

Dr. phil. nat. Ulrike Ciesla, Dipl. Chem., European Patent Attorney
Partner, Zurich
T +41 58 552 02 90
ulrike.ciesla@mll-legal.com
Profile
Ulrike Ciesla is a member of MLL Legal’s IP team, which ranks among the leaders in intellectual property in Switzerland. In particular, she complements the patent litigation team with her expertise in technical matters and patent law.
Ulrike Ciesla studied chemistry at the University of Erlangen and the University of Mainz. After her doctoral thesis in the field of inorganic solid state chemistry and catalysis at the University of Frankfurt she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and scholar of the German Research Foundation (DFG). She is co-author of several publications, including highly-cited papers in high impact journals such as Angewandte Chemie and Nature.
Ulrike Ciesla began her patent attorney career at Hoffmann Eitle, one of the largest patent law firms in Europe. In 2004 she qualified as a European Patent Attorney and German Patent Attorney and later became a partner at Hoffmann Eitle. During her almost 20 years with Hoffmann Eitle, Ulrike gained extensive experience and knowledge in patent prosecution and opposition-appeal proceedings before the German and European Patent Offices as well as in patent litigation proceedings before courts in Germany and Switzerland.
Before joining MLL Legal as partner, Ulrike Ciesla was already working with MLL Legal’s IP team on the Faslodex® litigation proceedings.
Practice Areas
Industry Groups
Rankings & Awards










- “Ulrike Cielsa is technically excellent and always on top of the detail” – Legal 500 EMEA, Healthcare and Life Sciences, 2022
- “Ulrike Ciesla is a fantastic European patent attorney, with a very strong background in chemistry and an extremely clear mind” – Legal 500 EMEA, Intellectual Property, 2022
- “Performs excellently in court and has an outstanding knowledge of EPO case law. She has a remarkable understanding of the technologies that she works with and is a very reliable team player” – IAM Patent 1000, 2022
- Ulrike Ciesla is ranked as “Patent Star 2021” and “Top 250 Women in IP 2021” for Switzerland in the 2021/22 edition – IP STARS, MIP
Deals & Cases
- Successfully represented Lipomed AG and Lipomed GmbH in patent opposition proceedings before the Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office and coordinating international patent litigation concerning the clients’ deferiprone business
- Advised and represented AstraZeneca (Faslodex®) and other pharma companies against early market entries of generics before the European Patent Office as well as nullity proceedings and in infringement litigation proceedings in Germany and Switzerland
- Represented chemical companies and cosmetic companies in opposition-appeal-proceedings before the European Patent Office
- Advised pharma startups on patent portfolio and acquisition
Education & Admission
- European Patent Attorney (since 2004)
- German Patent Attorney (since 2004)
- UC Santa Barbara, Postdoc (1997–1999)
- University of Frankfurt, Dr. phil. nat., summa cum laude (1997)
- University of Mainz, Dipl. Chem. (1994)
Memberships and public offices
- The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (EPI)
- German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR)
- Patentanwaltskammer (PAK)
- Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh)
- Healthcare Business Women (HBA), Mentor
Languages
- German
- English
Publications
- Patent Litigation 2023 Switzerland – Trends and Developments | 01.03.2023
- The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides 2022 – Switzerland: Patent Litigation | 02.11.2022
- Patent Litigation 2022 Switzerland – Trends and Developments | 15.02.2022
- The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides 2021 – Switzerland: Patent Litigation | 03.11.2021
Find all publications by Ulrike Ciesla on our website mll-legal.com.
Assistant
Ulrike Ciesla is ranked as “Patent Star 2021” and “Top 250 Women in IP 2021” for Switzerland in the 2021/22 edition
Publications
Patent Litigation 2023 Switzerland – Trends and Developments
Chambers and Partners, Global Practice Guides, Patent Litigation 2023, 01 March 2023- EN
The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides 2022 – Switzerland: Patent Litigation
The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides 2022, November 2022- EN
Patent Litigation 2022 Switzerland – Trends and Developments
Chambers and Partners, Global Practice Guides, Patent Litigation 2022, 15 February 2022- EN
The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides 2021 – Switzerland: Patent Litigation
The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides 2021, November 2021- EN