Biography: Franchise

Dr Natalya Babenkova is head of Noerr's media, IP & IT practice in Moscow and specialises in intellectual property protection, franchising, and contract/transactional law. Dr Babenkova has substantial experience in advising major western and Russian companies regarding the establishment of franchises and the protection and structuring of their IP portfolios, as well as in IP due diligence in Russia.

Her recent activities in this regard include negotiating and drafting management, franchise, and licence agreements between several of the world's leading franchisors and their Russian developers across all sectors, including heavy industry, technology, consumer products, luxury goods, and retail. She has also represented a major German automobile manufacturer in negotiating a Tier One sponsorship agreement and licence agreements for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

Dr Babenkova received her education in Kaliningrad (Russia); Würzburg, Halle an der Saale, and Kiel (Germany); and Columbus, Ohio (USA). In addition to her native Russian, she speaks German and English. Before joining Noerr in 2006, Dr Babenkova worked at an IP boutique in the USA and at the in-house legal department of a major industrial conglomerate in Germany.

Dr Babenkova is a frequent speaker in Germany, Russia, and the USA on Russian franchising, licensing, and trademark law, and her work appears in numerous publications, including the INTA Bulletin, the Getting the Deal Through series, Newsletter of German Franchise Association and the chapter on Russian trademark law in the German book Trademark Law: Guidelines for Assured Import and Export. She is the author of the "Franchising in Russia" series of articles for the online publisher www.internationallawoffice.com.

Noerr is a major European law firm with a network of 15 offices across Europe and the USA. The firm is recognised as one of Europe's leading law firms in distribution and franchising, and for years has led the national ranking for distribution and franchising published by the leading German directory JUVE.