ir. David Lesthaeghe, PhD

David Lesthaeghe holds a Master of Science in Engineering Physics and a PhD in Engineering from Ghent University, Belgium. He performed his research at the Center for Molecular Modeling (CMM), in collaboration with the Laboratory for Chemical Technology (LCT).

Prior to joining De Clercq & Partners, David worked for three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the same department, which included a research stay at the Unité de Catalyse et de Chimie du Solide, Université Lille 1, France. He joined De Clercq & Partners in September 2010.

David qualified as a European Patent Attorney in July 2014. In 2017, he qualified as a Belgian Patent Attorney, and was registered as a qualified representative before the French Patent Office (INPI). In 2023, he successfully obtained the Diploma on Patent Litigation in Europe at the University of Strasbourg (France), qualified as a European Patent Litigator, and registered as a representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

From 2020 to 2024, David was named Rising Star in Intellectual Property by Managing IP (MIP).

David became a Junior Partner at our firm in 2025.

Areas of practice

• Drafting, filing and prosecution of Belgian patent applications as a qualified Belgian Patent Attorney
• Drafting, filing and prosecution of European and PCT patent applications
• Drafting and prosecution of national patent applications
• Oppositions and appeal proceedings before the EPO
• IP due diligence
• Oral proceedings before the EPO in examination, opposition and before the Boards of Appeal
• Opinions regarding patentability, freedom-to-operate, infringement, and validity of intellectual property rights
• 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
• Patent literature searching and analysis
• Portfolio management, advice, and strategy
• General and strategic advice in IP matters
• Acting as a European Patent Litigator before the Unified Patent Court (UPC)

David regularly lectures on various aspects of intellectual property. He is a member of LES and AIPPI. David is also a member of the Education Committee and chairs the PR Committee of the Institute of Belgian Patent Attorneys.

Languages

David is a native Dutch and English speaker, and is very fluent in French.

Competences

David has scientific experience in various fields of chemistry, physics, material science, computer science, and engineering; and is specialised in multidisciplinary inventions that span several fields of science and technology.

More specifically, he is mainly active in fields such as mechanical devices, medical devices, machinery, automotive, electronic devices, photonics, physical chemistry, petrochemistry, polymer chemistry, catalysis, nanomaterials, computer-implemented inventions, software, artificial intelligence, mathematics, and others.