Dr Schmidt is based in Lyon (France). He is the managing partner of the French Intellectual Property firm IXAS Conseil (head office in Lyon, secondary offices in Marseille, Paris and Besançon).

He has a thorough scientific education :

Dipl.-Chem. (Universität Göttingen), Dr. 3ème cycle en chimie-physique (Université Paris-Orsay), Dr. ès-Sciences Physiques (Université Paris-Orsay)

and significant experience in academic (Germany, France, U.S.A.) and industrial research and development. He has co-authored about 20 scietific papers and is a co-inventor of six patents. He also earned master degrees in private law, business law and economics from Grenoble University.

He is working in the field of Intellectual Property since 1993, first at PECHINEY, then at ALCAN-RIO TINTO, and since 2005 as the managing partner of the French IP firm IXAS Conseil. He is registered both as a French Conseil en propriété industrielle and as a German Patentanwalt.

Dr Schmidt has significant experience with opposition and appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office as well as with infringement and nullity proceedings in France and Germany. In France he is carrying out infringement seizure and customs seazure proceedings, and is also co-ordinating litigation in all areas of IP. He is listed as an arbitrator with the German-French Chamber of Commerce in Paris. He also carries out due diligence audits and strategic analysis, alone or in co-operation with counsels from his French IP firm IXAS Conseil.

IXAS Conseil, a French Intellectual Property firm, was established in 1989 and is managed by Dr Schmidt since 2005. It includes a team of engineers, chemists, lawyers and paralegals capable of dealing with all aspects of intellectual property law. The firm is a convenient one-stop shop for France, Germany and Europe !