Dennemeyer's Associate Spotlight is a monthly feature highlighting our team of dedicated professionals who work in 21 offices around the globe. Get to know Dr. Malte Köllner, Head of Dennemeyer's Frankfurt office. Dr. Malte Köllner has been active in the field of IP since 1996 and he leads the firm's foreign filing practice. He developed the Flat Fee Prosecution program for Dennemeyer & Associates which won an IP innovation award in 2014. If you ever visit him in his Frankfurt office, you will notice his antique furniture which was carpentered for his great-great-grandfather and passed on to him by his mother. Something you might find interesting about him is that he could be Harry Potter's doppelgänger! See for yourself below and learn more about Dr. Malte Köllner in our 10-question interview series.
What IP matters do you assist clients with the
most?
Patent prosecution. We have optimized this over the years. We have
driven things very far with my team here in Frankfurt.
What has been your favorite IP work you've been
involved with or case you've handled?
That would be several long stories. The ones I won before the
Supreme Court would be on the list. But also the one where I helped
someone sell a patent (always extremely difficult). The sale was so
successful that owner's future father-in-law finally let him
marry his daughter. You see, my professional life had some
meaning!
If Dennemeyer were a TV show, which actor would you want
to play you?
Some say I look like Harry Potter - in the final episode, when he
is an adult and takes his children to King's Cross where they
get on the Hogwarts Express. So I guess they would cast Daniel
Radcliffe. By the way, that scene always reminds me of my father
taking me to Hook of Holland where I got on the ferry to go to my
beloved boarding school in England. At some point in time, my
children believed I attended Hogwarts.
What is the best thing about the company you won't
find in the job description?
You can meet excellent people from around the world.
Do you have any "hidden
talents"?
My wife and I are pioneers in eco-gardening. Our garden is a
paradise for a countless variety of plants, insects, a colony of
birds, slugs, squirrels, and other animals. All of this is enabled
by my home-made compost.
What is your favorite thing to do in your spare
time?
First of all: spending time with my family (a politically correct
answer - and true). Other than that: sailing (my childhood dream),
friends, reading, chess, skiing (with my son), and diving (with my
daughter) - and boat building.
What is your most treasured possession?
A very close friend of mine grew up in a water village in Malaysia.
One day, the village burned down and they had to jump into the sea
to save their lives. Back on shore, his father said: "Forget
the house. All that counts is that we are all alive. The house can
be rebuilt." It taught me that things aren't so
important.
But I was sad when the silver cutlery from my grandmother's dowry from the 1920's was stolen. It survived World War II, was smuggled from the Soviet Empire to the West, was given to me by my father on the occasion of my wedding - to get stolen now.
My small trimaran sailboat is certainly dear to my heart. Also the furniture in my office. They were carpentered for my great-great-grandfather - and passed on to me by my mother.
Where is your favorite vacation destination and
why?
We go to the Mediterranean, more exactly to Elba. We found a quiet
place right on the sea shore.
What is something most people might be surprised to know
about you?
I studied history of arts before becoming a patent attorney.