Stefano Stignani

Patent and trademark attorney

Stefano is a member of the patent department, the European patent department and the litigation department.

He draws on many years' experience in drafting and filing patent applications in the fields of electronics and mechanics and in patent prosecution, and he frequently represents clients in oppositions and appeals at the European Patent Office and also as a technical expert in national litigation relating to patents, designs and trade secrets.

He is often involved in foreign and cross-jurisdictional patent litigation, including lawsuits in Germany and in the USA, for which he has gained considerable experience in discovery and depositions.

He regularly works on non-infringement and validity opinions, out-of-court matters, prior art and freedom-to-operate searches, due diligence, and strategic IP planning both for research-driven companies and for patent and non-patent owners. He also assists clients with drafting licensing, confidentiality and IP agreements.

Stefano's areas of expertise include electronic engineering, optics, telecommunication systems, mobile and optical communications, radio technology, power electronics, electric motors and their manufacture, medical devices, textile technology, packing and packaging apparatuses, bottling lines, labeling and filling equipment, thermoforming, injection-molding and blow-molding systems, FFS lines, sheet metal working, paper manufacturing, coffee capsule technology, and beverage extraction machines.

His clients are multinational corporations, small/medium enterprises, individual inventors, research institutions, universities, technology transfer offices, venture capital firms and angel investors, both foreign and domestic.

Stefano graduated from university with a thesis titled “Bragg gratings in planar dielectric waveguides”.

Prior to joining Modiano & Partners he worked at CoreCom, a research center created by an international optical communications company (Pirelli) together with a university.

About me

My favorite movie is... Seven - David Fincher

As a child I dreamed of becoming... the bus ticket inspector

In my free time I like... playing classical piano

MY CV

Contact me

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Education
University Degree in Electronic Engineering, Polytechnic University of Milan
Certificate in European Patent Litigation, Polytechnic University of Milan

Professional qualifications
European patent attorney
European patent litigator before the Unified Patent Court
European trademark attorney
Italian patent attorney
Italian trademark attorney

Specializations in patents and design
Filing and prosecution of national, Community and international utility models
Filing and prosecution of national, Community and international designs
Filing and prosecution of national, European and foreign patents
Novelty and freedom-to-operate searches
Oppositions and appeals before the European Patent Office
Oppositions and appeals before the national patent Offices, domestic and worldwide
Patent, model and design portfolio analysis and/or management
Patent, model and design validity and infringement litigation
Patent, model and design validity and infringement opinions
Technical advice/assistance to the court in national litigation

Technical areas of expertise
Electrical engineering
Electronic engineering
Electrotechnical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Software
Telecommunications

Languages
English
German
Italian

Associations
EPI (European Patent Institute)
Institute of European trademark and design attorneys
Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office
Italian Industrial Property Consultants Institute
Milan Engineers association

Professional activities
Course lecturer in "Master in Intellectual Property Law" 2008, 2009, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 at the legal training school Just Legal Services, covering the following topics:
- The role of technical advice in patent lawsuits;
- Prior art searches and the role of the intellectual property attorney
- The patenting procedure and drafting the patent application
- Interpretation of the patent and infringement by equivalents.

Speaker at AIPPI 2018 in Bologna, topic: "Secrets in proceedings: ante causam precautions and execution of discovery"