Dr. Dirk Franke

Dirk Franke is a patent attorney with extensive experience in intellectual property law. Dr. Franke started his carrier in two established patent law firms in Munich, working on cases in German and European patent law. Thereafter, he worked as an attorney with a major US patent law firm, working on prosecution and litigation cases as well as opinion work in Munich, Boston und Atlanta.

The main focus of his practice is on the drafting and prosecution of patent applications and on opinion work, in particular on patent validity and freedom to operate analyses in the European market.

Prior to becoming a patent attorney Dr. Franke worked as a research scientist in Germany and the USA. He has a broad technical background, in particular in the following technical areas:

* Chemistry
* Life Science
* Biotechnology
* Chemical Engineering
* Pharmacy
* Medical Devices

Dr. Franke received his doctoral degree in Bioorganic Chemistry from the Institute of Biotechnology of the Research Center Julich and the University of Bonn (summa cum laude). From 2001 to 2004 he was a research scientist in the group of Professor Dr. Chi-Huey Wong at the renowned Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla/USA also collaborating with Nobel Prize winner Barry Sharpless.

Dr. Franke is the author of a significant number of peer reviewed publications in the fields of Chemistry and Life Science. He has been member of the jury of the German research competition "Jugend forscht" in Bitburg for more than ten years. Web: http://www.hfpatent.de/index.phpid=12e.html

Admitted to the Federal Patent Court and the German Patent, Trademark Office, and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (European trademarks and designs).