Federica Zanfi was born in Modena in 1971.
After a business high school diploma combined with the study of the piano at the Music conservatory “Orazio Vecchi” in Modena, she enrolled at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and graduated in Chemistry with full marks, showing particular interest in Physical Chemistry.
During the University period she began her experience in the professional world, initially with a training contract at Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna, later as a pharmaceutical promoter representative at Promed Srl. The teaching of the piano has always been a constant throughout her University studies.
Immediately after graduating, she is selected for a temporary replacement at TetraPak Packaging Solutions SpA factory in Modena where she will gain almost twenty years of experience in the packaging world. Within the company she covers different roles:
- Development Engineer at the Aseptic Packaging Department dealing with the assessment of the aseptic package;
- Development Engineer at the Packaging Material Department as responsible for packaging material test methods.
Thanks to the assignment of 10-months grant in the area of ‘molecular recognition of functionalized surfaces’, she has the opportunity for an experience as a researcher at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline SpA. This is followed by her return to the Swedish multinational reality at the “Legal Affairs Department” as Patent Analyst, a position she will hold for the following nine years. In addition to patent searches, she continuously supports the Research & Development Departments to monitor competitors and new technologies using specific databases (Thomson Clarivate, PatBase, etc.).
Market observation activity, in particular for Caps & Closures, Ready Package, Packaging Material, Filling Machines, Filling Lines and Automation sectors, is carried out jointly with the colleagues of the Competitor Intelligence Department, considering essential for a global vision the combination of patent and non-patent information. The monitor of the legal status of interesting patents is another activity she carries out in support of the scientific community.
In 2019 she obtains the Qualified Patent Information Professional certification (Registration Number: 20190039100217), which is maintained by participating annually at specific trainings on patent search and analysis, international classifications, aspects relating to the filing procedure and Intellectual Property law. For several years she has been a member of AIDB, the Italian Patent Documentalists Association created to enhance the development and the protection of the profession.
She lives in Bologna with the husband and her four children and undertakes the work of a freelance consultant supporting patent attorneys and companies.