Michael is Director of European and International Legal Affairs, PCT at the European Patent Office (EPO). He is a fully qualified German lawyer with a Ph.D. and a post-graduate law degree in intellectual property. Michael has over 15 years of experience in the field of IP. His responsibilities at the EPO include the implementation of the Unitary Patent package, the procedural and substantive harmonisation of patent law, the further development of the European patent system, as well as the procedures and practice under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Prior to joining the EPO, Michael worked as Senior Director, EU Intellectual Property & Strategy at BlackBerry, where he led BlackBerry’s IP affairs in Europe, with a particular focus on issues at the intersection of IP and competition law in the context of standard-setting initiatives, licensing, and litigation. He has also worked as a Senior IPR Legal Counsel at Nokia, and served as the head of the legal affairs department of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) where he shaped ETSI’s IPR Policy. Michael has further practised law for several years at the German IP-boutique Preu Bohlig & Partner. He also has worked in Brazil, where he was active for Dannemann Siemsen Bigler & Ipanema Moreira. Michael regularly writes and lectures on IP-related issues.