With over 15 years of professional experience in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), Joana began her career in this area as Member of the Board of Directors of ARBITRARE in 2009 and was appointed its Chairperson in 2012. Before that, she worked in both the private and public sector as Legal Advisor to the Minister of Youth and Sports (2000-2002), Legal Department Director at Portugal 2004 – Company for the European Football Championship Infrastructure (2002-2005), Partner in a law firm (2005), Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Portuguese Sport Institute, the National Anti-Doping Council, and the National Council Against Violence in Sports (2005-2009).
Joana graduated in Law from the University of Lisbon (1998), obtained a Post-graduate degree in Forensics and Legal Counsel of Companies (Portuguese Catholic University, 2003) and in Information Society Law (University of Lisbon, 2000). Recently, she became a qualified conflict mediator.
João Negrão has been the Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) since 1 October 2023.
João originally joined the EUIPO as head of the Executive Director’s Cabinet in 2010 and between 2011 and 2020 he was Director of the International Cooperation and Legal Affairs Department of the EUIPO.
From 2021 to 2023 he held the position of President of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal.
Before joining the EUIPO, João held different positions in the Portuguese public administration, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/General Directorate for EU Affairs, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Justice/National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI).
In 2001, he joined the INPI in the international relations cabinet, becoming the Head of Cabinet in 2004. In 2008, he was appointed Director of International Relations and Promotion of Innovation at INPI.
João Negrão holds a Master’s degree in law and a bachelor’s degree in international relations. He also has a number of high-level qualifications in Public Administration Management (National Institute of Administration), Leadership Management and High Performance People Skills for Leaders (London Business School) as well as IP-related courses, such as a general course on IP (WIPO Worldwide Academy) and a specialised course on the practice and functioning of the IP system in the USA (USPTO).
Godwin Warr is Director General of the Commerce Department within Malta’s Ministry for the Economy, Enterprise, and Strategic Projects. He also serves as Registrar of Crafts and Comptroller of Industrial Property.
Representing Malta in key EU and international IP bodies, he has 44 years of public service experience. Mr Warr played a key role in preparing Malta’s IP dossiers for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and EU accession, chaired IP Working Parties during Malta’s EU Presidency, and led legislative drafting in IP, trade, and crafts.
He is a Chevening Scholar, holds an MSc from Queen Mary and Westfield, University of London and a Business Management Honours degree from the University of Malta where he has been a guest lecturer for several years.
Sven Stürmann is the President of the Boards of Appeal at the EUIPO and an internationally accredited mediator (CEDR). He has a distinguished career in IP law and mediation, he previously served as Chairperson of the Second and Third Boards of Appeal and played a pivotal role in establishing Mediation at the EUIPO. Sven frequently contributes as a speaker on mediation and European Union trade mark issues.
He has authored numerous articles on intellectual property mediation and dispute resolution. Sven holds degrees in Law and Mediation from the Universities of Göttingen, Berlin, and Alicante, including a Master’s in Intellectual Property Law from Alicante (2004), and mediates in English, German, and Spanish.
Mr Godwin Mifsud joined the Malta Public Service in 2001 as an Economics Officer and served at the Economic Policy Department within the Ministry for Finance in various capacities prior to his appointment as Director (Structural Economic Research) in 2011 and subsequently Director General (Economic Policy) in 2015. The latter role provided Mr Mifsud with the opportunity to consolidate the Department’s policy advisory function with a particular focus on empirical evidence.
Supporting his work on national policy, Mr Mifsud had the privilege of representing Malta in several high-level fora on an international level, most notably as Malta’s Head of Delegation to the Economic Policy Committee, one of the preparatory bodies of the ECOFIN Council. He also served as Chairman of the Ageing Populations and Sustainability Working Group of the same committee. Mr Mifsud has led delegations in meetings with international institutions, including the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and credit rating agencies.
In September 2022 Mr Mifsud was appointed as Permanent Secretary within the Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, taking on the responsibility for the Public Works Department in January 2024. Mr Mifsud was appointed as Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects in January 2025.
Mr Mifsud has studied in Malta and the United Kingdom and holds post-graduate degrees in Economics and in Public Policy.
Hon. Judge Francesco Depasquale currently presides over the Maltese First Hall, Civil Court, in its Constitutional and Civil jurisdiction, since 2019. Prior to this, he served as a Magistrate from 2011.
Since 2021, he has held the position of President of the Association of the Maltese Judiciary. Additionally, he is the President of the Council of Europe European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), a position he assumed in 2022.
In his capacity as both a Magistrate and Judge, he consistently endeavours to promote amicable settlements, as this contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the judicial system.
Ultimately, justice must be delivered within a reasonable timeframe, and mediation should be regarded as a valuable tool in achieving this objective.
José A. Gil Celedonio is a Spanish civil servant by career (Administrator of State, XLVIII Promotion). He holds an Advanced Master degree on Intellectual Property and ICT Law (LLM) granted by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). Among his varied positions, he was manager of the Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid), Assistant Deputy Director for International Cooperation and Education Abroad (Spanish Ministry for Education, Culture and Sports) and Director of the Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (SPTO) from 2018 to 2022. He currently serves as Attaché for Industry and Tourism (including IP matters) in the Spanish Permanent Representation to the European Union (Brussels). In that capacity, he was the Chair of the Working Party on Intellectual Property under the last Presidency of the Council Spain had (2023).
He has been, since 2021, Chairperson of the Budget Committee of the EUIPO, re-appointed in 2025. As author, he has contributed to several collective works and IP journals such as La Propiedad Inmaterial (Externado University of Colombia), Comunicaciones en Propiedad Industrial y Derecho de la Competencia (CEFI Foundation) and Revista Propiedad Intelectual e Innovación Digital (University of Alicante). Member of the Scientific Board of the Magister Lvcentinvs (Alicante).
Caroline Le Goffic is a Professor of Private Law at the Université de Lille.
She specialises in Intellectual Property, Digital Law and Health Law.
She has published extensively on intellectual property (trademarks, geographical indications) and trade law.
She also teaches intellectual property at the Center for international Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) in Strasbourg, at the Université Panthéon-Assas and at the Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi.
Dr. Tobias Wuttke is a German qualified attorney-at-law with a particular focus on UPC and cross-border litigation. Influential rankings confirm his reputation as one of Germany’s leading patent litigators. Since the start of the UPC, Tobias is one of the most frequented UPC litigators. He is active in over 30 UPC proceedings before the Central Division and many Local Divisions of the UPC. His UPC experience involves high profile SEP, high tech, pharma and life science cases. Tobias also has an extensive track record before German courts whereby his expertise stems from hundreds of patent infringement and validity proceedings. He has in depth experience in mediating patent disputes.
Patricia McGovern is the Head of the Intellectual Property Department at DFMG Solicitors LLP, a boutique business law firm in Dublin, Ireland. She is a Solicitor, Irish Trade Mark Agent and a European Trade Mark and Design Attorney. She has extensive experience in almost all areas of intellectual property law. Patricia is a current member and former Chairperson of the Irish IP and Data Protection Committee of the Law Society of Ireland. She was one of the three Irish Government appointed members of the Copyright Review Group in Ireland which carried out an extensive review of copyright law and reported in 2013. Patricia is active in many intellectual property organisations both in Ireland and abroad. She has written and lectured extensively on IP topics.
Guy Tritton is a barrister at Hogarth Chambers and has been since 2001. He practices in all fields of intellectual property law (patents, designs, trademarks and copyright).
He is an accredited mediator (ADR Chambers). He has acted as a mediator in a large number of IP/Tech disputes.
He is the author of ‘Intellectual Property in Europe’ 6th edition (Sweet & Maxwell).
He has a Natural Science degree (Mathematics, Physics and Computing) from Durham University.
James South is CEDR’s Chief Executive, lead trainer of CEDR Mediator Training Faculty and one of the most experienced dispute resolution consultants.
James, a qualified lawyer in his native New Zealand has 20 years’ experience as a mediator. He acts as mediator both in the UK and internationally, specialising in corporate and commercial disputes, with particular experience in international commercial contracts, insurance & finance, property, sales of goods & services and employment & workplace. James also combines his mediating and consultancy skills to provide facilitation, neutral chairing and conflict coaching services to boards, leadership teams and other groups which find themselves in conflict.
Professional Background
James’ recent assignments have included Lead Expert to the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) on a global skills-based initiative to train board-level executives in the resolution of disputes and conflicts, in addition to International Expert to the Ministry of Justice of Moldova, funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to roll-out mediation schemes across the court system.
In recent years, James has been working on applied training in the utilisation of the mediator skill set in new and developing areas such as at board and leadership level within organisations and in investor-state disputes, working with ICSID and the Energy Charter Secretariat to develop and deliver specialist training for mediators in investor-state disputes in Washington DC, Paris and Hong Kong.
James holds a Master’s in Law (Distinction) in Dispute Prevention and Resolution from University of Westminster, London, He has taught ADR at Birkbeck College, University of London, London South Bank University, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, and the University of San Francisco.
Neil Narriman is an experienced intellectual property lawyer with a strong background in global brand protection, legal enforcement, and strategic litigation. With a career that spans across several continents and high-profile international brands, Neil currently leads the Intellectual Property Department at PUMA SE. Known for his strategic mindset and pragmatic approach, Neil has successfully navigated complex trademark and patent disputes, securing and defending key intellectual property rights. He is highly respected for his leadership and his ability to build and inspire high-performing legal teams. His work focuses not only on enforcement and litigation but also on developing future-proof IP strategies that align with business goals. Colleagues value Neil’s integrity, direct communication style, and his commitment to mentorship and collaboration.
His passion for innovation, brand integrity, and legal excellence continues to set the standard in the field of sportswear and fashion IP management.
Rafael Fernández de Alarcón Azón is the Brand, Advertising, Sponsorship and Media Director at Telefónica, where he has built his entire professional career. He began in the company’s technology departments, including engineering and ebusiness, before transitioning into corporate and commercial communication roles such as corporate reputation, CSR, sponsorships, and branding.
Between 2014 and 2016, Rafael served as Deputy Director to the CEO of Telefónica. He later took on leadership roles in sponsorships and institutional relations, culminating in his current position.
Rafael holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Zaragoza, a Business Administration and Management degree from UNED, and an Executive MBA from IESE Business School. He also completed the Chief Communications Officer program for Corporate Excellence in collaboration with Columbia, Georgetown, and ESADE.
His work has earned him notable recognition, including:
Alessandra Romeo is an Italian and European Trademark and Design Attorney and qualified Civil and Commercial Mediator, serving since 2010 at MARQUES (the European Association of Trade Mark Owners), as External Relations Officer. In this role, she represents the Association in cooperation, consultations and other initiatives at the EUIPO, WIPO, the European Commission and other institutional stakeholders. She has been admitted to practice as IP attorney since 1996, and she works in this role at the Turin firm BUZZI, NOTARO & ANTONIELLI d’ OULX since 2001. Alessandra advises on trademarks, geographical indications, designs, copyright, domain names and social media, with particular expertise in brand protection strategies, global trademark portfolio management and advising and representing clients of all sizes in the frame of administrative proceedings, extrajudicial controversies, settlement transactions and ADR proceedings.
Péter Lábody is the Vice President of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office, overseeing legal and international affairs, knowledge management, and client relations. He represents Hungary on the Management Board of the European Intellectual Property Office and has served as Vice Chair (and Acting Chair in 2024) of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. During Hungary’s EU Presidency, he led policy discussions on AI and copyright. He is also a researcher at the Information Society Research Institute in Budapest and a member of the Hungarian Copyright Experts Council.
Karin Kuhl, a German lawyer with a Master’s degree in European Law from the University of Exeter, has been an integral part of the EUIPO since joining the organisation in 2000.
Initially, Karin worked as a trade mark examiner and IP legal adviser, providing guidance on various aspects of IP law. In 2011, she transitioned into managerial tasks and continued contributing to the successful growth of the organisation. In 2015, she was appointed Programme Manager for implementing a new back-office system for the trade mark proceedings, ensuring the smooth transition and efficiency of these processes. From 2016 to recently, Karin took on the role of the Director of the Operations Department at the EUIPO, overseeing all areas of trade mark and design examination. Since July 2024, she is Director of the EUIPO Mediation Centre, where she leads efforts to resolve IP disputes through alternative dispute resolution methods. She is a CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) accredited mediator.
Aleš Zalar studied law at the University of Ljubljana and served as a Judge and President of the District Court of Ljubljana as well as President of the Slovenian Judges Association. He was also Minister of Justice and acting Minister of Home Affairs in Slovenia. During the last 12 years he has served as President of the European Centre for Dispute Resolution (ECDR), mediator, arbitrator and as independent consultant in international rule of law reforms and dispute system design projects.
As a policy adviser, trainer and lecturer he has worked in over 30 countries worldwide.
For over 15 years he occasionally assisted Ukraine in the development of its ADR system and constitutional reform. Following the establishment of the High Anti-corruption Court of Ukraine he has also supported its operation as senior legal adviser.
Currently he is the chairperson of the Advisory group of Experts in Ukraine, which selects candidates for Judges to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
He is a member of various international institutions, inter alia, the Mediation Centre Stakeholders Network of the EUIPO, the International Institute for Justice Excellence, and the Council of the European Law Institute (ELI).
For his contribution to the development of mediation he has received many special recognitions and awards, including from the Council of Europe (Crystal Scale of Justice) and from the US State Department (International Visitor Leadership Gold Star).
Asta is a lawyer who graduated from Vilnius University Law Faculty.
Currently, she is the Head of the Appeals Division of the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania.
Asta has been working in the IP office of Lithuania since 1996. From 2000 till now, she has been a chairperson of IP disputes in the pre-trial stage. She also represents the IP office in the court cases.
Asta has also been a mediator of the Republic of Lithuania since 2023, and from this year she is a member of the Lithuanian Chamber of Mediators.
Since last year, the IP office of Lithuania has introduced mediation services in trademark and design disputes in the pre-trial stage.
Asta frequently makes presentations on the practice and development of Lithuanian Board of Appeals and mediation services in the IP office.
After a Post Graduate Degree in European Business Law (University of PARIS Saclay) in 1997, Virginie began her career the same year at Cabinet Benech (IP Law Firm), which gave her experience in industrial property rights. She began her career at the firm as a lawyer then became an associate, after having been admitted to the Paris Bar in 2007, and finally a partner in 2012.
Virginie advises her French and foreign clients on the acquisition of industrial property rights (trade marks, designs), in drafting and negotiation of IP/IT contracts and auditing of intellectual property rights (IPR), and in litigation before the courts, the Offices or in arbitration (IPR infringement proceedings, opposition, nullity actions, unfair competition litigation, contractual liability litigation), including in mediation.
She is also responsible for the APRAM committee relating to arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.
Since November 2023, Aurika Hrybovska has held the position of Head of the Mediation Centre of the UANIPIO, where she has been actively promoting the use of mediation in resolving intellectual property (IP) disputes and supporting the development of mediation practices within the IP sphere in Ukraine.
She is the initiator of several educational and research initiatives aimed at raising awareness of IP mediation in Ukraine. These include the launch of the Discussion Club, which brings together specialists and experts interested in the development of IP mediation; the IP Mediation Talk platform, designed to foster professional dialogue on mediation in the field of intellectual property; the project “Conflict Without Escalation: The Art of Mediation”, a series of Q&A sessions with Ukrainian judges about mediation; as well as a research project exploring foreign experience in the implementation of IP mediation.
She holds a PhD in Law and a Master’s degree from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University of Ukraine. She is the author of numerous scholarly publications, with a particular focus on the establishment and development of intellectual property mediation in Ukraine.
She has actively participated in a wide range of international academic and professional conferences, both in Ukraine and abroad.
Chiara Accornero is a Legal Officer at the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Geneva. Chiara was the Centre’s representative at Maxwell Chambers in Singapore from 2017 until mid-2021. In her role, Chiara is responsible for the management of cross-border intellectual property and technology related disputes and promotion of WIPO ADR services globally.
Mr. Siyoung Park is a seasoned intellectual property expert with extensive experience in examination, litigation, policy, and international cooperation. Since joining the civil service in 1994, he has held key roles across various organizations, including the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the IP Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB), the IP High Court of Korea, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Over the years, he has contributed to the Multilateral Affairs Division and various examination divisions at the KIPO, trial boards at the IPTAB, and trial divisions at the IP High Court of Korea. He also served as Director of the Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Office at the KOTRA. Mr. Park has held many other roles within WIPO, including Senior Expert of the Climate Change and Food Security Unit, and Counsellor of the Innovation Division. Currently, Mr. Park serves as Presiding Administrative Patent Judge of IPTAB, where he is playing a pivotal role in resolving IP disputes.
He is qualified as an Attorney at Law in New York State and as a Patent Attorney in the Republic of Korea. He holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Detroit Mercy, U.S., and a Degree in Law from the University of Windsor, Canada. In addition, he holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Hanyang University.
Gordon Humphreys is currently Chairperson of the First Board and the Third Board of Appeal at the EUIPO, having joined the Boards in 2005. He was Head of the EUIPO Register Service from 2002–2005 and joined the EUIPO’s Legal Department in 1997. He is also an accredited mediator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and qualified as an international commercial arbitrator with CIArb in 2021. He also holds a certificate in negotiation mastery from the Harvard Business School (April 2025). He has been a member of the EUIPO ADR Service since 2011. He took up his duties as President of the Boards of Appeal ad interim on 1 October 2023 until 30 November 2024.
Prior to working at the EUIPO, Gordon was in private practice in Luxembourg and Brussels and qualified both as a barrister (England and Wales) and avocat (Brussels bar). He was also a member of the CIArb Sub-Committee on Revision of Mediation Rules between 2016 and 2018. Gordon was educated at the universities of Buckingham (LL.B), Cardiff (LL.M), Liège (Masters in economic law) and Alicante (specialist en derecho de la Unión Europea).
Gordon speaks and writes regularly on ADR, trade mark and design matters, and has co-edited Mediation: Creating Value in International Intellectual Property Disputes, Wolters Kluwer (2018) and was a contributing author in Hasselblatt, Community Design Regulation: Article-by-Article Commentary, Second Edition (2018), Beck.
Michael Mcllwrath is the founder of MDisputes Srl (www.mdisputes.com). He previously spent 22 years in the energy industry as Vice President of Litigation at Baker Hughes and General Electric Oil & Gas. He is an Adjunct Professor at Bocconi School of Law in Milan and is the co-author of numerous articles and two books on dispute resolution and negotiation of international commercial contracts.
Michael has chaired the governing bodies of the ICC and IMI (International Mediation Institute), and in 2017 Arbitral Women recognised him as a Champion of Change.
Imogen is the Office Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells’ office in Alicante. She works with brand owners to proactively protect and enforce their trade marks and designs across Europe and globally, from brand inception and strategy through to searching, filing, enforcement, anti-counterfeiting and commercialisation.
Imogen manages the European and global portfolios of many well-known and innovative brand owners in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), food and beverage, fashion and luxury goods, life sciences, TMT and media and entertainment industries. Her major clients include adidas, Mars, Starbucks, Estee Lauder and Tiffany & Co.
Dr Gavrilla is a seasoned mediator, CEO, and founder of ADR Center Romania, and a Senior Fellow of the Weinstein International Foundation. With over 23 years of mediation experience, he managed numerous disputes, domestic and international, including high-value, multi-party cases in industries like oil and gas, real estate, agribusiness, and infrastructure. He has trained over 1500 mediators and advised governments and organisations in more than 30 countries on mediation program development. He holds a PhD in constitutional law with emphasis on mediation and access to justice, teaches conflict studies and is the co-author of ‘SOLVE: Mastering Conflict Resolution with the 5x5 Mediation Matrix’.
A graduate from Brussels University (ULB) Law School, Hon. Judge Avi SCHNEEBALG was a researcher in legal philosophy, an attorney with the Brussels Bar, an accredited mediator, a lecturer in negotiation, conciliation and mediation at various universities, chambers of commerce, bar associations and schools for the judiciary and a Civil Judge in Brussels.
He is one of the pioneers of civil and commercial mediation in continental Europe, past Fellow of the prestigious International Academy of Mediators and co-founder and Vice President of GEMME (European Judges for Mediation).
Cinzia Negro is currently the Chairperson of the 2nd Board of Appeal and has been a Member of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal for the past twelve years. She is also a qualified mediator at the EUIPO Mediation Centre.
Fluent in English, French and Spanish, Cinzia graduated with honours from the Faculty of Law at the University of Turin and completed postgraduate studies in Intellectual Property.
As a qualified Italian lawyer, she worked as IP counsel and attorney-at-law at a prominent IP firm in Milan before joining the EUIPO in 2000.
Cinzia is an experienced lecturer and frequent speaker on IP and mediation.
George Lim was called to the Bar in Singapore in 1982 and has practised law for 43 years. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2010 and was President of the Law Society of Singapore between 1998-1999. He currently serves as Chairperson of the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC).
He has mediated close to 900 disputes, including investor state disputes, intellectual property matters and claims against governments. In 2025, he mediated a multi-party, multi- jurisdictional dispute involving USD 8 billion.
Mr Lim was Singapore’s mediation consultant to UNCITRAL Working Group 2, which led to the adoption of the Singapore Convention on Mediation in 2019.
Colin Rule is the CEO of Mediate.com and ODR.com, which became for-profit subsidiaries of the American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution in June 2024. In 2011 Colin co-founded Modria.com, an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) provider based in Silicon Valley, which was acquired by Tyler Technologies in 2017. From 2017 to 2020 Colin served as Vice President of ODR at Tyler. From 2003 to 2011 Colin was Director of ODR for eBay and PayPal. Colin is the author of Online Dispute Resolution for Business (2002) and co-author of The New Handshake: ODR and the Future of Consumer Protection (2017).
Master of Laws 1990, Doctor of Laws 1998. Specialised in procedural law, especially civil procedure, law of evidence and insolvency law.
Researcher at the University of Helsinki Faculty of Law 1991–1999, adjunct professor 2002-. Counsellor of Legislation at the Ministry of Justice 2000–09.
Judge in Court of Appeal and District Court 2010–2014. Chief Judge in District Court 2014–2016. Justice of the Supreme Court 2016–2019. President of the Supreme Court from 1 September 2019. Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration 2022.
Hon. Malik Chapuis serves as Judge in the First Instance Court of Paris. He is assigned to the Third Civil Chamber, which specialises in Intellectual Property.
As the Chamber’s mediation referent, he has significantly promoted and developed Amicable Dispute Resolution methods in the field of Intellectual Property. He is also member for France of the PMAC Expert Committee of the Unified Patent Court.
Hon. Malik Chapuis lectures in law at Sciences Po and at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He regularly speaks at the National School for the Judiciary and other venues on issues involving intellectual property, EU law and amicable dispute resolution.
Hon. Henri Mizzi is a judge in the Superior Courts of Malta, having been appointed in 2023. He is assigned all intellectual property law cases and all maritime law cases that come before the Civil Court in its commercial jurisdiction. He also hears constitutional and civil law cases. Between 1990 and 2020, Hon. Henri Mizzi was a partner at one of Malta’s main commercial law firms, where he was responsible for the firm’s commercial litigation department. Between 2021 and 2023 he practised as an arbitrator and mediator. He was educated at the universities of Malta and Cambridge and is also an accredited mediator.
Hon. Maja Praljak is a distinguished Judge serving on the Commercial Court in Zagreb, Croatia. With over 18 years of broad legal experience, she has specialised for the past nine years in intellectual property and insolvency proceedings.
She currently holds the position of Deputy President of the Commercial Court in Zagreb and has been a key leader in efforts to harmonise judicial practice across Croatia.
Her expertise extends to international engagement: she regularly moderates high-level conferences— including EU-level IP case law forums—and contributes as an EU Project Pravo-Justice expert, advocating best practices in creditor protection and legal certainty.
Hon. Judge Praljak is also a qualified mediator, accredited through both the Croatian Association for Mediation and the Commercial Court, and competently resolves disputes in domain-name arbitration.
Dr. Elke Schwager is a presiding judge at the High Court Munich I, working in the field of copyright and design law. She is qualified to act as a mediator at the court and has undertaken numerous mediations concerning intellectual property cases. Before becoming a judge, she worked as a prosecutor specialised in corruption, and as a lawyer focusing on international arbitration, and lectured law as an assistant professor at the university. Dr. Schwager has worked and studied in Paris, Geneva, London, New York, and Las Palmas.
Felicity Steadman, Head of the Faculty of Mediator Trainers at CEDR, was accredited as a mediator in 1989. Felicity mediates commercial, employment and workplace conflicts and disputes. With a background in industrial and employment relations, her first mediator accreditation was in South Africa at a time of intense labour/management and political conflict, followed by CEDR accreditation in 2003. A certified mediator with the International Mediation Institute, she has authored and co-authored works including, Commercial Mediation: A User’s Guide 2017; CEDR How to Master Negotiation 2015; Labour Dispute Resolution 2008; Handbook on Alternative Labour Dispute Resolution 2007; Dispute Resolution 1992.
Alexandra has been a CEDR-accredited mediator (London, UK) since 2012 and has served as a mediator at the EUIPO since then, facilitating the resolution of complex IP disputes. Her fluency in English, Spanish, German and Italian, as well as her proficiency in French, enable her to communicate effectively with parties from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, building mutual understanding and reaching successful outcomes in international IP mediations. Alexandra brings over a decade of experience as a Trade Mark Attorney and Associate at leading law firms in Alicante, Rome, and Madrid, where she worked prior to joining the EUIPO’s Boards of Appeal.
Christophe Du Jardin works as an Examiner at the Business Operations Department of the EUIPO and is an accredited mediator since 2024. He started his career as a trademark attorney in 2003 in Antwerp. From 2011, he worked as an IP attorney-at-law at several Belgian law firms before joining the EUIPO in 2019. He is a Team Leader in the Business Operations Department at the EUIPO where he mainly drafts and co-signs cancellation decisions.
In addition to his main role, Christophe has been a speaker at conferences on IP law and at seminars organised by EUIPO. He holds a law degree from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and completed a postgraduate specialisation (LLM) in IP at CEIPI (France). His mother tongue is Dutch, and he speaks English and French fluently, which he also uses for mediation.
Emilie is a Member of the Cabinet of the Boards of Appeal since 2021. Coming from the private sector, she joined the EUIPO in 2011 as a legal assistant at the Boards of Appeal and became a CEDR accredited mediator in 2013.
Marisol is currently a member of the EUIPO Mediation Centre. Previously employed as a lawyer in different law firms, Marisol is specialised in EU and international IP law.
Marisol joined the EUIPO Boards of Appeal in 2022 where she was project manager in a program aimed to establish the Mediation Centre at the EUIPO.
Her academic background includes a degree in law and a Master’s degree in IP. Marisol has also attained accreditation as a Mediator from a leading international organisation.
Jakub Mrozowski is an accredited mediator and senior IP lawyer at the EUIPO, where he is involved in the coordination of the area of Relative Grounds at first instance. He qualified as a lawyer in 2007 and as an attorney-at-law in 2012 and holds an LL.M. in Intellectual Property from Queen Mary University of London (2008). Before joining the Office in 2017, Jakub worked in private practice, focusing on trade mark and unfair competition matters. He has been a member of INTA’s Anticounterfeiting Committee and of the Licensing Executives Society Poland, where he served in various roles, including as President of the Board.
Sophia Bonne is a Senior Advisor in the Business Development Department at the EUIPO. With a strong background in international law firms, she has gained extensive experience as a lawyer (advocate) at the Brussels Bar, specialising in international commercial and intellectual property litigation. She is also a certified mediator (CiArb).
Her career at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has included a range of senior roles, such as Legal Advisor, Litigator before the Court of Justice of the European Union, and leadership positions including Leader of the IP Policy and Guidelines Team, Assistant to the President of the Boards of Appeal, Head of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Service, and Chair of the Information Security Forum. In addition, she has served as a Member of the Board of Appeal at the Community Plant Variety Office in Angers, France.
Alongside her professional achievements, Sophia has maintained a strong commitment to academia and publishing, including lecturing at international universities and authoring articles on case law. She has also co-edited a book on mediation, further demonstrating her expertise in the field.
Sophia holds a law degree from the Universities of Namur, Ferrara, Leuven and Tübingen, providing her with a solid academic foundation. She is proficient in multiple languages, including Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, enabling her to deliver effective mediation services across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. With her unique blend of professional experience, academic expertise and language skills, Sophia is exceptionally well equipped to navigate complex intellectual property matters.