Joana is a Portuguese Patent and Trademark Attorney, lawyer and pharmacist, working in IP since 2010.
She has a law degree from the University of Lisbon and an integrated master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Coimbra.
After conducting research in the field of Pharmaceutical Technology in London, Joana worked as Innovation Manager, as Intellectual Property Consultant and as Patent Examiner at the Portuguese Industrial Property Office. She was a Managing Associate at Vieira de Almeida & Associados, where she worked from 2016 until 2024. In 2024 she became a founding partner of NLP.
She is Vice-President of the Patents Comission of UNION-IP and a member of the Standing Advisory Committee to the European Patent Office EPO (SACEPO-WP Guidelines).
Languages: PT | EN | ES
Integrated Master's Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra.
Law degree from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon.
Postgraduate course in Intellectual Property Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon.
Course on European Patent Law and Patent Litigation in Europe organised by the Centre d'Etudes Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle (CEIPI) of the University of Strasbourg.
After researching Pharmaceutical Technology at the UCL School of Pharmacy in London, Joana had her first professional experience in intellectual property at the Pedro Nunes Institute in 2010, where she worked as an Innovation Manager, working alongside tech companies and inventors on their IP protection strategy.
In 2011, she became an Intellectual Property Consultant at Clarke Modet & Co Portugal, assisting in drafting patent applications, registering trademarks and preparing technology intelligence reports.
Between 2014 and 2016, Joana worked at the Portuguese Industrial Property Office as a Patent/SPC Examiner in the fields of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry and Biotechnology.
In 2016, Joana joined Vieira de Almeida & Associados (VdA) as a consultant, where she was promoted to Managing Associate and worked until 2023.
In 2024 she co-founded NLP.
Joana has worked with some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies on complex patent issues, often taking responsibility for technical coordination in patent infringement and invalidity cases. Joana also provides technical, legal and strategic advice on various legal frameworks related to intellectual property, including due diligence reports, licensing, ownership of inventions and R&D activities, notably for tech companies.
She actively participates in the organisation, moderation and presentation of conferences and round tables in the field of Intellectual Property.
She is the author of several articles related to Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Technology.
Recognised in The Legal 500 (Key Lawyer in Patent Ligation 2023), IP Stars (Rising Star 2022, 2023 and 2024), IAM Patent 1000 rankings, Women in Business Law Awards (shortlisted as IP Rising Star 2023), and Client Choice Awards by Lexology (Best Portuguese Lawyer in "Patents" 2022).
