Becher, Thomas

Thomas studied general mechanical engineering at the Technical University (RWTH) in Aachen. In 1995/96 he completed his final thesis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Technology (IPT) on 3D printing. Thomas joined Hoffmann Eitle, a pan-European IP boutique headquartered in Munich, in 1996. He qualified as a German patent attorney in 2000, as a European patent attorney in 2001, and as a Higher Courts litigator for England and Wales in 2016. Thomas was the founding partner of the firm's Dusseldorf office in 2012, which he continues to manage.

Thomas specializes in inter partes cases on utility and design patents, i.e., in cancellation and opposition procedures before the German office and courts, in opposition and appeal procedures before the EPO, and in German infringement and nullity actions.

 Thomas handles a diverse portfolio of cases in the mechanical arts, with some overlap into optics and other physics. He puts a special emphasis on medical devices, particularly implants. His clients are predominantly headquartered in the US, which he regularly visits.