Since 2006, Simona Lavagnini has served as president of the Intellectual Property Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Milan.

As a specialist in intellectual property law, particularly on copyright, Simona Lavagnini assists Italian and other clients who want to exploit their intangible assets. She helps rights holders and users handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, as well as enhance their lobbying efforts in the field of new technology.

A graduate of the University of Bristol and a summa cum laude in law from the Pavia University, Ms. Lavagnini is a member of leading IP associations worldwide; she is also a founding partner of LGV Avvocati (Milan), where she represents the IP interests of a wide range of clients, from software businesses to music companies and IP-related associations.

Her priority issues right now? "There is not enough awareness of the value of IP rights and the importance of protecting them. We're putting our best efforts into raising this awareness, creating a network among the relevant rights holders, lobbying to improve laws and enforcement, and developing legal strategies to achieve the best IPR protection," she stated.

Simona Lavagnini will be speaking at Growing Business with IP on July 17, 2008. This event will be hosted by the European Patent Office.