Vukmir’s staff are knowledgeable,
In addition to excellent inter-personal skills, attorneys at Vukmir share a passion for critical thinking about intellectual property law.
They publish, study and present on a wide range of topics while accumulating deeper knowledge about pertinent issues related to our clients’ interests. They see and embrace the benefits of Advanced Dispute Resolution. They are fluent in multiple languages and adept at the latest computer technologies.
Attorneys at law
Mladen Vukmir
After completing the law education at Zagreb University Law School, Mladen obtained Master of Intellectual Property degree at Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, NH, USA. He spent two years as a trainee and one year as an associate at Hanzekovic Radakovic Law Offices in Zagreb.
He was a visiting lawyer at Fenwick & West in Palo Alto, CA, USA; Monahan Duhot in Paris, France and Pavia e Ansaldo in Milan, Italy. In 1991 he founded VUKMIR & ASSOCIATES ATTORNEYS AT LAW, LLC.
In 1992 he acted as an expert adviser to the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office Zagreb, at the time of its founding. Subsequently, he was appointed a patent and trademark agent and admitted to practice before the CSIPO and European Patent Office. He has been appointed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia to serve as a member of the Board of Appeals for Patents and Topographies. He advised on preparations for the Manual on Technology Transfer at UNIDO. Mladen is a member of AIPPI, IBA, ITechLaw, GALA, INTA, LES, UIA.
Mladen wrote numerous articles and lectured on various topics on intellectual property, including regular teaching as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Law graduate and postgraduate courses. He is an arbitrator on the Panel of domestic disputes at the Permanent Arbitration Court at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, panelist on the UDRP Domain Name Panel at WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, a distinguished neutral on the CPR Panels of Neutrals and at the INTA PON and is an IMI certified mediator.
Mladen also served as a consultant to various domestic and international organizations such as the Croatian Government (Ministry of Science and Technology), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the World Bank and the European Commission (CARDS 2002 and IPA 2009 programs) and GLG Council.
He is the Royal Danish Consul General (Hon.) in Zagreb (decorated, Knight of the Order of Dannebrog).
Mladen Vukmir is the only panelist from Southeast Europe on the Administrative Panel for domains for global generic top-level domains (gTLD) .com, .org, .net at WIPO (UDRP), as well as a panelist in the /Carnet/local .hr system of the national top-level domain (ccTLD).
Sanja Tkalec Kovač
Sanja is a senior attorney at law and a partner at Vukmir & Associates. Before joining our team, she worked as a legal consultant for a major Croatian consulting company. Sanja specializes in Croatian legislation involving business law, commercial law, company law, contracts, anti-trust, corporate law, foreign investments, financial law, franchises and franchising, labor and employment, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, unfair competition, IT transactions, and litigations. Her primary focus is negotiations, structuring, and drafting foreign investment transaction documents from the legal, financial, and implementation aspects, including the financing of infrastructure projects.
Languages: Croatian, English.
Mirjana Jurišić
Mirjana is a senior attorney at law and a partner at Vukmir & Associates. She studied law at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, T.M.C. Asser Institute, Den Hague, Netherlands and The Colleague of Law of England and Wales, London, UK.
Mirjana is experienced in the following areas of law: Agency and Distributorships, Business Law, Commercial Law, Company Law, Consumer Law, Contracts, Construction Law, Copyright Law, Corporate Law, Data Protection, Debtor and Creditor, Electronic Commerce and Communication, Franchise and Franchising, Intellectual Property, IT, Labor and Employment, Licensing, Litigation, Medical Law, Patent Law, Unfair Competition.
Languages: Croatian, Hungarian, English.
Ivan Ćuk
Ivan is a senior attorney at law and a partner at Vukmir & Associates. He has a wide range of experience in commercial law, foreign investments, banking and corporate law, providing regular legal support to major national and international clients, including legal advice, drafting legal instruments, active participation in negotiations, and various dispute settlement proceedings, especially ADR.
He has an excellent professional record, outstanding communication and organizational skills, and proficient knowledge of legal English. He completed an internship in Paris, France, where he perfected his knowledge of the French language.
Languages: Croatian, English, French.
Tomislav Pedišić
Tomislav is a senior attorney at law and the managing partner in Vukmir & Associates, which he joined in 2007 after graduating from Faculty of Law and completing an internship at the law firm Ince & Co., as well as in the UK P&I Club in London. His areas of expertise include IT law, corporate law, foreign investments, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), with a particular focus on regulated industries. Tomislav also regularly provides support to clients regarding regulatory issues in the financial industry and capital markets.
Languages: Croatian, English, Serbian.
Aleksandar Bijelić
Aleksandar is an attorney at law at Vukmir & Associates. He is experienced in all aspects of intellectual property law, including trademarks, patents and copyright, as well as in business and commercial law. His areas of practice also include advertising law, consumers’ protection and data protection, unfair competition, telecommunications law and ADR. Aleksandar studied law at the University of Zagreb and at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. He also studied at the CUA, Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC where he obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. After the master degree, Aleksandar spent an internship at the London office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, focusing particularly on ADR.
Aleksandar is appointed as a Trademark Agent and as a Patent Agent at the Croatian Intellectual Property Office. He is also appointed as a Professional Representative before the European Patent Office. Aleksandar equally provides advice to clients in Italian, English, and Croatian.
Languages: Croatian, Italian, English, Slovenian.
Andrea Kožul Pedišić
Andrea is an attorney at law at Vukmir & Associates. She studied law at the University of Zagreb and graduated in 2003. Her practice area includes corporate law, real-estate law, food law, product labeling, consumer protection law, intellectual property law, and IPR border enforcement.
Languages: Croatian, English, Italian, French.
Lidija Gepert
Lidija graduated from the Faculty of Law University of Zagreb. She started her legal career as a trainee at Vukmir & Associates Attorneys at Law, Ltd. During that period she gained extensive experience in various legal fields, particularly in commercial and corporate law, intellectual property law, e-commerce, personal data protection, civil law in general, labor law and alternative dispute resolution. After passing the bar exam, she became an attorney at law and focuses on commercial law and corporate law, intellectual property law, and civil law in general, with a particular interest in real estate, providing legal assistance to both domestic and foreign clients.
Languages: Croatian, English, Slovenian.
Tea Cerinski
Tea is an attorney at law, who joined our team in 2017. Her practice areas include commercial and corporate law, including e-commerce, advertising, labor law, and data privacy. Tea has been involved in various legal due diligence procedures, as well as in public offerings of securities assignments. Tea graduated from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb in 2014 and further specialized at the Faculty of Law University of Lisbon and at the University of Tübingen. She joined our team as an associate after working for Mamić Perić Reberski Rimac Law Firm LLC and after finishing the bluebook traineeship with the European Commission in Brussels.
Languages: Croatian, English, German.
Junior Associates
Petra Prkačin
Petra joined Vukmir & Associates as a trainee with several years of prior work experience. She graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb and has gained further education and training at Fordham Law School in New York, Université Saint-Louis in Bruxelles, and the University of Antwerp. Her practice areas include corporate law, data privacy and cybersecurity, project management, IT law and TMT, as well as dispute resolution.
Languages: Croatian, English.
Tin Kolenko
Tin is a trainee at Vukmir & Associates who joined our team after graduating from the Faculty of Law University of Zagreb. In the course of his studies, he has been engaged as a Student Ombudsman at the University of Zagreb, as well as a student assistant at the Department of Information Technology Law, and the Department of European Public Law. He also participated in the Erasmus student exchange at the University of Maastricht. Tin deals with legal matters concerning dispute resolution, immigration law, and IT law.
Languages: Croatian, English.
IP Department
Carla Biancotti
Carla graduated from the Faculty of Law in her homeland Italy (University of Turin), after which she specialized in intellectual property in Milan and completed an internship at the European Patent Office in Munich. Since 1994 she has been working at Vukmir & Associates Attorneys at Law, where she is currently in charge of our IP Department. She is a member of ECTA (European Community Trademark Association) and PTMG (Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group), and is of particular importance for the development of relations with our Italian clients.
Languages: Italian, Croatian, English, French, Spanish.
Marko Barbarić
Marko is a paralegal at Vukmir & Associates specialized in the fields of customs enforcement, software piracy, debt collection, immigration law and administration of Internet domain names. He studied administrative law at the Social Science Polytechnic Zagreb and further specialized in the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Study Centre of Public Administration and Public Finance.
Languages: Croatian, English.
Ljubica Dasović
Ljubica is a senior administrator working at Vukmir & Associates since 2005, specializing in the prosecution of trademarks and designs. After high school, she finished Business School Kairos for business secretary and accounting. Ljubica is currently attending Libertas International University for Business Economics in Zagreb. Through her working experience, she obtained excellent skills in communication with clients and understanding their needs. She deals on a daily basis with clients, provides assistance in trademark and design protection and strategy, and corresponds with foreign associates and with various Trademark Offices. She is a member of INTA (International Trademark Association), ECTA (European Community Trademark Association) and PTMG (Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group).
Languages: Croatian, English.
Vlatka Lucić
Vlatka is a paralegal at Vukmir & Associates specialized in the fields of Customs enforcement and debt collection. She studied administrative law at the Social Science Polytechnic Zagreb and joined Vukmir & Associates in 2009.
Languages: Croatian, English, Slovenian.
William Župančić
William is the office manager at Vukmir & Associates, providing general support in all aspects of business development, including Human Resources, corporate finance, marketing activities, IT solutions, business strategies, facility and project management. He joined our office after graduating in Chemistry at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, and started with the prosecution of IP rights, patents primarily. William also graduated in Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb in 2008. His practice area includes interviews, recruitment, employee relations, pricing, efficiency, liquidity, capital budgeting, partnership funding, business and marketing strategies. His work also covers all aspects of administrative work in IP law.
Languages: Croatian, English, German.
Katarina Fišter
Katarina is an intellectual property administrator specializing in patents. She studied marketing at Negocia (Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris) in Paris, where she worked in a renowned office alongside European Patent Agents, as well as assisted in drafting patent applications with inventors. In her 12 years of experience, Katarina has acquired the necessary knowledge and skills in the field of patents, both locally and internationally. She gained experience working with the EPO (European Patent Office), WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and the State Intellectual Property Office on patent applications, SPC (Supplementary Protection Certificate) applications, EP (European Patent) applications, and various actions related to patent cases.
Languages: Croatian, French, English.
Varvara Gabrieljan
Varvara is an intellectual property administrator. Her work includes administrative work in the field of patents, primarily validation of European patents, extensions of patent rights before the State Intellectual Property Office, and correspondence with clients. She obtained a degree in English and French studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Armenia. Before joining our team in 2020, Varvara worked as an IP administrator in an international company for eight years.
Languages: Croatian, Armenian, Russian, English, French.
Back office
Sanja Vrbanc
Sanja is a senior billing administrator at Vukmir & Associates Ltd. She has a vast experience in accounting and preparation of documentation for bookkeeping. She is also responsible for all receivable and outgoing payments, for administering e-biling systems (i.e. Serengeti, Tymetrix, Collaborati, CounseLink, DataCert, Ascent etc.) and invoicing.
Languages: Croatian, English.