Derk has extensive experience in developing inventors’ ideas to get broad patent protection, having worked in patents since 1990. Derk is highly regarded as an authority on the European Patent Convention, having provided legal opinions on procedural and substantive issues relating to the EPC, both in pre-grant proceedings and in large patent validity cases.
He teaches European patent law all over Europe and gives seminars on the EPC in collaboration with the European Patent Office. He is the author of The Annotated European Patent Convention, the foremost commentary on European patent law, which he has updated annually since 1993 and was first published in 1994.
He joined EIP from a position as Senior Patent Attorney at Philips Electronics, prior to which he was a research scientist for 10 years. He wrote the ISO standard for the CD-ROM and the template for the DVD and Blu-ray standards. Derk studied applied and pure physics at Twente University, Oxford University and Groningen University.
Experience
- Drafting and prosecuting patent applications. Oppositions
- Teaching European patent law. Speaker at EPO / epi seminars. Author of the annually updated book The Annotated European Patent Convention.
Recent work
- 26th edition of the book The Annotated European Patent Convention
Published articles
- April 2022
EIP Talks, Derk Visser's insights: 30 years of studying the #EuropeanPatentConvention (link) - March 2011
EPI Information, Divisionals - Peering into the Mist - 10 December 2019
JIPLP, There is no hope in inventive step (link) - 12 October 2017
JIPLP, A hope to succeed - are the EPO Guidelines misleading? (link)
Education
-
1975 — 1981
Doctor of pure physics (cum laude), University of Groningen, The Netherlands -
1973 — 1975
Master of applied physics (cum laude), University of Enschede, The Netherlands -
1969 — 1973
Bachelor of applied physics (cum laude), University of Enschede, The Netherlands
Career history
- 2016 — present
Of Counsel, EIP - 2005 — 2016
Partner, EIP - 1990 — 2004
Senior patent attorney, Intellectual Property Department of Philips Electronics in Eindhoven - 1987 — 1990
System physicist, Optical Recording Development Group of Philips Electronics in Eindhoven - 1981 — 1987
Research worker, Research Laboratories of Philips Electronics in Eindhoven
Awards and recognition
- Presented with Lifetime Achievement Award at Managing IP Awards 2020 (link)
Languages spoken
- Dutch (fluent)
- English (fluent)
- German (less fluent)
Speaking engagements
- 8 July 2011
EPO & EPI seminar, EPC2DAY - Impact of the changes by EPC 2000
Specialisms
Digital
- Applied physics
- Consumer electronics
- Photonics and optics
- Robotics
Dynamics
- Robotics