Our ambassadors are representatives of the CEIPI IP Business Academy in their countries and regions. They are experienced IP experts who support their national innovation systems with content from the CEIPI IP Business Academy. Ambassadors are the spokespeople with knowledge about national specificities. The language, in which we communicate through social platforms and provides content is English. Our ambassadors promote the CEIPI IP Business Academy within their community to raise awareness by promoting our content through social platforms, and if preferred, in their national language. Together with our ambassadors, we provide case studies, teaching materials, and seminars.

Shourabh Banerjee

Ambassador India

Paolo Beconcini

Ambassador USA and China

Marta Bettinazzi

Ambassador Italy

Giovanna Paola Girardi

Ambassador Spain

Raymond Hegarty

Ambassador Ireland

Nabiry Jumanne

Ambassador East Africa

Dr. Malte Köllner

Ambassador Germany

Louis Lozouet

Ambassador Brazil

Anton Polikarpov

Ambassador Ukraine

Biswajit Sarkar

Ambassador India, Calcutta, West Bengal

Dr. Heiko Seeger

Ambassador Italy

Magda Voltolini

Ambassador France

Alexander Weir

Ambassador United Kingdom

Dr. Martin Wilming

Ambassador Switzerland

Stephen Yang

Ambassador China

Claudio Zancan

Ambassador USA

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Shourabh Banerjee

Ambassador India

Shourabh holds significant IP operations experience across diverse IP domains including trade marks, copyrights and designs in numerous industries across clientele of Europe/ USA/ Africa and Asia with a premiere IP practice based in India. After moving to the UK in 2019, he pursued his master degrees MBA and LLM (Mediation & International Arbitration ) and is currently pursuing his PGCert- Trade mark Attorney qualification with Queen Mary University, London. To his credit, he currently is a contributor to the IP Journal (IP-Think Tank), (National University of Juridical Sciences) NUJS, Kolkata, India and a co researcher with University of Cambridge and NUJS, Kolkata on a project based on sustainable IP models or SME’s based on cultural heritage products/services (ICH- Intangible cultural heritage).

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  • +1 213 689 5110
  • paolo.beconcini@squirepb.com
  • Squire Patton Boggs | www.squirepb.com

Paolo Beconcini

Ambassador USA and China

Since 2012 Dr. Paolo Beconcini has headed the firm’s China Intellectual Property team spanning over several offices, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. Since 2023 Paolo chairs the newly formed Global Brand Protection Practice Group within the firm. Paolo consults companies seeking protection for their IP rights in China and legal action against infringers, advising on issues of law and enforcement, conducting evidence gathering and piloting their cases through the Chinese legal system. A sought-after authority on IP protection and litigation in China, Paolo manages the trademark, copyright and design portfolios of European and US clients, conceives and implements IP litigation strategies, regularly appears in Chinese courts and attends IPR administrative and police raids on counterfeiters. His record of success in patent and trademark infringement lawsuits includes landmark cases designated “case of the year” by several IP journals. He leads business intelligence teams that pursue evidence of counterfeiting operations, particularly concerning automotive, fashion and consumer goods. Paolo is frequently invited to speak at conferences devoted to the growing field of Chinese IP, and has been actively involved in field projects, including trademark and patent enforcement training programs for Chinese civil servants. Paolo is regularly interviewed on China IP matters by media around the world such as The Wall Street Journal, CNN, BBC, The Times, Bloomberg, La Tribune and Il Sole24 Ore, to name a few. In China, where intellectual property disputes routinely involve multiple cultures, Paolo’s fluency in five languages, including Mandarin, helps him navigate international borders, and creates confidence in his clients. Paolo represents US and European clients in confronting the myriad cross-­cultural challenges – legal, commercial, political – that threaten patent and trademark assets.

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Marta Bettinazzi

Ambassador Italy

Dr. Marta Bettinazzi is an Italian IP lawyer with a deep knowledge of the South East Asia IP landscape. She is now working as a Lawyer in Milan; her main clients are SMEs and freelancer. She helps her clients in building an effective strategy to protect and develop their intangible assets. Previously she was the IP Advisor of the South-east Asia IPR SME Helpdesk project located in Ho Chi Minh City. Marta, holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Pavia (Italy), and a PhD in Roman Law and European legal culture from the Universities of Pavia and Saarbrücken (Germany).

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  • GP Girardi Intellectual Property | www.gpgirardi.com

Giovanna Paola Girardi

Ambassador Spain

Giovanna Girardi is a lawyer specializing in business law and intellectual property. Clients hire her to build strategies to protect their designs, patents and trademarks and also profit from them. Giovanna also lectures at various business schools Geneva Business School, EAE, Garrigues and collaborates in global and European to raise awareness of intellectual property rights as a competitive tool for SMEs. In 2017, she participated in an ambitious project for the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to help harmonise practices within the network of European Union Intellectual Property Offices. Giovanna was born and raised in Brazil and holds Masters degrees from Pontificia Comillas University. You can follow her insights in intellectual property on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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  • http://www.billiondollarip.com

Raymond Hegarty

Ambassador Ireland

As the World’s top IP coach, Raymond Hegarty coaches C-suite executives of growth-stage technology and life science companies on how to build intangible value and mitigate IP risks to scaling. For six years, he was Vice President of Global Licensing for Intellectual Ventures, where he managed a portfolio of 40,000 patents. Prior to that, Mr Hegarty built IP-intensive businesses in Japan, Ireland and Luxembourg, developed teams and implemented processes and systems for IP exploitation. He has closed billions of dollars of patent and trademark transactions. Mr Hegarty is the author of two bestselling books on IP strategy – Billion Dollar IP Strategy (2019) and Intellectual Property for Executives (2018) – and co-author of the chapter on IP transfer pricing in Tolley’s Transfer Pricing Risks Post-BEPS. He has served as an expert advisor to the European Commission, the OECD and policymakers in several countries on national and international innovation and intangible taxation strategies. Mr Hegarty is a regular conference speaker and is connected to the global professional IP community. He has been recognised by IAM Magazine every year since 2011 as one of The World’s Top 300 IP Strategists.

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Nabiry Jumanne

Ambassador East Africa

Nabiry is Partner and Head of the Intellectual Property (IP) at ECA, working with many International law firms in the IP field by supporting their client's IPR matters in Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) in the areas of Trademarks, Patents, Designs, and Copyrights Registration and Prosecution, Draft and submit oppositions, Cancellation and appeal actions, Trademark infringement, IPR Registrations/Renewals, Anti-unfair competition matters, IP Enforcement & Litigation, Domain and trade name protection, Corporate and Legal Advisory and Customs protection of intellectual property rights, as well as negotiation on various Intellectual Property issues.

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  • Köllner & Partner mbB | www.kollner.eu

Dr. Malte Köllner

Ambassador Germany

Dr. Malte Köllner, from Köllner & Partner, is a German and European Patent Attorney as well as Trademark and Design Attorney. In 2019 he was ranked in the category “Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz (Industrial Property)” as being one of Germany’s Best Lawyers for the fifth consecutive year by the German business newspaper “Handelsblatt”. He was also recognized as Germany's most influential patent attorney. Dr. Malte Köllner holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and a diploma in Physics from the University of Heidelberg. His areas of expertise include physics, physical chemistry, optics, lasers, biotechnology, medical devices and software. With a vast experience in the field of Intellectual Property, Dr. Malte Köllner is also the editor-in-chief of the German journal for patent law "Mitteilungen der Deutschen Patentanwälte" and a lecturer at various conferences and universities. Dr. Malte Köllner has authored a handbook on the Patent Cooperation Treaty as well as numerous publications on the economic and legal side of the IP system. His notable achievements in the IP area have listed him, year after year, as one of the world’s leading lawyers and IP strategists. Dr. Malte Köllner regularly presents current trends and developments in the IP industry in his lectures. Dr. Malte Köllner developed several legal services such as Flat Fee Prosecution and made a fundamental contribution to the area of patent valuation.

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  • Venturini IP | www.venturini-ip.com

Louis Lozouet

Ambassador Brazil

Partner at Venturini IP, a boutique Intellectual Property firm based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Louis is an IP Attorney-at-Law with over 10 years of legal experience with international clients. Previous to Venturini IP, he worked as a Director of Business Development for the largest IP group in Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries, helping develop IP portfolios of Brazilian companies and subsidiaries of foreign companies located in Brazil. Louis also had the opportunity to work as a Patent litigation specialist at one of the most renowned Brazilian Patent Litigation firms, with specific focus on the telecommunication (standard-essential patents), pharmaceutical and med-tech industries. Louis is an expert in IP Strategic and Management Consulting, as well as Patent Licensing. He holds an MBA from IMD Business School, Lausanne-Switzerland; a Post-Graduate degree in IP Law from Universtié Paris-XII, France; and a Post-Graduate degree in Civil Procedure Law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Admitted to the Brazilian Bar (2012) and to the French Bar Exam (CAPA – 2009).

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  • apolikarpov@polikarpov.legal
  • Polikarpov Law Firm

Anton Polikarpov

Ambassador Ukraine

In my professional career, I have established from the scratch IP/TMT practices in two top-tier Ukrainian law firms (Arzinger and Avellum). I have strong experience of dealing with business matters as internal counsel due to leading IP department in FMCG-giant “Roshen” and working for the top beverage company “Global Spirits” (TMs “Khortytsa”, “Morosha”)

During the recent years of professional activity, I have received a number of recognitions (either as an individual lawyer or as a member of the firms I worked at): by Chambers Europe, WTR 1000, The Legal 500 EMEA, IAM Patent 1000, Managing IP (IP Stars) and Best Lawyers. As an in-house lawyer, I was included in WTR 300 (in 2017 and 2018) and recognized as the Best In-house IP Counsel in Ukraine (in 2018).

Qualifications
Patent Attorney of Ukraine, 2015 (Certificate No. 476)
Attorney-at-Law, 2012 (Certificate No. 2607)

Education
Master of IP Law (with honours), 2012, Intellectual Property Institute, National University “Odesa Law Academy”
Master of Laws (with honours), 2006, Kyiv National Economic University

Hobbies: I am in love with the piano since childhood, currently play keyboards in Van Kuver band (YouTube channel) and practice boxing

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Biswajit Sarkar

Ambassador India, Calcutta, West Bengal

Biswajit Sarkar is widely regarded in industry circles as one of the pioneers of Intellectual Property in India. When he specialized in Intellectual Property and started professional practice in 1991, many stared at him. Intellectual Property, as we know it now, was in a nascent stage. Trademark protection was, by and large, restricted to the registration of trademarks and the issuance of warning notices. Copyright was mainly limited to music and publishing industries. Patents were few and far between. After signing the WTO/GATT agreements, India has now become the country with the maximum potential for the Intellectual Property Right matters. Today, Biswajit Sarkar is one of the most sought after lawyers in the country for Intellectual Property matters and he successfully completed two world renowned cases, such as registration of a particular address as trade mark of 6 Ballygunge Place and creating copyright protection for Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa. His clientele includes industry leaders and blue chip companies. Mr. Biswajit Sarkar is empanelled with different Foreign Embassies and Consulates as well as various Chambers of Commerce. To give back to the society, his firm regularly takes interns from law institutes country wide. Mr. Sarkar is regularly invited by Universities , Law Colleges, Kolkata Police, National Judicial Academy , Government Bodies and various Chambers of Commerce to give lectures to spread awareness of the role of IP in modern business. Biswajit Sarkar is honoured and humbled to represent Mother Teresa’s Organisation: Missionaries of Charity for legal issues.

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  • Studio Torta S.p.a. | www.studiotorta.com

Dr. Heiko Seeger

Ambassador Italy

Dr. Heiko Seeger is the Partner and a European and Italian Patent and Design Attorney at Studio Torta S.p.a.

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  • Lencify | www.lencify.eu

Magda Voltolini

Ambassador France

Based in Paris, Magda began her career in intellectual property in 2011 as a journalist on IP policy and rights, and then she continued her work as a business engineer of IP software and services, and more recently, she is focusing on public affairs in Europe. She is a member of the I3PM Association and LES France. Magda holds a Graduate Master's degree in Marketing and Business Development from IFOCOP Paris, an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Edinburgh, a Postgraduate Master's degree in Business Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and a Law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. She is registered in the Bar Association of Rio de Janeiro, as a non-practicing lawyer. 

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  • +44 789 69 49 161
  • AlexWeir@outlook.com
  • Chairman and Co-founder | IPerfectAI Ltd

Alexander Weir

Ambassador United Kingdom

I wish to bring my extensive knowledge and experience of the IP space and in particular my work these past years, with AI and DLT, to supporting the objectives of Business West and Innovate UK Edge. I believe that there are great opportunities for the use of AI/DLT in supporting UK SMEs and start-ups with the tools that use this available technology and can add real value. AI/DLT will enable SMEs and others across the UK, to use their IP to grow, discover hidden opportunities and be open to real investment. Too many SMEs do not have any IP (9% by recent EUIPO studies), I wish to use my skills and personal network to reach these and the 91% who are unaware of the value of IP and ensure the 9%, exploit to the fullest extent their existing IP and realise the benefit of having more IP for their growth and long term investment potential. AI with DLT offers great opportunities, enabling SMEs to understand the true value their IP delivers, see where they stand in relation to their industry competitors and chart a clear path to build strong and successful businesses for the UK.

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  • Hepp Wenger Ryffel AG | www.hepp.ch

Dr. Martin Wilming

Ambassador Switzerland

Martin Wilming has been a partner at Hepp Wenger Ryffel since 2008. His main areas of activity are international grant procedures, opposition and appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office and the enforcement of intellectual property rights of all types. In addition, he advises and represents clients in proceedings before the Swiss Federal Patent Court, which has had jurisdiction over patent litigation cases since the beginning of 2012. In addition to patent law, he is also active in trademark law and design law. He not only has extensive experience of analysing questions of infringement and the legal validity of intellectual property rights, but also provides clients with practicable recommendations for action from a commercial perspective. He frequently advises and represents clients in complex disputes, coordinates multinational IP litigation and drafts and negotiates technology-related agreements, in particular licensing, cooperation and technology transfer agreements. In technological terms, the main areas of his activity are chemistry, pharmaceutics, adhesives and coatings, dental technology, food technology and mechanical engineering. Martin Wilming runs a blog (www.patentlitigation.ch) which provides a running commentary on the case law of the Swiss Federal Patent Court, and has also contributed as a co-author to the Patentrechtskommentar (Patent law commentary) by Fitzner/Lutz/Bodewig. In addition, he is a lecturer on the CEIPI Basic Training Course in European patent law. Martin Wilming has a doctorate in bio-organic chemistry and has worked for Hepp Wenger Ryffel since 2002. He is a European and Swiss Patent Attorney. In addition, he has undertaken additional training in economics and has specialized further in the field of the management of IP rights (LL.M. in IP Law and Management (CEIPI)).

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  • IP March | www.ipmarch.cn

Stephen Yang

Ambassador China

Stephen Yang is a Chinese patent attorney and managing partner of IP March, a Chinese IP law firm. His practice covers patent search, drafting, prosecution, invalidation, opinion and litigation in mechanics, electronics, energy and high tech areas. His IP career began in 1997. In addition to practicing in IP firms in China, he once worked in-house in Canada. Stephen’s technical background is mechanical and industrial engineering. He received double Bachelor’s degrees from Tsinghua University in China and a Master’s degree from University of Toronto in Canada. Stephen is a frequent speaker and author of many articles. In particular, he is the lead author of the book "IP Protection in China", published by ABA Publishing. Stephen has been consistently recognized by various sources as a leading IP practitioner in China.

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  • +5504199836-4104
  • claudiozancan@gmail.com

Claudio Zancan

Ambassador USA

Dynamic and accomplished professional with a diverse academic background and extensive experience in strategic areas of finance, marketing, intellectual property, and management. Seeking opportunities to apply expertise in driving business growth and fostering innovation.

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