“The IPI has shaped my future career”

Stephanie was already familiar with the IPI from conducting research for her Master’s thesis. One day, she came across a LinkedIn ad for an internship vacancy at the IPI. She immediately knew that she wanted take the opportunity and do the internship here. Everything worked out and she was able to start in the Trade Mark & Design Division in May 2024.

Like all legal interns, Stephanie spent the first two months in the Trade Mark & Design Division. She learned how incoming trade mark applications are examined and entered in the register, and also drafted second objections. In addition, in Opposition Proceedings, she drafted decisions on trade mark conflicts. This stage of the internship enabled her to further develop her legal thinking and argumentation skills, in particular through her close collaboration with the team leader Olivier Veluz. “He taught me a lot and pushed me. I really enjoyed working with him,” says the 23-year-old about collaborating with the trade mark expert. Stephanie spent the following four months in the Legal & International Affairs Division. She was particularly fascinated by this area because she got the chance to familiarise herself with a wide range of topics relating to intellectual property. During these four months, she answered legal questions on ‘Swissness’, trade marks and designs, and dealt with queries from the general public. She also had the opportunity to work on more international tasks, such as drafting an explanatory report on the provisions of international treaties and legal clarifications in the context of negotiations on free trade agreements.

Stephanie describes her time at the IPI as extremely rewarding. “It’s difficult to choose just one highlight,” she says. She particularly enjoyed the positive relations and interactions with her colleagues, who shared their in-depth knowledge of intellectual property with her: “In terms of communication, I was always on an equal footing, and the employees were open to my opinions.”

The internship showed Stephanie that there’s a big difference between the knowledge acquired at university and practical work. “Studying at university didn’t prepare me for all the tasks at the IPI,” says Stephanie. Nevertheless, she emphasises that studying law has helped her in many ways – especially in terms of developing independent critical thinking.

Stephanie’s future plans are still open. She’s sure that she wants to stay in the field of intellectual property because she finds it fascinating. At the same time, she’s curious about other areas of law and would like to gain different experiences while she’s young. “I’m very interested in working in an international context and in one organisation in particular – CERN,” she enthuses. We’re excited to see where Stephanie’s path will take her.