Natasza Shilling

Lead counsel for IP rights in the group legal team, Vodafone

I am a qualified solicitor in England and Wales with an enthusiasm for intellectual property law and commercial law; demonstrated by broad experience working in the intellectual property and commercial sector both in private practice and in-house for global companies.

I work for Vodafone Group Plc, managing a team of 4, and and am responsible for all intellectual property matters relating to Vodafone’s brand including overseeing clearance of product names, devising global trade mark filing strategies, managing over 300 intellectual property litigation matters worldwide, brand protection/enforcement and licensing.

Additionally, I advise on Vodafone’s commercial activities including global advertising campaigns, advertising/marketing clearance, social media and drafting terms and conditions. I also work on M&A deals and acted as lead IP counsel for Vodafone’s £16bn acquisition of Liberty Global’ s European assets.

My legal career in-house commenced in 2011 when I was working as a paralegal in Caterpillar Inc.’s intellectual property department. In this role I advised on a wide range of brand protection matters including overseeing opposition matters, supporting global anti-counterfeiting efforts and managing online infringements. After working for Caterpillar for 2 years, I joined London law firm Howard Kennedy LLP to train as a solicitor. During this time, I was seconded to Sony Music International for 6 months where I gained experience in IP licensing and digital distribution deals. After my secondment, I returned to Howard Kennedy for almost one year working as an intellectual property and commercial solicitor. I subsequently joined Vodafone and was promoted to Senior Legal Counsel in 2018.