Christoph Horst is a Patent Attorney at the firm Peterreins Schley. After joining the firm as a patent attorney trainee, he was admitted as a European and German patent attorney in 2023.

His practice primarily centers on patent drafting and prosecution work before the European Patent Office and the German Patent and Trademark Office and corresponding appellate authorities. Furthermore, his experience in freedom to operate analyses enables his clients to better assess risks of entering new markets and to build strong patent portfolios for their new products. He also increasingly contributes to opposition, nullity and infringement proceedings. While counseling both start-ups and large international clients in all matters of patent law, he enjoys working closely with each client in finding individual solutions to best protect and manage their IP interests in both Europe and Germany, including new legal opportunities (e.g. European Patent with Unitary Effect and Unified Patent Court), strategic needs and other IP-related aspects such as employee invention law.

Christoph Horst has a history as an R&D engineer at a large German automotive supplier gaining in-depth technical knowledge in the realm of system engineering and product development. During his work in the automotive industry he made a contribution towards developing various mechatronic actuation systems for dual and decoupling clutches in both conventional and e-mobility/hybrid drivetrains.

Prior to shifting gears towards engineering and industry, Christoph Horst acquired a sound background in theoretical and mathematical physics working as a doctoral/postdoctoral researcher.

SPECIAL TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

• Computer-implemented inventions (e.g. embedded systems, autonomous driving, safety, video encoding, telecommunications, artificial intelligence/machine learning)
• Electronics (e.g. inverters, audio, noise-cancellation)
• Physics (e.g. lighting, optics, laser, quantum)
• Automotive engineering (brake systems, conventional/hybrid/e-mobility drivetrains, hydraulic/mechatronic actuation systems, clutches)
• Medical engineering (e.g. catheters, insulin pumps)
• General mechanical engineering (e.g. shavers, writing utensiles, production lines)