Keeping Tracks: Educational Programming at the AM

This year, INTA has added even more tracks, giving registrants more opportunities to attend sessions that align with their specific interests and needs. The tracks are: Building a Better Society Through Brands; Complementary Rights, Regulatory Issues, and Brand Restrictions; Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting; Innovation and the Future of IP; Professional Development; Regional Updates; and The Business of Brands.

More than 150 speakers from 27 countries will be presenting during the educational programming at the Live+ (in person + virtual) and the Virtual Only components of the 2022 Annual Meeting.

Live+ registrants can attend educational sessions in person as well as those on the virtual platform. Virtual Only registrants can attend sessions on the virtual platform, and, as a bonus, they will have access to a significant portion of the Live+ programming, thanks to livestreaming and the availability of on-demand recordings of select sessions and Capsule Keynotes from the in-person Meeting.

The on-demand content—from the in-person event and virtual platform—will be available to all registrants through August 5.

The combination of strong educational programming and strong networking opportunities is a big draw for registrants. That’s the winning formula that is attracting the partners at Fox Mandal & Associates (India), for example. Santosh Vikram Singh, a partner at the firm, said he is enthusiastic about “attending insightful sessions” in addition to “meeting everyone.”

Noted another partner, Jeevanandham Rajagopal: “The INTA Annual Meeting provides a refreshing mix of minds and cultures, and I look forward to learning from and networking with my colleagues.”

Here, we present a sample of the sessions that registrants can attend in person.

Building a Better Society Through Brands

Beginning on Monday, May 2, the first track, Building a Better Society Through Brands, will explore the premise that consumer choice is not just based on the quality of the product, but also on core values behind an offering, such as trustworthiness, transparency, sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The track leader, Kathryn Szymczyk, global senior business development manager, Intellectual Property, Gowling WLG (Canada), said that this track will discuss the growing importance of purpose-driven brands.

“Our sessions will highlight not just how brand owners are embracing this change but also how law firms are shifting their action and thinking to stay aligned with their clients,” she said.

A highlight of this track will be Green Is the New Black: How Does This Fit into an IP Strategy (Monday, May 2, 10:00 am – 11:00 am EDT), which will focus on the forms of green innovation across industries and types of intellectual property (IP) assets.

Walking the DEI, CSR, ESG Talk: In-house Counsel Expectations (Monday, May 2, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT) will discuss how law firms are evolving to meet and reflect the expectations of their clients as they relate to current and emerging societal issues.

“We are focused on providing practical sessions that not only leave attendees inspired, but also provide them with practical tips on building diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, responding to questions in ‘requests for proposals’ and pitches, launching their own corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and understanding the line not to cross with greenwashing,” Ms. Szymczyk said.

The Business of Brands

It is crucial for brand practitioners to understand what the needs and challenges are that all businesses face—large or small, new or established. The Business of Brands track will explore the ecosystem that creates, markets, and sells products and services.

Jill Goldman, vice president and senior counsel II, Intellectual Property and Contracts, American Bankers Association (US), and the track leader, said The Business of Brands track will show registrants the interplay between the commercialization of brands, evolving legal trends, and how to adjust in a business capacity.

How do you channel the enthusiasm of your supporters while still maintaining the protection for your brand? What nontraditional issues do nonprofits face? The session Balancing IP Protection with Consumer Passion for Your Brand (Monday, May 2, 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm EDT) will delve into these topics and discuss the tightrope that nonprofit in-house counsel walk to meet the challenges.

“Personally, I am excited to be contributing as a speaker on the nonprofit panel with representatives from the American Red Cross and the American Association of Retired Persons to highlight the balancing of traditional IP protection when you work in a public charity or trade association whose purpose is for the benefit of the public good or industry and not the brand itself,” explained Ms. Goldman. “This juxtaposition is a fine line that an IP practitioner must balance when working in a nonprofit organization.”

Also speaking on the panel is Leslie Nettleford, associate general counsel, American Association of Retired Persons (US). “Often individuals are more apt to misuse a nonprofit’s brand inadvertently because of their positive feelings toward the brand and their desire to support the brand’s mission,” she said.

Registrants will learn "how to form an effective cross-departmental brand protection team, tips and tricks on how to expand your company’s enforcement strategy arsenal, and how to avoid brand protection pitfalls,” during the session, she added.

The Modern Innovative License: Creative Monetization Strategies for Your Brands (Monday, May 2, 2:00 pm – 3 :00 pm EDT) will explore best practices for parties entering new relationships, such as collaborations with celebrities and influencers, and getting involved with trends such as the metaverse. This includes third-party allowable uses, collective marks, certifications, payment or other forms of consideration, termination issues, enforcement, approvals, and quality control.

The Interplay Between Brand Value and ESG Initiatives (Monday, May 2, 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm EDT) will discuss why environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives have become a leading business objective and revenue driver for brands, along with the goodwill, marketplace, and social benefits associated with it.

Complementary Rights, Regulatory Issues, and Brand Restrictions

On Tuesday, May 3, the Complementary Rights, Regulatory Issues, and Brand Restrictions track will look at why it is important for brand legal practitioners to be well-versed in the full complement of IP rights and the regulatory landscape to provide the appropriate guidance that businesses need for today and tomorrow.

Brands contribute tremendously to national economies, but governments are increasingly looking to prohibit, misappropriate, or significantly restrict the use of brand names and symbols for lawful products and services, posing a detriment to consumers, trademark owners, and competition. In addition, different interpretations of some data privacy regulations have created unintended challenges for effective trademark enforcement.

To learn about the legal actions taken by the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO), attend Protecting its Customers and Itself: How the United States Patent and Trademark Office Is Responding to Fraud and Fighting Back (Tuesday, May 3, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm EDT). The session will feature USPTO representatives letting you in on the rules and the tools that it has at its disposal to protect trademark applicants, the federal trademark register, and the integrity of the USPTO itself.

Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting

Enforcing brand rights is vital for all brands, and this includes combating the challenges of counterfeiting, a major problem that has been exasperated by more and more consumers shopping online.

The next track, Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting, will explore some of the many issues that brand legal practitioners need to master to protect their brand. This track is supported by Strategic Sponsor—Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting, WANHUIDA Intellectual Property (China).

A hot topic of late, the metaverse raises new issues for brand owners. In Counterfeiting in the Metaverse: Protecting, Policing, and Enforcing Digital Rights as Technology Races Forward (Tuesday, May 3, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT), new issues surrounding the metaverse, including defining terms such as the metaverse itself, along with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital rights will take center stage.

Eco-friendly Anticounterfeiting? The Environmental Impact of Counterfeits and Anticounterfeiting Measures and Future Best Practices for Brands (Tuesday, May 3, 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm EDT) will dive into how the ever-increasing volume of counterfeit goods negatively impacts the environment and what can be done to lessen those effects, such as better, greener alternatives for anticounterfeiting measures. The panel will also look at some leading companies’ green initiatives.

Counterfeiters are getting more sophisticated and trademark owners should be creative and aggressive in pursuing different mechanisms to prevent consumers from buying illegal products online. Buying Online Is Not a Safe Harbor Anymore (Tuesday, May 3, 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm EDT) will focus on different experiences that experts have faced when combating counterfeit products on the Internet and social media.

Regional Updates

In the Annual Meeting’s Regional Updates track, understanding the differences in marketplaces, trademark and complementary IP laws, and issues facing brand owners in different regions will be on the agenda. Among the offerings, two case law sessions—focusing on Europe and the United States—will be presented at the in-person Meeting and livestreamed on the Virtual Only program. All the speakers have authored articles for The Trademark Reporter, INTA’s peer-reviewed scholarly publication.

The Annual Review of Leading Case Law in Europe (Tuesday, May 3, 9:00 am – 10:00 am EDT) will feature Tom Scourfield, co-head, International IP Group, CMS (UK and Poland), Jordi Güell, partner, Guell IP (Spain), and Martin Viefhues, co-founder and managing director, JONAS Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (Germany). The trio will deliver an analysis of key decisions rendered by courts in 2021 and thereafter in the European Union and the UK.

In the Annual Review of U.S. Federal Case Law and TTAB Developments (Wednesday, May 4, 1:15 pm – 2:15 pm EDT), Ted Davis, partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP (US), and John L. Welch, counsel, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks PC (US), will showcase the key decisions rendered by the U.S. courts and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for the year of Lanham Act administration (approximately July 2020 – June 2021) and thereafter.