The Patent 1000 focuses exclusively on patent practice and has firmly established itself as the definitive 'go-to' resource for those seeking world-class legal patent expertise.
Highly recommended - Individuals: prosecution
“With broad and extensive technical capabilities, Plougmann Vingtoft is one of the best IP firms in Denmark. Working side by side with the client, its practitioners provide regular reports and overviews, paired with training focused on the importance of IP rights and strategies.” On the engineering side of the practice Michael Friis Sørensen, Claus Elmeros and Per Jørgen Nygreen are the names to note. Electrical expert “Sørensen is easy to collaborate with. He reacts promptly and always offers pragmatic follow-ups. He is renowned for his ability to take the input from clients’ engineering departments and formulate it into a patent, while simultaneously creating a set of claims that best protect their IP rights.” Mechanics ace Elmeros draws on a storied IP career to provide patrons with early-stage evaluations and assistance throughout the patent cycle. A testament to his capabilities, he is not only called upon as an expert witness but also serves as a technical judge at the Maritime and Commercial High Court as well as the Western and Eastern High Courts in Denmark. Technology and software expert Nygreen is a prime choice for those in the fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, software and mechanics sectors. Combining an academic background in the commercial sector and extensive experience working with fluid dynamics, Nygreen offers bespoke strategies that account for complex technical details and the patron’s business needs. Also instilling confidence are molecular biologists and chemists Christian Christiansen and Jakob Schwalbe Lohmann. Often called upon by those in the pharmaceuticals and agriculture sector, Christiansen offers expertise in the identification of inventions, managing global patent portfolios and filing SPCs. A familiar face before the Opposition Division and the Boards of Appeal at the EPO, no case is too complex for this master strategist. Lohmann remains up to speed with trends and case law within the field. His work in early-stage evaluations and international portfolio management has attracted an array of names from globe-spanning companies to universities and hospitals. He has also carved a niche for himself among those in the plants and biological processing industries seeking patentability advice. Co-stars Katja Sørensen, Jan Mondrup Pedersen and Peter Sørensen also hold down the fort on the chemistry front. Katja Sørensen is highly experienced in the fields of food, agriculture and chemistry. With a keen business understanding, she regularly assists local and international patrons with IP strategy and the best way to capitalise on and commercialise their IP rights. SPC filing and prosecution head Pedersen is a trusted practitioner for universities, and is regularly enlisted by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as those within the food and animal feed industry. Through his research, Pedersen has gained key insight into various medical fields such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and diabetes. Physicist Peter Sørensen identifies complex details and transforms them into successful strategies in oral proceedings before the DKPTO and the EPO. He is a safe bet for those in sectors related to mechanics, electronics, nanotechnology and computer-implemented inventions. Making his debut in the guide this year is inorganic and materials chemistry expert Matteo Biancardo. Fluent Italian, English and Danish, and co-inventor on various patent applications, Biancardo is the partner of choice for those in the renewable energy, electrochromic, photochromic and nanoelectronics industries.
Michael Friis Sørensen has technical expertise in the areas of audio processing, loudspeakers, communication systems, medical devices, miniature mechanical devices and computer-implemented inventions.
He has many years of experience evaluating patentability, as well as drafting and prosecuting patent applications. He has represented various clients in IP rights disputes, including litigation, and has successfully argued oral proceedings before the examining and opposition divisions at the EPO.
Mr Friis Sørensen has worked with all kinds of clients, including large companies with in-house patent professionals, small to medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, as well as tech transfer offices at different universities.
Prior to his debut as a patent attorney, Mr Friis Sørensen gained professional experience within the acoustics, noise and vibration sector from his four years of research at Aalborg University.
He has worked with human sound perception, 3D audio and binaural technique and he is a co-inventor of two patents.
Further, Mr Friis Sørensen worked for six years as a specialised consulting engineer for the acoustics, noise and vibration field. In that role, he solved problems such as reduction of low-frequency noise and vibration from power plants, reduction of interior noise in high-speed trains, low-noise machinery development and improvement of room acoustics.
He keeps his technical skills up to date by participating in various seminars, including at the Danish Acoustical Society and Audio Engineering Society. Further, he is active as an external examiner for engineering student exams at Aalborg University and Aarhus University School of Engineering.
Plougmann Vingtoft is an award-winning IP consultancy firm that specialises in handling, protecting and commercialising all types of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks and designs.
Plougmann Vingtoft has a large team of dedicated employees working out of its headquarters in Hellerup (Copenhagen) and four additional offices in Aarhus, Oslo, Munich and Madrid.
The firm also boasts a comprehensive network of business partners and agents around the globe, which enables it to provide services to clients in any part of the world, both directly and through international agents.
Full-service IP consultancy
Plougmann Vingtoft is a full-service IP consultancy that employs some of the best patent, trademark and design attorneys in Denmark, including 15 European patent attorneys and three European trademark and design attorneys. In addition, the firm employs a team of experienced paralegals to support the attorneys and handle all IP administration, which ensures a cost-efficient, well-operated and highly professional service to all clients.
The firm has also set up an in-house commercialisation and tech-transfer team, marketed under the separate brand ‘tto’. tto specialises in generating value from new technologies in combination with IP rights. The tto experts assist clients facing challenges in a transition phase from early-stage development to commercialisation or exit.
Selected services
Plougmann Vingtoft’s IP attorneys conduct searches and analyses, prepare IP strategies and evaluations in addition to drafting and prosecuting IP applications. Also, the firm has extensive experience representing clients in complex opposition and litigation cases before the European Patent Office and national courts in Denmark and Norway.
Since the firm’s creation in 1967, the core competence of Plougmann Vingtoft’s attorneys has been to assess clients’ IP rights and find the most advantageous way to protect them. The firm’s IP experts thus specialise in assisting clients in turning their intellectual property into a driving force behind their general business strategy.
Social responsibility
Since 2008 Plougmann Vingtoft has taken part in the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, a voluntary initiative based on a commitment to implement universal sustainability principles and to take steps to support the UN global goals.
Consequently, Plougmann Vingtoft focuses on implementing socially responsible business practices in its interaction with clients, employees and communities.
First, the firm works with industry leaders within the fields of renewable energy, new technologies, pharma and healthcare.
Second, the firm assists small and medium-sized enterprises and universities in pursuing potentially groundbreaking ideas. Plougmann Vingtoft makes sure that innovative thinking pays off.
Third, the firm is committed to helping start-ups to make a success of their sustainable ideas. Every year, Plougmann Vingtoft donates expert consulting worth of Dkr50,000 to a start-up with a solution that impacts on one or several of the UN global goals directly. This initiative is marketed under the name IP Matters.
Memberships
- European Patent Institute
- International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys
- International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property
- Association of Danish Intellectual Property Attorneys
- Norwegian Patent Attorney Association
- Licensing Executives Society
- Asian Patent Attorneys Association
- International Trademark Association
- European Communities Trademark Association
- Danish Institute for Intellectual Property Rights
History
Plougmann Vingtoft was founded in 1967 by Knud Erik Vingtoft and Ole Plougmann.
Mr Plougmann was a chemical engineer with plans to revolutionise the patent world; Mr Vingtoft was a mechanical engineer whose attention was caught by the patent industry in 1959. Together they created a firm that has, ever since, influenced the way people approach IP rights. The two engineers’ pioneering work in biotechnology and information technology led to strong IP positions for their clients and made the name Plougmann Vingtoft well known in the business.
In addition, the two founders’ interest in the commercialisation of research results made the firm one of the main players in building collaborations between private companies, universities and scientists in Denmark, as well as internationally.
The founders’ work and values are still a big part of Plougmann Vingtoft today.