Andreas Hoffmann is IP Director at Finnish mining-equipment giant Metso Outotec – a key Papula-Nevinpat customer. He spoke about his team’s special approach to managing a global network of patent attorneys at Papula-Nevinpat’s IP summit held in October 2022.
Hoffmann is an engineer by education who joined Metso in 2004, more than 15 years before it would merge with Outotec. After just a year at the company he was drawn into an IP role and asked to manage a relationship with a local patent attorney firm. He was soon handling similar relationships across multiple countries.
Metso Outotec is now a EUR 4.2 billion revenue company with 15,000 employees and operations in 50 countries. It has R&D in 30 locations.
“Being so widely spread around the world means we deal with many situations and differences when it comes to managing inventions, handling local legislation, and protecting our IP rights. One size does not fit all,” says Hoffmann. “Business needs differ across our organization, and by observing local legislation we can adapt to these varied needs.” Read more