Paola A.E. Frassi joined Bird & Bird’s office in Milan when it opened in April 2003.  She holds a degree in law (magna cum laude) obtained from the University of Milan in 1989. Paola has specialised in intellectual property law from the beginning of the nineties to date.

Following her graduation, Paola Frassi obtained a PHD in intellectual property, a post doctorate specialisation in IP and from 1995 to 2000 worked as a research fellow at the Catholic University in Milan.

In January 2001 she was appointed as associate professor in industrial property law for the Faculty of law at the University of Milan and in December 2003 she was appointed full professor within the same university and is currently responsible for lecturing copyright law.

Admitted to the Milan bar in 1993, Paola has been employed as a consultant with various law firms active in the IP sector in Milan and has simultaneously developed an independent practice in advising Italian companies and individuals on contentious and non-contentious matters in relation to trade marks, patents, copyright, agency and distribution agreements, advertising law and unfair competition.

Paola has authored several publications in the fields of copyright, patents, trade marks and competition including monographs “Useful works and copyright”, Milan 1997; “Copyright and related rights in the information society”, Milan 2003; Code of industrial property laws, Milan 2004, 4th ed.

She is member of the editorial board and regular contributor to Giurisprudenza annotata di diritto industriale (IP case law) and Rivista di diritto industriale (Industrial Property Review) and is Assistant Editor of Italian Intellectual Property. She is member of SISPI (The Italian Society for the Study of Intellectual Property) and the International League of Competition Law.

Paola regularly lectures at various specialist courses and seminars and at the Masters course for Intellectual Property organised in Turin by Wipo in co-operation with the Faculty of Law of the University of Turin.

Paolo’s mother tongue is Italian and she is also fluent in English and in French.