With effect from July 1, 2024, the law firm of Maiwald, one of Germany's leading intellectual property law firms, has promoted Dr. Kerstin Wolff and Tobias Matschke to Counsel. Kerstin Wolff was until recently a Senior Associate and Tobias Matschke a Principal at Maiwald.
Dr. Kerstin Wolff has practiced as a patent attorney at Maiwald since 2019. She specializes in intellectual property rights in the fields of pharma & biotech and patents & utility models, her main areas of practice being patent prosecution and portfolio management, filing strategies, preparation of patent applications and opposition and nullity proceedings.
After completing her undergraduate degree in biology at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Kerstin completed a bachelor's degree in biology/chemistry at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland/USA. There she earned her doctorate in the field of molecular and microbiology with a focus on antibiotic resistance and redox regulation in mycobacteria. As a postdoctoral fellow, Kerstin worked on the development of antibiotics against staphylococci, in particular with biofilms and wall teichoic acid. After returning to Germany, she studied "Law for Patent Attorneys" at the FernUniversität Hagen. In 2019, Kerstin was admitted as a German Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney; in 2023, she was also admitted to the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
"We are delighted to appoint Kerstin Wolff as Counsel. A very high-profile colleague from the Pharma & Biotech field, Kerstin is a splendid additional boost to our team. We wish her all the best and every success in her new role," said Martin Huenges, partner Maiwald.
As a lawyer and qualified specialist in intellectual property law at Maiwald, Tobias Matschke advises national and international companies on all aspects of intellectual property law. His practice focuses mainly on technical intellectual property rights, in particular patent law (pharmaceuticals & life sciences and engineering). He advises clients in cross-border patent and utility model infringement proceedings and is a registered representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC). As well as preparing infringement analyses and drafting and negotiating IP-relevant contracts (license and research agreements, assignments of intellectual property rights, etc.), Tobias also specializes in German employee invention law. In this area, he represents clients seeking to enforce claims under German employee invention law before the Arbitration Board of the German Patent and Trademark Office as well as the before the ordinary courts. He also has many years of experience in setting up and reviewing internal compensation and rights purchase systems as well as handling major remuneration-related matters on behalf of employers.
Tobias Matschke studied law at the University of Augsburg, during which time he already began to specialize in intellectual property law. After his admission to the bar in 2016, he joined the Maiwald law firm in the same year. As a specialist lawyer for intellectual property law, he regularly gives lectures on intellectual property issues and is a lecturer at the Technical University of Dresden.
"We are delighted to welcome Tobias into the ranks of our Counsel. He has advised and represented our clients for many years now, during which time he has shown outstanding commitment and keen legal and technical acumen," said Dr. Marco Stief, head of Maiwald's legal department.
