Koen Vanhalst, PhD

Koen Vanhalst holds a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Ghent, Belgium, at the Department of Molecular Biomedical Research, Molecular Cell Biology Unit under Prof. Dr. F. Van Roy of the Flemish Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB).

Prior to joining De Clercq & Partners in 2007, Koen worked for 4 years as an Examiner in the European Patent Office (The Hague Branch), where he was involved in both Search and Substantive Examination of patent applications in the field of Biotechnology in general and Medical Diagnostics in particular.

He qualified as a European Patent Attorney in 2009 and qualified as a Belgian Patent Attorney in 2011. In 2017, Koen became partner to the firm. In 2023, he successfully obtained the Certificate on Patent Litigation in Europe from Politecnico di Milano and has been registered as a representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

Koen was repeatedly praised in the IAM Patent 1000 since 2018 and was named Global Leader in IAM Strategy 300 in 2023. In 2019, Koen was an MIP rising star and since 2020, he is also named as MIP notable.

Areas of practice

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

Koen is a member of the Flemish Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and of the Belgian Council for Intellectual Property. He is also a Board member of AIPPI Belgium and a member of the Standing Committee Biotech of AIPPI International.

He was elected as BE member of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi) Biotech committee for the term 2023-2026 and in 2021 as Vice-President of the Council of the Institute of Belgian Patent Attorneys, where he is helping to start up the Institute.

Since 2015, Koen is a guest professor at Ghent University where he lectures Intellectual Property to Master students in (Plant Biotechnology).

Languages

Koen is a native Dutch speaker. He is also very fluent in English and French and has a working knowledge of German.

Competences

Koen is active in all areas of life sciences including for example: biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, genome editing, pharmaceutical formulations, medical technologies, bioinformatics, agricultural, food and nutritional technologies, green energy, clean-tech, and water-, soil- and waste treatment.

What they say about Koen

"A life sciences all-rounder, Koen Vanhalst is celebrated as “a formidable practitioner who gets the science across quickly and applies his comprehensive knowledge of European patent law to get the best results possible”. - IAM Patent 1000 (2025)

Contact

koen.vanhalst@dcp-ip.com