PETOŠEVIĆ PEOPLE: Q&A with Zita Szilágyi

Based in our Budapest office, Associate and Attorney at Law Zita Szilágyi mostly handles trademark prosecution and enforcement, including oppositions, observations, cancellation actions, legal opinions, court cases and out-of-court agreements. We asked Zita about her work, her favorite food, things most people don’t know about her, and much more.

1. How did you start your career in IP?

   I wanted to be a filmmaker, but my parents suggested I study something that would offer a safer career path, so I chose law school. Once there, I took as many copyright and IP-related classes as I could. After graduating, I applied for a job at a law firm specializing in IP and I never looked back!

2. What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

   There are many challenges, but they make the work interesting! A challenge that is not so appealing is dealing with bureaucracy.

3. What do you most enjoy doing at work?

   I enjoy having a wide variety of cases and taking part in proceedings before the IPO and the court. I also like handling day-to-day email correspondence with clients.

4. What would you be working in, if you weren’t working in IP?

   If I hadn’t gone to law school, I would have tried applying to a film school, so maybe I would have been a film director or worked in the film industry.

5. What was the first job you’ve ever had?

   While at university, I worked at a copyright collective. We had a few interesting queries from authors and I attended a couple of meetings with other collecting societies.

6. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?

   I enjoy horseback riding and of course the usual things – meeting with friends and family, going to the movies, traveling and reading.

7. What book did you read last?

   I recently re-read “Which Lie Did I Tell?” by William Goldman and I am currently reading “The Mirror & the Light” by Hilary Mantel (the third book in her Thomas Cromwell series).

8. What is your favorite song/music at the moment?

   I do not listen to music that much, but sometimes I listen to podcasts or watch videos on YouTube. I like Robbie Williams, especially his swing albums.

9. What is your favorite dish of all time?

   I do not have one, but in my family, we used to have pancakes for lunch as a main course. We had a hearty goulash as a soup course, and pancakes stuffed with sweet quark or jam as a second course. As a kid I could not get enough!

10. If you could meet anyone in the world, from the past or present, who would it be and why?

    My grandfather, who died before I was born. Based on my mother’s stories, he must have been a fascinating person.

11. What was your favorite subject in school and why?

    History – learning about how people lived in different time periods was really interesting. I also enjoyed German, as I was quite good at it, so it was an ‘easy A’ for me.

12. What did you want to be when growing up?

    I wanted to be the hostess of the television game show Wheel of Fortune. I thought wearing beautiful gowns and solving puzzles with the contestants would be an absolute dream come true. Later, from the end of elementary school and all through high school, I wanted to be a filmmaker.

13. Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.

    My mother talked to me and to my brother exclusively in German until I was four years old. I am afraid of heights, and I am an excellent basketball player.

14. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

    I would like to be much better at math (and accounting too), I am seriously hopeless!

15. What is your biggest frustration about the world around you?

    Everything related to this ongoing pandemic, its effect on everybody’s physical and mental health, and the people underestimating its impact.

16. What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years?

    Patience with others and with myself as well.

17. What do you wish you could have told yourself at age 13?

    I would have told myself not to worry and that everything will be fine, but I doubt that I would have listened to myself.

18. What cities/countries have you lived in?

    I have only lived in Budapest, Hungary.

19. If you could live in another country of the 30+ countries where PETOŠEVIĆ operates, which would you pick and why?

    Slovenia, because of its beautiful nature and also because it is the birth place of the Lipizzaner horse!

20. If someone came to your city for 24 hours, where would you take them?

    If they are outdoorsy, we would hike the hills surrounding Budapest; we could take the ‘Libegő’ chairlift for an incredible view on the city. If they are more interested in the city attractions, we could take a stroll along the Danube where many sights are located — Gellért Hill, Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion and all the bridges. We could also visit the Parliament Building — it is very beautiful, and I have never been inside it, so it would be a “kill two birds with one stone” type of situation for me.