ir. Krista Nerinckx, PhD

Krista Nerinckx holds a Master and PhD in Electromechanical Engineering from Ghent University. During her PhD she performed research on algorithms for Computational Fluid Dynamics. Krista started her professional career at the steel manufacturer, ArcelorMittal, where she developed numerical models for controlling hot strip mill, cold strip mill and galvanizing lines. Afterwards, she worked as a consultant in R&D funding to support companies in obtaining innovation grants from the Flemish and European governments.

From 2018 onwards, Krista started to work in the Intellectual Property domain. Prior to joining De Clercq & Partners in 2024, she worked for 6 years in private practice. She qualified as a European Patent Attorney in 2022, and is registered as an associated member of the Institute of Belgian patent attorneys. 

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
• Opinions regarding patentability, freedom-to-operate, arbitration, infringement and validity of intellectual property rights
• IP due diligence and advice on licenses and IP acquisitions
• Litigation advice
• Portfolio management, advice and strategy
• General strategic and legal advice in IP matters
   

Languages

Krista is a native Dutch speaker, is fluent in both spoken and written English, and has a working knowledge of French and German.

Competences

Scientific experience in various technologies covering mechanical and electrotechnical engineering, computational technology, chemical processing and materials. Application areas include technical equipment and machinery, mechanical constructions, energy engineering, cleantech, industrial processes, material design, electronics, telecoms, numerical modelling and software.