ir. Caroline Hennin, PhD

Caroline Hennin holds a Master degree in Bio-Engineering Sciences (Agronomy - option Crop protection) from the University of Ghent, Belgium, and obtained a PhD in Applied Biological Sciences (Agricultural Sciences – Biotechnology) from the University of Ghent, Belgium, at the Department of Crop Protection under Prof. Dr. ir. Monica Höfte, and in collaboration with Aventis CropScience (Bayer CropScience).

Caroline joined De Clercq & Partners in 2001 and qualified as European Patent Attorney in 2008 and as Belgian Patent Attorney in 2019. In 2023, Caroline successfully obtained the Certificate on Patent Litigation in Europe from Politecnico di Milano. She has been registered as a representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

In 2010 she joined the IP department of CropDesign NV, an Affiliate of BASF Plant Science, as Senior Patent Counsel, and became head of the IP Department of CropDesign in 2011.

Caroline re-joined the team of De Clercq & Partners in July 2016.

For several years, Caroline has been recognised in the IAM Patent 1000, which highlights leading patent firms and individual practitioners for their outstanding work. She has consistently been ranked Silver since 2023.

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
• Patent literature searching and analysis
• Acting as an a European Patent Litigator/UPC Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC)
• Assisting infringement and validity proceedings before the UPC

Caroline is actively involved in the IP community and holds professional memberships within several IP organisations, including member of the international cooperation committee of the Belgian Institute and also a member of the Belgian Examination Board.

Languages

Caroline is a native Dutch and French speaker, is very fluent in English, and has a working knowledge of German.

Competences

Caroline has scientific and patent experience in various fields of life sciences, chemistry, and engineering sciences; including (plant) biotechnology, crop protection, phytopathology, (agro)chemicals and biologicals, enabling technologies, molecular biology, feed and food technology, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications, polymer chemistry, catalyst technology, and chemical and process engineering.

What they say about Caroline

"A striking litigator who brings invaluable academic prowess and specialist knowledge of science and technology to secure patrons’ business needs; she's making great strides where intellectual property meets organic, polymer and pharmaceutical chemistry." - IAM Patent 1000 (2024)