ANDREAS THIELMANN, Patent Attorney, Cohausz & Florack, DE Andreas Thielmann studied mining engineering at RWTH Aachen Technical University where he got his diploma (Dipl.-Ing.) in 1987. After his studies, he first worked for Bergbauforschung GmbH in Essen in the department of underground excavation and rock mechanics. After completing his training in intellectual property law at two German IP firms, the District Court Düsseldorf, the German Patent and Trademark Office and the Federal Patent Court in Munich, he joined COHAUSZ & FLORACK in Düsseldorf in the year 1991 being a partner of the firm since 1993. Andreas Thielmann acts on behalf of German and foreign clients in all areas of intellectual property law. His technical areas of expertise are in the fields of mining technology and general mechanical engineering, where he is involved mainly in packaging technology, ceramic and refractory materials and environmental and processing technologies. He is active in both technical intellectual property matters and trademark rights. He trains young patent attorneys in IP law and he serves as an honorary judge in the senate for patent attorney matters at the Higher Regional Court Munich. He is a member of ECTA since 1996, a Council Member since 2012 and presently a member of the Design Committee.