair competition, domain names, etc.

pronovem group has locations in Brussels, Liège, Ghent, Lille, Luxembourg, and soon in the south of the Netherlands, which all share the same customer approach and apply the same quality policy. At each location pronovem group provides customised services for clients on the spot. This results in an extensive knowledge of the industrial network in each region.

Applicants or patentees are mainly from the Benelux countries, but recently also from France and the Netherlands. Moreover, we act as representatives for American and Japanese clients in approximately 20% of the applications. Each of our locations has at least one local patent attorney entitled to act before his/her National Patent Office as a result.



Historical background

pronovem group is an association of Office Van Malderen (BE), Office Meyers & Van Malderen (LU), Cabinet Matkowska et Associés (FR) and pronovem Marks (BE).

In the beginning of the seventies, Michel VAN MALDEREN founded Office Van Malderen in Belgium, while Ernest A. MEYERS created Meyers & Van Malderen in Luxembourg. Both offices were handling patents as well as trademark and design prosecutions since their beginning.

In 1998, Office Van Malderen incorporated Bureau Verplancke, an office specialised in trademarks, and hence created a new branch in Bruges. In 1999 and 2005 respectively, the activities of European Office Rothschild and "Bureau Bruxellois des Marques" (Merkenlijn), in short BML & Partners, were equally integrated.

Franck MATKOWSKA, French and European Patent Attorney, founded Cabinet Matkowska et Associés in cooperation with Office Van Malderen in northern France (region of Lille).

On 1 July 2006, OVM was subdivided into 2 parts: pronovem - Office Van Malderen is dealing with patent protection, whereas pronovem Marks is responsible for trademark and design protection.

Avenue Josse Goffin

Our activities

Patent Department

pronovem group has specialised in the direct representation of local and foreign clients (universities, research institutions, industries) with regard to the protection of intellectual property. Thus, we represent a wide-ranging group of internationally renowned clients.

Our multidisciplinary approach for providing legal services focuses upon our extensive skills to serve those involved in research, development and commercialisation of processes and products in chemical, electrical and mechanical arts, but also in more specialised branches such as biotechnology, medicine, software applications and commercial methods as well as in microelectronics.

pronovem group has developed its own computer software giving an on-line access to any information on clients and cases, particularly patent specifications and data related to patent and utility model rights. Databases allowing the management and the treatment of annuities as well as the management of national proceedings of patents and patent applications have thus been created.

The main working areas in pronovem group's patent section are stated hereafter:


Trademarks and Industrial Designs Department

pronovem group has access to updated Benelux (OBPI-BBIE), International (OMPI), and Community / European (OAMI) as well as national data banks to verify the status of a trademark or design, to carry out the searching job of antecedents, to control trademarks that can be considered as equivalent, and more in general, to give all the necessary information that enables to start a trademark procedure.

pronovem group is also able to provide information on filed and registered designs as well as to give advice for the filing of industrial design] applications and/or registrations in different countries.

The trademark section covers the following fields of activity:
Profile Partners and associates

Partners

Joëlle Van Malderen (Ms)
Joëlle Van Malderen graduated from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) with a master degree in civil engineering (physics). She joined pronovem group in 1989 after spending some years as an assistant-lecturer at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She is mostly specialised in physics, including industrial processes, electro-mechanics, general process engineering and electronics.
Furthermore, she is highly experienced in handling patent and trademark litigations, more particularly in the cases of strategies for defending or attacking intellectual rights, such as the defence against alleged infringement and/or nullity actions and/or unfair competition as well as in claims for compensation.
She has been a registered Patent Attorney with the Belgian Office of Industrial Property (OPRI) and with the European Patent Office (EPO) since 1993. She is also a registered Trademark Attorney with OHIM concerning community trademarks and models and with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) for trademarks, designs and models.
She is an active member of LES, FICPI, AIPPI, EPI. She also is a member of the Belgian Council Chamber of Intellectual Property (CCPIB) and of the Commission for the registration of Belgian Patent Attorneys. She is for the moment the Belgian representative at the EPI Council. She is also tutoring the candidates to the European qualifying examination and an administrative intellectual property course in Belgium.

Eric Van Malderen (Mr)
Eric Van Malderen has a master degree in biology obtained at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and graduated from CEIPI (Strasbourg). After having worked for eight months for the "Patent" department of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, he joined pronovem group in 1990 bringing with him his expertise in the area of biotechnology and medical technology.
Furthermore, he is highly experienced in handling patent and trademark litigations, more particularly in the cases of strategies for defending or attacking intellectual rights, such as the defence against alleged infringement and/or nullity actions and/or unfair competition as well as in claims for compensation.
He is a registered Patent Attorney with the Belgian Office of Industrial Property (OPRI). He is also a registered Trademark Attorney with OHIM for community trademarks and models and with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) for trademarks, designs and models.
He is an active member of LES, FICPI, AIPPI and BBA (Belgian Bio-industries Association).

Franck MATKOWSKA (Mr)
Franck Matkowska obtained a master degree at the Institut Supérieur d’Electronique du Nord (ISEN) in France and is an engineer in electronics.
He is a registered Patent Attorney with the National French Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and with the European Patent Office (EPO).
He has a 10-year experience at a French law firm. His specialisation domains are mechanics and electronics.
He equally has a large experience in handling litigation procedures concerning patents in France and opposition procedures with the European Patent Office.

Dominique RIFON (Mr)
Dominique Rifon graduated from the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) with a master degree in law and from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) with a degree in economic law (LLM).
Lawyer at the Brussels Bar from 1986 to 1994, where he specialized in intellectual property matters, he became the in-house jurist of MOULINSART SA, owner of the worldwide commercial rights of the famous comic book characters TINTIN & MILOU, as well as of the HERGE Foundation. From 1999, he continued working as IP-consultant within several council firms before joining pronovem group in 2006.
He currently teaches intellectual property matter at IHECS (Institut des Hautes Etudes des Communications Sociales).
He is a registered Trademark Attorney before BOIP for Benelux trademarks and designs and before OHIM for community trademarks and designs.
He is a member of BMM, INTA, AIPPI, ECTA and MARQUES.

Armand SCHMITT (Mr)
Armand Schmitt has a master degree in electro-mechanical engineering obtained at the University of Liège (ULg) and a master degree in intellectual property law and management obtained at the University of Strasbourg.
Active in intellectual property since 1991, he was senior partner in a major intellectual property law firm in Luxembourg before joining pronovem group in 2011. He has an extensive experience of patent prosecution, patent invalidation, patent and knowhow licensing and IP litigation in Europe and overseas, and is also consulting clients with regard to IP strategies, IP management and IP valuation.
Armand is admitted to practice before the European Patent Office, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Community trademarks and designs) and the Luxembourg Patent Office. He is a member of following professional associations: EPI, LES, AIPPI and FICPI.

Associates: Scientific Department

Marc LERHO (Mr) graduated as a PhD in chemistry/physics from the Université de Liège (ULg). He joined pronovem group (Liège office) in 1999 to share his strong experience in the industry of mechanics, physics and chemistry and to deal with intellectual property matters relating to these fields. He has been a registered Belgian Patent Attorney (OPRI) since 2003 and a registered European Patent Attorney before the European Patent Office (EPO) since 2005.

Dieter HECK (Mr) has a master degree in chemistry obtained at the Université de Liège (ULg). He worked for more than 15 years as a technical and R&D manager within several international companies specialised in the fabrication and treatment of synthetic foams. He joined pronovem group (Liège office) in 2001 to reinforce the patent attorneys team in all domains related to chemistry. He has been a registered Belgian Patent Attorney (OPRI) since 2004 and a registered European Patent Attorney before the European Patent Office (EPO) since 2006.

Marc KESSLER (Mr) obtained a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry at the Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg). He worked as a research scientist for a pharmaceutical company for four years. He obtained from CEIPI (Strasbourg) a diploma in patent and trademark laws before joining pronovem group (Luxembourg office) in 2005, where he is in charge of the daily management.

Michel GILIO (Mr) obtained a PhD in mechanical engineering at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL). He conducted applied research in the area of liquid-film coating at the "Mechanical Engineering" Department of KUL for six years and worked thereafter for a company specialized in thermal-spray coating. His expertise covers the fields of production technology, metrology and fluid dynamics. He joined pronovem group (Brussels office) in 2006 and has been a registered European Patent Attorney before the European Patent Office (EPO) since 2010.

Greet BOON (Ms) obtained a PhD in theoretical physical chemistry at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). After eight years of fundamental research in quantum chemistry on molecular (dis)similarity at the "General Chemistry" department of the VUB, she joined pronovem group (Brussels office) in 2007 to apply her skills in domains related to chemistry and physics.

Paul-André GOLLIER (Mr) obtained a PhD in material sciences at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). He then joined the company Baxter as research engineer, where he developed new packaging and polymer blends. He also worked five years in an R&D centre (CERTECH) developing new polymer formulations for several industrial fields. He joined pronovem group (Brussels office) in November 2007.

Philippe DE DIESBACH (Mr) is a biochemical engineer. He obtained a PhD in bio-medical sciences at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and worked for five years in the multidisciplinary field of cell biology. He joined pronovem group (Brussels office) in 2007 to share his skills in the fields of healthcare, biology, biochemistry and chemistry.

Astrid DE RO (Ms) has a master degree in civil engineering (material sciences) obtained at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). She worked ten years at the Centre de Recherches Métallurgiques on the development of new products for automotive, building and railway applications. She joined pronovem group (Liège office) in May 2008, to apply her skills in domains related to the metallurgy and material sciences.

Liesbeth PRUD'HOMME (Ms) has a master degree in biomedical sciences and in intellectual property rights, both obtained at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL). After working for three years as the Intellectual Property Manager at Galapagos, a pharmaceutical research company whose aim is to develop drugs in selected bone and joint disease areas, she joined pronovem group (Brussels & Ghent offices) in January 2009 to apply her skills in domains related to life sciences, molecular and cell biology, biotechnology and immunology.

Luc MOENS (Mr) obtained a PhD in Chemistry at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL). He conducted research on resins for coatings at CYTEC/UCB for 25 years. He also has an extensive experience in drafting patent texts. He joined Pronovem Group in August 2011, where he will be in charge of the coordination of preliminary and novelty searches in worldwide databases.

Sylvie DEMARET-PRODHOMME (Ms) graduated as a PhD in Sciences from the Université Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris. Additionally, she specialised in the field of "Management of innovation and technology" at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Toulouse. After four years of fundamental research in the domain of biophysics, she worked for pronovem group in the field of biotechnology and bio-medical sciences for several years. After a short interruption, she rejoined pronovem group in September 2011.

Associates: Legal Department

Marianne STANISLAUS (Ms) has a master degree in law obtained at the Université de Liège (ULg) and joined pronovem group (Liège office) in 1992. She is highly qualified in international law with emphasis on trademarks, designs and copyrights. Her expertise also extends to advising on copyright and registered design matters. She is a registered Trademark Attorney before BOIP for Benelux trademarks and designs and before OHIM for community trademarks and designs. She is member of BMM.

Nicole DESMET (Ms) joined pronovem group (Brussels & Ghent offices) in 1998 when the branch in Bruges was established. She has more than 30 years of experience in the administrative and legal prosecution of trademarks, models and designs. She is a registered Trademark Attorney before BOIP for Benelux trademarks and designs and before OHIM for community trademarks and designs. She is member of BMM, ECTA and MARQUES.

Stéphanie DUJARDIN (Ms) graduated from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) with a master degree in law. She was lawyer at the Brussels Bar for two years and worked for four years as IP-consultant in another council firm. She joined pronovem group (Brussels office) in 2008. Her expertise covers trademarks, designs, domain names and copyright law. She is a registered Trademark Attorney before BOIP for Benelux trademarks and designs and before OHIM for community trademarks and designs. She is also member of BMM and ECTA.

Ilse HENDRIX (Ms) has a Master degree in Law, and a Master degree in European Law, obtained at the University of Ghent, as well as a Master in Intellectual Property Law obtained at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. She worked as a lawyer specialized in media, advertising and intellectual property law at the Brussels bar for about 8 years and also has experience as an in house legal counsel. She joined pronovem group (Brussels & Ghent offices) in 2011 and practices intellectual property law, with focus on copyright, trademarks, models & designs and domain names.

External consultants

Scientific Department

Stefan VAN GYSEL (Mr) is a civil engineer in electro-mechanics, specialised in mechanics, from the University of Ghent. After six years of experience with the Atlas Copco company as an engineer in charge of the study of noise and machine vibrations, he joined the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) where he worked as an assistant in acoustics. After that, he joined pronovem group in 1999 and has now been working as an external consultant since 2007. He is a registered Belgian Patent Attorney (OPRI) and a registered European Patent Attorney (EPO).

Our network

pronovem group has established a world wide network of contacts and agents, with whom we maintain a close professional relationship.

The various partners of the pronovem group are members of several professional I.P. associations. Some of them are listed below:
On a national level, pronovem group or its partners are member of a series of associations such as the Belgian Bio-industries Association (BBA), the ANBPPI (National Belgian Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property), the CCPIB (Advisory Chamber for Industrial Property in Belgium), Chambers for trade and commerce of Brussels, Bruges, Gent and Liège, the Van Craesbeek Foundation, the K VIV (Koninklijke Vlaamse Ingenieursvereniging), the TI K VIV (Technologisch Instituut van de K VIV), l’A.Ir.Br (Association of Engineers related to the Free University of Brussels), the Flanders Export Club, the Dutch/Walloon Export Club, etc.

Languages

The working languages of our offices for drafting and prosecuting patents in Europe, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, are English, French, German and Dutch. About half of the administrative staff has a linguistic training (master degree).

Furthermore, if necessary, we are able to work (e.g. to correspond) in Spanish, Italian and Danish.