Ann De Clercq, PhD

Ann De Clercq holds a Licentiate in Biology (Zoology) and PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from the University of Ghent, Belgium at the Laboratory of Genetics, Department of Plant Molecular Biology (under supervision of Prof. Van Montagu and Prof. Joel Vandekerckhove) carried out in collaboration with Plant Genetic Systems (PGS). After her PhD she worked as a substantive examiner at the European Patent Office in Munich, Germany. She afterwards headed the Patent Department of Innogenetics NV, (Belgium) a biotech company active in human healthcare. She is a qualified Belgian (2000) and European Patent Attorney (1995). In 2023, Ann successfully obtained the Certificate on Patent Litigation in Europe from the Politecnico di Milano. She has been registered as a representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

End 1998, she founded Ann De Clercq & Co BVBA and as from 2001 De Clercq & Partners CVBA.

Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) singled out Ann every year as Leading IP Star from 2017 to 2025. Moreover she was listed in MIP’s Top 250 Women in IP for the last eight years and was named as Global Leader repeatedly in the last six editions of the IAM Patent 1000 Guide.

Areas of practice

• Drafting, filing and prosecution of European and PCT patent applications
• Drafting and prosecution of national patent applications
• Drafting, filing and prosecution of Belgian patent applications as a qualified Belgian Patent Attorney
• Legal IP advice on Belgian patents
• Oppositions and appeal proceedings before the EPO
• Oral proceedings before the EPO in examination and opposition and before the Boards of Appeal
• Validations of European patents in Belgium as a qualified Belgian Patent Attorney
• Filing and prosecuting SPC’s in Belgium and advising on SPC’s in general
• Acting as an expert for the Belgian courts or parties in descriptive seizure proceedings
• Acting as an expert in litigation before Belgian civil courts or parties in intellectual property matters
• IP litigation experience in Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and Japan
• Opinions regarding patentability, freedom-to-operate, infringement and validity of intellectual property rights
• General strategic and legal advice in IP matters
• IP due diligence
• Portfolio management, advice and strategy
• Acting as an European Patent Litigator before the Unified Patent Court (UPC)

Ann was elected Deputy Secretary General of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi), BE epi Litigation Committee member and epi council member for Belgium for the term 2023-2026.

Ann is further a board member of the Flanders national and Chamber of Commerce East Flanders (VOKA), a member of LES and AIPPI and a member of the AIPPI Standing Committees Patents and Biotech International. Ann has lectured on several IP related topics and is one of the authors of 'European SPCs Unravelled: A Practitioner’s Guide to Supplementary Protection Certificates in Europe' (Second Edition).

Languages

Ann is a native Dutch speaker and is very fluent in English and fluent in French and German.

Competences

Ann has extensive patent practice experience in all fields of biotechnology and related life sciences as well as mechanical engineering inventions. For instance, Ann has worked in the fields of biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, biopharmaceuticals and chemistry. She has particular knowledge and expertise in the area of recombinant, microorganisms, genetically modified plants and animals, protein chemistry, stem cells, regenerative cell therapy, diagnostic assays, proteomics, biomarkers, diagnostics including nucleic acid- and protein-based diagnostic and screening assays, pharmaceuticals, genome editing, food processing, medical kits, veterinary products and others.

What they say about Ann

"The 'grande dame' of the biotech sector is celebrated as a 'tour de force' on the Belgian IP scene. A good listener, with an affable and approachable nature." - IAM Patent 1000 (2024)

"Ann De Clercq is a nationally renowned visionary, and her encyclopaedic command of biotechnology and life sciences, and their intersection with patent law, has cemented her place as a leading expert." - IAM Patent 1000 (2025)