Portrett av Rainer Sterthaus

Career History

2023 – d.d.: European Patent Attorney, Onsagers AS
2006 – 2023: Patent Attorney in Munich Patent Law Firms
March 2009: European Qualifying Examination
October 2006: Deutscher Patentassessor
2003 – 2006: German education in IP matters at the German Patent and Trademark Office, the Federal Patent Court in Munich, the District Court in Hamburg and at Uexküll & Stolberg in Hamburg
2002 – 2003: Chemist in the Material Development Department of Continental AG, Hanover
2001 – 2002: Postdoc with the Institut Charles Sadron – CNRS, Strasbourg, France

Education

February 2001: PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Mainz
1998 – 2001: PhD Thesis at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
1999: Student at the Feinberg Graduate School, Rehovot, Israel
March 1998: Diploma in Chemistry
1993 – 1998: Studies of Chemistry at the University of Münster

Languages

German, English, French

Rainer is a European Patent Attorney specializing in chemistry. He has 20 years of experience in Intellectual Property and has become an expert in drafting and prosecuting patent applications before the German and European patent offices. In the last decade he has focused particularly on Opposition and Appeal proceedings before the EPO, counselling and cooperating with both small and medium-sized enterprises and transnational corporations. He is also registered as a representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC). His technical knowledge has a broad range covering polymers, material science, battery technology, consumer goods, chemical processes, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and petroleum. His particular technical strength lies in interdisciplinary subjects where chemistry meets all kinds of engineering.

Before working in intellectual property, he worked as a scientist in the material development department of the tire business unit of Continental AG where he was responsible for raw material development. The experience he gained went beyond technical development issues and is today invaluable in understanding the needs of the individual client.

With his wide education in science, Rainer has a unique background, enabling him to address a broader perspective and hence strengthen the client’s intellectual property position on the market. By way of examples: In a joint European project, he worked at the CNRS on the development of ultra-thin batteries; during his PhD studies at the MPI for Polymer Research, he worked on interpreting intermolecular forces between polyelectrolytes as a subject at the interface to physics; and in his diploma thesis, he worked on the synthesis of polymers governing inorganic processes.

Rainer’s fascination for science and development is the basis for his daily business in intellectual property. Throughout the process of drafting applications and consulting with clients, it is his goal to inspire inventors not only to prosecute their applications but also to develop new ideas and focus on further success.