Rick De Zeeuw

Director, Patents

Rick De Zeeuw started his career in The Hague, The Netherlands, and joined Murgitroyd in 2003. He is now a Director, Patents, heading up the French office in Sophia Antipolis, the research centre just outside Nice. Rick joined Murgitroyd with the ambition of helping the company become a truly European IP law firm with a solid presence on the continent.

With almost 25 years of experience, Rick understands how to handle all aspects of prosecution of Dutch, French and European patent applications. On a daily basis, he focuses on patents across electronics and mechanical engineering. He has an excellent track record concerning litigation in France and The Netherlands.

One of his additional activities in the IP field is teaching IP law to students and entrepreneurs. He provides lectures at SKEMA Business School in Sophia Antipolis and Edhec Business School in Nice.

Sector expertise

Mechanical Engineering
Civil engineering
Electronics
Off-shore constructions
Medical devices
Computer implemented inventions

Rick De Zeeuw earns special recognition from clients for his “skill and efficiency when handling French and European patent applications.

IAM 1000 2025 Research Insights

Rick is very patient, cost effective, and thoroughly outlines the different options available to his clientele.

IAM 1000 2025 Research Insights

Key contributor to our Technology, Media & Telecoms Team awarded Gold by the Financial Times

Financial Times European Leading Patent Law Firms - 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025

I was very impressed with Rick’s analysis and his ability to distill the complicated issues into what mattered most, focusing on likelihood of success (or in this case unlikelihood of success) for each claim, and what our options for next steps might be. I sometimes find that to be a difficult task for IP lawyers, but Rick did it very well.

Assistant General Counsel, US based Corporation