INTA has developed the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for your reference on the 130th Annual Meeting in Berlin, Germany. The FAQs include information on traveling to Berlin, registering for the Annual Meeting and reserving your hotel room, as well as providing various links to resources that will be helpful in planning your trip.
INTA’s Annual Meeting is the one must-attend event in the intellectual property field, where you can meet with more than 8,000 trademark practitioners and keep up to date on everything going on in the industry. INTA and its volunteers are working hard to make this Annual Meeting the best one yet. So mark your calendar and plan on joining trademark professionals from around the world for skill-building workshops, industry breakouts, educational sessions, table topics, networking events and 80+ exhibitors featuring new products and cutting-edge demonstrations.
The FAQs have now been updated to answer questions regarding the currency accepted for registration, the currency exchange, the Value Added Tax (VAT), and questions about Berlin’s airports, post offices and emergency numbers, as well as highlights of the Annual Meeting educational sessions and the Annual Meeting project team.
1. WHERE WILL THE INTA ANNUAL MEETING BE HELD?
INTA’s 130th Annual Meeting will be held at the ICC Berlin – Neue Kantstraße / Ecke Messedamm D – 14057 Berlin, Germany on May 17 – 21, 2008.
Educational sessions, workshops, table topics, committee meetings, exhibits, hospitality and most networking events will take place at the ICC Berlin, unless otherwise noted. (See FAQ #7 below)
For more information on the ICC Berlin, click here.
2. WHEN WILL I BE ABLE TO VIEW THE 130th ANNUAL MEETING ONLINE BROCHURE AND REGISTER FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING?
The brochure will be posted online and registration will open at the end of November 2007; an electronic announcement will be emailed to you.
3. IS THERE A HEADQUARTERS HOTEL?
No, there will not be a designated headquarters hotel in Berlin.
4. HOW MANY HOTELS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE INTA ROOM BLOCK?
INTA has booked blocks of rooms in 42 hotels in the city of Berlin. A list of hotels will be available in the 130th Annual Meeting brochure, which will be posted online in mid-November 2007.
To have your hotel listed in the printed and online Attendee Directory, you must book through the INTA Housing Bureau.
5. WHEN WILL THE HOTEL INVENTORY BE AVAILABLE FOR BOOKING?
Hotel rooms that are included in the hotel block at the special INTA Annual Meeting rate will be available when the 130th Annual Meeting brochure is posted online at the end of November 2007.
6. WHOM DO I CONTACT TO ASSIST ME WITH PLANNING MY AFFILIATE EVENT?
If you plan to host an affiliate event, you must complete an Event Approval Form and submit it to INTA. INTA strongly suggests that you not hold events while the Annual Meeting sessions, committee meetings and exhibitions take place, or during the following hours (hospitality suites are the exception):
Saturday, May 17, 2008
7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – INTA Gala Sunday, May 18, 2008 3:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. – Annual Meeting Orientation and Cocktail Reception 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies and Keynote Address 6:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. – Welcome Reception Wednesday, May 21, 2008 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. - Grand Finale
ICC Berlin All educational and training sessions, workshops, table topics, committee meetings, exhibits, hospitality and most networking events, including the Annual Meeting Orientation and Cocktail Reception, Opening Ceremonies and Keynote Address, Welcome Reception, In-House Counsel Reception, China Reception, Government Officials Reception, Professor Breakfast and Association Luncheon.
Ritz Carlton Berlin INTA Gala
KulturBrauerei Grand Finale
8. WHAT CURRENCY DO YOU ACCEPT FOR THE MEETING REGISTRATION?
For the 130th Annual Meeting, INTA will accept both U.S. Dollars and Euros. There will be a section in the online registration process to specify your preferred currency, as well as separate PDF registration forms, if you prefer to fax or mail in your registration fees.
9. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I NEED TO EXCHANGE CURRENCY?
The first thing to do is to call the banks of the cards you’ll be using to verify fees and ATM locations and to print a map of these locations. If possible, avoid exchanging currency at airports, hotels and tourist change bureaus because of their high rates. It’s best to bring enough of the local currency with you to cover costs until you can get to your bank in the destination city. Try to exchange your currency as seldom as possible, as exchange rates change quickly. Finally, be sure to bring money in a mix of forms to cover money exchange surprises.
10. HOW DO I RECLAIM THE VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)?
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on consumer spending levied on most goods and services within European countries. Unlike sales tax, VAT is not always apparent because it is already included in the price or on an invoice.
The German VAT is 19% and applies to virtually every transaction in Germany.
Companies are entitled to a refund from the German Government for VAT paid on business expenses such as hotel accommodations, registration fees, taxis, car rentals, communication costs, exhibition costs and professional fees. The German government does not reimburse VAT paid on meals, which is not recoverable.
In shops that are designated with the “Tax Free” shopping sign, the VAT can be reclaimed by visitors from outside the EU. In order to do so, you must fill out a tax-check at the time of purchase. At the airport your purchased items need to be taken to Customs clearance where the Customs official will provide a tax stamp that can be cashed at any of the airport banks in a variety of currencies.
More information will be available in INTA’s full online Annual Meeting brochure.
11. HOW WILL I GET AROUND BERLIN?
INTA will utilize Berlin’s ample and efficient mass transit system in 2008. Your 130th Annual Meeting official badge will be your transportation ticket to explore the city, not just back and forth to the ICC Berlin. Your badge will give you free access to mass transit as many times as you wish during the meeting dates, day or night. Badges should be on your person and shown if asked by transit officers. A transit map will be included in the online brochure.
TRANSIT TICKETS NEED NOT BE PURCHASED AT ANY TIME. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PROVIDED TO ATTENDEES OF THE INTA ANNUAL MEETING AT NO ADDITIONAL COST.
For more information on the Berlin transit system, please visit this website.
12. WHAT ARE THE MAIN AIRPORTS FOR BERLIN?
Berlin has three main airports – Tegel (TXL), Schönefeld (SXF) and Tempelhof (THF) – that have flight connections to all gateways in the world.
The full online Annual Meeting brochure will contain more detailed information on the airports and airlines servicing the airports.
13. DO I NEED A PASSPORT AND VISA TO TRAVEL TO BERLIN? Everyone needs a passport to travel to Berlin except those people from European Countries whose countries are members of the Schengen Agreement.
To determine if you need a visa to enter Berlin, please click here.
United States citizens can also visit this website.
14. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I NEED TO MAIL SOMETHING FROM BERLIN?
Post offices are open from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The nearest post office to the ICC Berlin is located at Soorstrasse 61-62, a 10 minute walk.
The Deutsche Post has two divisions – the Mail Service (Postdienst) and the Banking Services (Postbank). Deutsche Post is the only company that deals with letter delivery, but competition is allowed in the area of (express) parcel delivery companies. If you want to use the mail service, go to the yellow counters in the post office and not the blue (Postbank) counters. Post office counters can also be found in small stores, e.g. newsagents, and will sell stamps, take registered letters and, possibly, carry out some other postal services.
15. WHAT SHOULD I DO IN CASE OF EMERGENCY?
You should note the below numbers in case of emergency:
Police: 110
Fire Department: 112
Ambulance: 112
Physicians on Standby: 310031
Dentists (emergency service): 89004333
Pharmacies (night and weekend service): 0800/33011411
16. WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT VISITING BERLIN?
There are several websites available to learn more about Berlin. Below are just a few that may be helpful to you. Please note that these sites are not endorsed or supported by INTA.
17. WHAT SESSIONS AND TOPICS WILL BE COVERED AT THIS YEAR’S ANNUAL MEETING?
Below is just a sample of the sessions, industry breakouts, workshops and table topics planned for this year’s Annual Meeting:
SESSIONS:
Annual Review of U.S. Federal Case Law and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Developments
Effective Global Branding: Crossing Cultural and Economic Borders
Sport Sponsorship: Ambushes and Other Perils
Trademarks and the Internet – Hot Topics
Industry Breakout Sessions
Consumer Products: Cross-Border Labeling and Related Requirements
Financial Services: Sarbanes-Oxley: It’s No Longer Just for Corporate Lawyers
Pharmaceuticals: Clearance in a Regulatory Industry
Workshops
The Intersection of Trademark Law and Economics: Successfully Managing Monetary Claims in Infringement Cases
Indigenous Rights Reconciled with Trademark Rights: Boutique Interests in a Macro Market
Taxes and Trademarks: Structuring Global IP Ownership
Table Topics
Famous and Well-Known Marks in Europe
Trademark Enforcement Strategies in Latin America
Nontraditional Marks in Asia-Pacific.
How to Avoid the Embarrassment of Being Left Without Your Trade Dress in the United States
18. WHO IS ON THE ANNUAL MEETING PROJECT TEAM?
Over two years, many people have made a tremendous effort over two years to produce this program. Although it is impossible to list them all here, we would like to thank the speakers, table topic hosts, INTA staff and directors, and especially the project team below for making this meeting possible.
CHAIRS
Sara B. Blotner, Citigroup Inc. (United States) Peter J.A. Munzinger, Bardehle Pagenberg Dost Altenburg Geissler (Germany)
TEAM LEADERS
Gerhard R. Bauer Jr., DaimlerChrysler AG (Germany) Michael F. Clayton, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (United States) Paul D. McGrady, Jr., Greenberg Traurig, LLP (United States) Cindy E. Nelson, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (United States) Mary J. Sotis, White & Case LLP (United States) Verena von Bomhard, Lovells (Spain)
MEMBERS
Michael Adams, Mayer Brown LLP (United States) Stuart D. Adams, Rouse & Co. International (United States) Oscar Bacot, Bacot & Bacot (Uruguay) Marion M. Bailey, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (Canada) Michael Best, Freitag & Best Rechtsanwalte (Germany) Pauline Caamano, Pellerano & Herrera (Dominican Republic) Xuemin Chen, Zhongzi Law Office (China) Beth Craig, Howrey LLP (United States) Brian M. Daniel, CRA International (United States) James Michael Faier, Faier & Faier PC (United States) Julien Freneaux, Bardehle Pagenberg (France) Richard A. Friedman, Pfizer Inc. (United States) Michael Gold, NHL Enterprises, LP (United States) Jeffrey H. Greene, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (United States) Paula Guibault, Coca-Cola (United States) Marion Heathcote, Davies Collison Cave (Australia) Luiz Henrique O. do Amaral, Dannemann, Siemsen, Bigler & Ipanema Moreira (Brazil) Christy N. Hurley, Expedia, Inc. (United States) Chris K. Job, Adams & Adams (South Africa) Cynthia Johnson Walden, Fish & Richardson PC (United States) Sven Klos, Klos Morel Vos & Schaap (The Netherlands) Edward G. Lance IV, McDonald's Corporation (United States) Twiggy Mei Ho Liu, Twiggy M H Liu Law Office (Hong Kong, SAR) Johan Loje, Sandel, Loje & Wallberg (Denmark) Leo Longauer, UBS AG, Group IP (Switzerland) Charters Macdonald Brown, Redd Solicitors LLP (United Kingdom) Eduardo M. Machado, Montaury Pimenta, Machado & Lioce Advogados (Brazil) Miguel Montana, Clifford Chance (Spain) Lloyd Parker, Lovells (Japan) Jane E. Pinzow-Naidoff, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (United States) Jean L. Pire, Gevers & Partners (Belgium) Bruce Proctor, Diageo PLC (United States) Christian Rohnke, White & Case LLP (Germany) Jo-Ann See, Amica Law LLC (Singapore) Peter E. Wild, Wild Schnyder AG (Switzerland) Christopher J. Woods, Kilpatrick Stockton L.L.P. (United States)
Programs Liasion Lora A. Moffatt, Salans (United States)
19. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PRINT OUT THE FAQS?
For best results, we recommend using the print icon located at the top right corner of the FAQs webpage.
