You invented it. I’ll make sure it stays yours.
I'm Philippe Knuesel-Cassard, a Swiss and European patent attorney who comes in before the filing and figures out what's worth protecting.
Many patent attorneys ask what you want to protect. I figure it out. I have a technical doctorate from ETH Zurich and spent years in the lab before moving into patent law. I speak your language, and I make the hardest questions my problem, not yours.
Based in Zurich. Working in German, English, and French.
No commitment required. Just a conversation about what you've built.
You have built something worth protecting.
The window to do it right is now.
You are sitting on years of experiments and prototypes, and the real question is not whether you made an invention. You know you did. It is which part of it can actually be patented, and which part is worth protecting first.
Some of what you built will hold up at the patent office. Some will not. And some matters far more than the rest. The longer it takes to sort that out, the fewer options you have.
What happens when the window closes?
You keep filing things late. You file the wrong things and spend years managing a patent that does not cover what actually matters. Investors keep asking about your IP, without receiving a good answer. If a competitor files first, you are starting from behind.
Filing early is necessary. Filing clearly is what makes it count.
I started in the lab.
That changes how I work.
I have a technical PhD and did the kind of experimental work you do. When I moved into patent law and trained at one of the larger firms in Switzerland, I brought that background with me and eventually left to build something of my own.
I left because I wanted to work with clients more directly, earlier. When you work with me, you are working with me. Not a team managing your file in rotation. Not an associate who picked it up last month. One person, for the full process.
I figure out the invention before a single word of an application is written. Most patent attorneys hand that question back to you. I make it my problem.
Three things that are different, from the first conversation.
Start before the filing.
Most patent applications run into trouble because nobody stopped to ask what the invention actually is. I invest the time up front to answer that question: walking through everything you built, why you built it, what problems it solved. Once I have a clear answer, the application practically writes itself. Before that point, nothing I write will hold up the way it needs to.
Make your problem my problem.
I do not ask what you want to protect. I go through your work and figure it out. My job is to understand what you built at a technical level and frame it as what the patent office needs to see. Those are two different things. I handle both.
Keep the filing flexible.
A granted patent locks in the scope. A pending application does not. I file strategically and keep things pending as long as it serves you. If a competitor surfaces years from now, there is still room to adapt and respond. I also manage portfolios with regular scheduled calls. Instead of receiving a stream of forwarded letters from me that you are not sure what to do with, you get one clear conversation that covers everything.
What working with me looks like.
The Patent Blueprint Session
01
A two to three hour working session before anything is filed. The first part is an overview: I explain how the patent process works, why things are phrased the way they are, and what I need from you. The second part is the mapping: we go through everything you have built and I identify what is patentable, in what order, and what each application would cover. You leave with a clear picture of exactly what can be done and what to do next. This is where every engagement starts.
Patent Application and Prosecution
02
From drafting the application through the full examination process at the European Patent Office and national patent offices. I am fluent in German, English, and French, and I will handle your case in whichever language makes your life easiest.
Portfolio Management
03
If you have active applications, I manage the full portfolio with a flat-fee structure and regular scheduled calls. Clear updates. One point of contact. No per-letter billing for communications you did not ask to receive.
Litigation and Opposition
04
When a dispute arises, whether you are defending a patent or challenging one, I handle proceedings at the Swiss Federal Patent Court and the European Patent Office in German, English, or French. Being fluent in all three is a real tactical advantage: I can file in whichever language puts the most pressure on the other side.
If you have built something and are not sure what to protect yet, this is where to start.
I work primarily with early-stage tech companies in materials, chemistry, medtech, and analytical instrumentation, often at proof-of-concept stage, where there is real IP worth protecting but no clear picture yet of exactly what to file. Most of my clients are in Switzerland, Germany, and France, though I work with inventors and founders anywhere in Europe.
This is for you if you have investors asking about your IP, a competitor you are watching, or years of technical work you have never formally looked at from a patent perspective.
My practice is intentionally small. I take on clients where real depth of engagement is possible. If you need a high-volume firm that processes filings at scale, I am not the right fit. If you need someone who knows your technology and is reachable when something comes up, that is exactly what I am building.
I hold a technical PhD and completed my patent attorney training at one of the larger firms in Switzerland.
I am qualified as a Swiss and European Patent Attorney and have handled proceedings at the Swiss Federal Patent Court and the European Patent Office.
I work in German, English, and French. In opposition proceedings at the EPO, I can file in whichever language gives you the advantage. At the federal patent court, where cases are sometimes conducted in French, I can handle them directly, without additional costs for translation or separate counsel.
I started knueselcassard because I wanted to work differently. With real conversations, honest assessments, and the kind of continuity that only comes from working with one person throughout the entire process.
I am a member of VSP, VESPA, LES, and epi.
A few questions I hear often.
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That is exactly when to contact me. The earlier we have this conversation, the more options you have. The Patent Blueprint Session is designed for the moment when you have technology that works but no clear picture yet of what to file.
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This is probably the most common reason people reach out. A pending patent application is already a meaningful answer to that question. The Blueprint Session is where we figure out what to file, in what order, and on what timeline. You walk into the next investor conversation with something real.
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After the Blueprint Session, the preparation and filing of your first patent application is usually a matter of weeks. Patent prosecution takes several years from first filing to grant. What I can control is the quality of what goes in and how I manage the portfolio along the way. Starting with the Blueprint Session means you are not losing time later due to gaps in the initial filing.
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Yes. Most of my clients are in Switzerland, Germany, and France, but I work with inventors and founders anywhere in Europe. I file at the European Patent Office and through corresponding attorneys in other jurisdictions when needed.
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At a large firm, your file moves through a team. Standardized processes are efficient, but they also mean the attorney you meet at the start is often not the one handling your case six months later. I work with every client directly, from the first conversation through the full process. I built my practice specifically so that this is the only way it works.
If you have built something worth protecting, I would like to hear about it.
A first conversation is free. Tell me what you have built and I will give you an honest read on whether there is something worth pursuing and where to start.
No pitch. No pressure. Just a conversation.