Search and Examination Matters 2025

Adrian-Léon Gex-Collet, Director, EPO
After his studies in mechanical engineering at ETH Zürich and UC Berkeley and four years of military service as an infantry special forces officer in the Swiss Army, Adrian worked for four years in business process reengineering as a requirements and test engineer for various clients across Europe and the United States. In 2003 he joined the EPO, as an examiner in mechanics and applied physics. Since 2020, Adrian acts as a Director of Operations. Since April 2024 he is managing a central services directorate including the responsibility for file management and file routing, pre-/re-/classification, customer data registration, publication and operational expertise for formal matters.

Andrei Stefan, Team Manager, EPO
Team manager Operations
Team Applied Math, Natural Language Processing and Telecom
European Patent Office, Berlin

Andrei Stefan holds a Diploma on Patent Litigation in Europe from the University of Strasbourg (FR), a MSc from Aalborg University (DK) and a BSc from the Polytechnic University (RO). He worked at Princeton University as a research collaborator and in the telecommunications industry as a network engineer before joining the EPO as a patent examiner in the field of telecommunications (2013).
At the EPO he is managing a team of 12 patent examiners, covering diverse fields. Apart from search and examination of patent applications, Andrei is also an active trainer for newcomers since 2018, the year in which he also passed the European qualifying examination (EQE).

Arie Blokland, Patent Attorney, epi
Arie Blokland, Managing partner at AOMB (Algemeen Octrooi- en Merkenbureau), European and Dutch patent attorney and member of the Supervisory Board of AIPEX. Arie did his study Chemical Engineering at Technical University Delft and entered the patent profession in 1994. Predominantly works within the chemistry and chemical engineering fields, with particular expertise in optical fibers, industrial catalysts and fibre boards. EPO oppositions represent a large portion of his practice and routinely represents patentees and opponents in oppositions and appeal hearings at the EPO. Moreover, Arie is also experienced in restitutio in integrum cases (Article 122 ;Re-establishment of rights) both before the Netherlands IP Office and the EPO.

Niclas Morey, Principal Director, EPO
Principal Director, Quality, Business and User Services

Niclas joined the EPO in 1990 as a Patent examiner in Mechanics. In 1994, he moved to run international cooperation projects and between 2000 and 2004 he was Head of President’s Office. In 2004 he moved to Bangkok, Thailand, where he was based for three years at the Thai Ministry of Commerce running an EU-funded IP cooperation programme managed by the EPO. In 2008 he became Director for IP5/Trilateral Affairs and International Organisations and in 2016 this directorate merged with International Cooperation where he assumed the overall responsibility. In 2017 he was appointed Principal Director for Quality, Business and User Support, a position where he leads the entire operational support covering the areas of Users, Classification, Patent Procedures and Quality/Risk Management. In 2022, the PD changed name to Customer Journey and Key Account Management when quality and practice and procedures move to other areas. In 2023, the Principal Directorate was further streamlined to focus entirely on the customer journey. Niclas is born in Stockholm, Sweden, and spent some 25 years there before coming to Munich.

Josef Schriefl, Lawyer, EPO
Josef Schriefl is part of the procedural guidance team in the EPO’s legal department. He also works as an examiner mainly dealing with oppositions in the field of industrial automation. Before joining the EPO in 2006, he worked in the electricity and chemical industries. He graduated from ENS Lyon with a PhD in physics.

Frédéric Dedek, Examiner, EPO
Patent examiner
Team Administrative Data Processing
European Patent Office, Munich

Frédéric Dedek is an engineer. He worked as a business consultant for software integration projects before joining the EPO as a patent examiner in digital / computer implemented inventions. At the EPO he works in the fields of Administrative Data Processing. He is involved in search and examination of patent applications, as well as in opposition procedures. He passed the European qualifying examination in 2015.

Mathieu de Rooij, Patent Attorney, epi
Mathieu de Rooij started his career in patents as a patent examiner at the EPO in the field of civil engineering and thermodynamics where he stayed for more than 5 years. Ever since leaving the EPO he has worked as a European Patent Attorney in private practice in Spain. He is currently the head of the Barcelona office of Bardehle Pagenberg. His practice is focused on oppositions and appeals before the European Patent Office as well as patent drafting and patent prosecution. He is particularly active in the fields of renewable energy, medical devices, metal forming and automotive technology, but his practice includes a wide range of technologies involving mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, electronics and electrical engineering.

Julia Gwilt, Patent Attorney, epi
Partner
Appleyard Lees
Intellectual property law

Julia has worked in private practice in the Cambridge area for over 25 years specialising in software inventions. More recently, she has been involved in supporting companies protect their inventions in the emerging fields of bioinformatics and artificial intelligence. Before qualifying as a European patent attorney in 2001, Julia did a mathematics degree at Cambridge University and further study at the Ecole Centrale de Paris. She is currently the Chair of the Professional Education Committee for epi.

Cristina Russo dos Santos, Team Manager, EPO
Cristina Russo dos Santos is a Team Manager in DG1/Operations overseeing a team of 15 examiners in the Digital technology community. Prior to the EPO, Cristina worked for over 15 years in research and academia, where she held the position of Invited Professor at the University of Toulon, France. She holds a PhD in Computer Science and Networking and a MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Barry Moore, Patent Attorney, epi
Barry joined Murgitroyd in August 2021 following the acquisition of Hanna Moore + Curley, the firm he co-founded in 2003. A Chartered Physicist with over 25 years’ patent experience, Barry has prosecuted thousands of patent applications across fields such as telecommunications, software, and medical devices, and has extensive expertise in EPO hearings and international litigation. Recognized as an IP Star and a member of the IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders, Barry is a key member of Murgitroyd’s award-winning Technology, Media, and Telecoms Team.