Ben Brigou
Founding Partner
Ben holds an MSc. in Chemistry and is a qualified European Patent Attorney, Dutch Patent Attorney, and UPC Representative.
Sjors de Koning
Founding Partner
Sjors de Koning holds an MSc. in Mechanical Engineering and an MSc. Advanced Master in Intellectual Property Law and Knowledge Management Law.
Sjors is a qualified European Patent Attorney, Belgian Patent Attorney, UPC Representative and Judicial Expert in Intellectual Property.
Yannick Philippaerts
Founding partner
Yannick holds an MSc. in Engineering (electromechanical, software) and is a qualified European Patent Attorney and Belgian Patent Attorney.
Industry Awards
Lakeside attorneys are regularly recognized for their work.
Ben Brigou
Qualifications: European Patent Attorney, Dutch Patent Attorney, European Patent Litigator (UPC), MSc. Chemistry (2013)
Technical focus areas: Building materials (cementitious & polymeric), biobased chemistry, decarbonisation, waste management, energy storage, food, feed & agriculture, pharmaceuticals
Experience: Ben was previously Patent Attorney at Tessenderlo Group & Associate Partner at leading European patent law firm NLO, where he was responsible for a team of patent attorneys, trainees and paralegals.
Next to regular patent portfolio building and freedom-to-operate work, Ben has been involved in various litigation cases in chemistry and pharmaceuticals, including small molecules and biosimilars.
Ben currently holds the fractional role of Director of IP for cleantech company Carbon Upcycling Technologies where he has been responsible for IP strategy & execution through various growth stages from seed funding to first-of-a-kind commercial plant.
Sjors de Koning
Qualifications: European Patent Attorney, Belgian Patent Attorney, European Patent Litigator (UPC), MSc. Mechanical Engineering (2013)
MSc. Advanced Master in Intellectual Property Law and Knowledge Management Law, Judicial Expert in Intellectual Property.
Technical focus areas: mechanical engineering, mechatronics, industrial automatization, medical devices, process engineering, signal processing, electronics
Experience: Sjors was previously patent attorney at private practice firms EP&C and Calysta, where he was shareholder and led a team of patent attorneys and paralegals servicing engineering clients.
He is well respected for his EPO opposition and appeal practice, while he has also handled national and UPC litigation cases.
Sjors is also a guest lecturer at the University of Maastricht faculty of Law.
Yannick Philippaerts
Qualifications: European Patent Attorney, Belgian Patent Attorney, MSc. in Engineering (electromechanical, software).
Technical focus areas: Electrotechnics, mechanical engineering, software, AI, automation, construction technology, automotive, medical technology
Experience: Yannick has spent nearly two decades in the patent profession, drafting and defending hundreds of patents across multiple jurisdictions for local and international clients. He has conducted numerous oral proceedings before the EPO, both in examination and opposition, and has been involved in several proceedings before the Belgian courts. Before founding his independent practice in 2023, Yannick was a patent attorney at Gevers and Arnold & Siedsma. Since 2021 he has served as innovation manager on the management team of Wilms NV, a manufacturer of roller shutter, solar shading and ventilation systems, where he was responsible for patent strategy and for the IT team. Yannick is also a guest lecturer at KU Leuven and UHasselt.
Frans van den Berg
Qualifications: European Patent Attorney, Dutch Patent Attorney, Swiss Patent Attorney, European Patent Litigator (UPC), PhD. Chemistry (2001)
Technical focus areas: Coatings, polymers, food, feed, agriculture, seed technology, catalysts, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Experience: Frans has vast experience as an inhouse patent attorney in various technological areas including the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and chemical industry (ASML, Akzo Nobel, Syngenta, Novartis).
For more than a decade, Frans has been running his own patent practice where he combines fractional in-house IP counsel roles with strategic patent advice projects (opposition, litigation, licensing, M&A).
At Lakeside, Frans primarily advises clients on IP strategy, transactions & litigation.
