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7:30 am–7:00 pm |
Registration and Hospitality |
8:00 am–10:00 am |
Continental Breakfast
Continental breakfast will be served daily until 10:00 am in the Hospitality Area in Hall 8.1.
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8:00 am–4:00 pm |
Course on International Trademark Law and Practice
(Day 2; advance registration required; CLE credit available)
The course is designed to provide a comparative analysis of trademark law and practice in countries around the world. See Saturday’s program for a full description.
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8:00 am-4:00 pm
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Advanced Mediation Training: Cross-Border Mediation—28 or 60 Countries Divided by a Common Word
CANCELLED |
8:30 am–3:00 pm |
In-House Practitioners Workshop and Luncheon
(Limited to in-house practitioners only; advance registration required)
Early Bird Fee (on or before March 3): US $150
Standard Fee (starting March 4): US $200
This combined workshop and luncheon, designed exclusively for in-house practitioners, offers a unique opportunity to network, benchmark, and exchange best practices for strengthening your brand in a marketplace where corporations of all sizes face challenges.
Registration includes admission to the workshop sessions and luncheon with keynote (not sold separately). Tickets for admission to this event and will not be sold onsite.
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9:00 am–10:30 am |
EUIPO Information Meeting for EUTM and RCD Users
Organized by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the Information Meeting is aimed at everyone interested in developments at the Office over the past year, as well as future challenges. The highlights of the meeting are:
- Approaching tomorrow’s reality: SP2020: a user-driven plan
- Legal Reform: a year of achievements
- Formalities and examination proceedings
- Absolute grounds
- Relative Grounds for Refusal
- Fee structure (one-fee-per-class system; substantial fee reduction)
- State of play of the secondary legislation: an insider’s view (Implementing & Delegated Acts)
- New Cooperation initiatives: building the European IP Network
- European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights: studies and tools
- Horizons ahead: Face-to-face with Executive Director António Campinos
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9:00 am–11:00 am |
Committee Meetings
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9:00 am–11:00 am |
Breakfast Table Topics |
9:30 am–10:30 am |
INTA’s International IP Court is in Session: Judges from International Jurisdictions Discuss Hot Topics in Trademark Law
Don’t miss this panel of judges from around the world as they share their perspective on the “Gummy Bear Uprising:” Haribo’s case for equal treatment over TM distinctiveness against the Swiss PTO. International judges will comment on the GOLDBAEREN decision, Haribo v. IGE (Swiss Federal Administrative Court decision of 02/01/2016) and share insights from their jurisdiction.
Judges:
Richard Arnold, High Court of London (United Kingdom)
Dr. David Aschmann, Federal Administrative Court (Switzerland)
Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, High Court of Delhi (India)
Hugo Gomez Apac, Andean Community Court (Ecuador)
Marianne Grabrucker, former Presiding Judge German Federal Patent Court, and President Circle of European Trademark Judges CET-J (Germany)
Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Supreme Court of India (India)
Michael Manson, Federal Court of Canada (Canada)
Motoyuki Nakashima, Tokyo IP High Court, First IP Division (Japan)
Elisabeth Ohm, Deputy Director Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (Norway)
Luis Rodriguez Vega, Appeal Court of Barcelona (Spain)
Junli Xia, Presiding Judge of 3rd Civil Division of the SPC (China)
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10:30 am–2:00 pm |
Judges Workshop: Trademarks Beyond Borders—A Discussion with IP Judges on Hot Topics in Trademark Law (Exclusive to IP judges)
IP judges from several different jurisdictions worldwide will participate in an open and interactive discussion on hot topics in trademarks and recent noteworthy decisions in this workshop exclusively for IP judges.
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11:00 am–12:15 pm |
GENERAL SESSIONS
CSU01 #TalkingIP: Optimizing Publishing Opportunities and Digital Platforms—INTA and Beyond
The focus of the program is incentivizing authors (from the IP industry, academic, and/or the business community) to submit their work for potential publication in The Trademark Reporter (TMR). Some of the proposed topics of discussion would be:
- Using the TMR (and other INTA publications) to push the boundaries of existing legal concepts, as well as studying the ever-changing nature of the IP industry in the digital and global age
- Exploring the changing modes of publication in the IP industry, such as blogging
- Using publication as an ongoing method of marketing
- Using social media platforms (such as Facebook and Twitter) for promoting digital publications
- Repurposing a previously written piece (such as a client alert or blog post) into an article, commentary, or practice-related piece for potential publication in the TMR
- Posting on law firm‒based blogs vs. independent blogs
- Connecting with international bloggers
Moderator:
Kathleen McCarthy, King & Spalding LLP (United States)
Panelists:
Michael Atkins, Atkins Intellectual Property, PLLC (United States)
Pamela Chestek, Chestek Legal (United States)
J. Michael Keyes, Dorsey & Whitney LLP (United States)
Jian Xu, Gowling WLG (China)
CSU02 Data Protection and Security Are Trademark Issues
Data Security affects every area of a company and, as we are seeing, can have a significant impact on the way companies do business. Data security issues affect marketing, customer relations, sales and the security of trade secrets, trademarks and copyright. U.S. based companies are faced with having to understand EU data security rules and regulations and ensure compliance through practices, all while necessitating cultural shifts throughout their own organizations. Business practices have to be compliant, but they also have to be consistent with and supportive of brand identity. Join speakers who will discuss many security issues that practitioners face today.
Moderator:
Chris Kenneally, Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (United States)
Speakers:
Iris Geik, Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (United States)
Ray Thomas, Jr., Law Office of Ray Thomas, Jr. PLLC (United States)
Randi Singer, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (United States)
CSU03 Mediation Live!
The mediation process cannot really be understood in the abstract. In order to give attendees a hands-on experience, Mediation Live! will recreate an actual mediation using experienced outside and in-house counsel and a seasoned mediator from the INTA Panel of Trademark Mediators. During this session, the presenters will work through the important steps in typical trademark mediation sessions. The audience will be taken through the mediation, start to finish.
Mediators:
Gonzalo Barboza, Arochi & Lindner (Spain)
Jill Easton, Darden Restaurants, Inc. (United States)
David Friedland, Friedland Vining, P.A. (United States)
Jami Gekas, Foley & Lardner LLP (United States)
David W. Grace, Loeb & Loeb LLP (United States)
Anne Gundelfinger, Swarovski AG (Liechtenstein)
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11:00 am–1:00 pm |
Madrid System Users Meeting (MSUM)
Organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear WIPO presenters provide an overview of key Madrid System developments, and engage with officials from a selection of Madrid System contracting parties. Invited officials will address specific issues regarding the designation of their countries in an international registration, including how to avoid and respond to provisional refusals. An interactive question-and-answer session will follow. |
11:00 am–1:00 pm |
TM5 Workshop Presentation of the Compilation of Case Examples of Bad Faith Trademark Filing
Be sure to attend this TM5 workshop, being held jointly with INTA, based on the theme of Presentation of the Compilation of Case Examples of Bad-Faith Trademark Filings. Government officials and trademark users from the EU, Japan, South Korea, China and the U.S. will make presentations on bad-faith trademark filings. Names of speakers to be announced soon.
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11:15 pm–1:15 pm |
Committee Meetings
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11:30 am–1:30 pm |
Trademark Administrators Brunch
(Advance registration required)
From the personal, to the practical, to the legal side, our experienced panel will share how best to work and communicate with trademark professionals around the world, respecting their unique languages, cultures, and customs. Being in the wonderful city of Barcelona, Spain, we will also mingle over some tapas to get to know each other better. Join us to learn, have some fun, and laugh about our different and similar “language” experiences throughout the world of trademarks.
Moderator:
Imogen Fowler, Hogan Lovells (Spain)
Speakers:
Mercedes Bullrich, Mitrani, Caballero, Ojam & Ruiz Moreno (Argentina)
Ali Buttars, Netflix, Inc. (United States)
Kim den Hertog, adidas International Marketing BV (Netherlands)
Joy Harrison-Abiola, Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun (Nigeria)
Mark McVicar, Winkler Partners (Taiwan)
Kevin Wong, Ella Cheong LLC (Singapore)
Fee: US $55
Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and will not be sold onsite.
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12:00 pm–2:00 pm |
Luncheon Table Topics |
12:00 pm–4:00 pm |
Exhibition Hall
Visit the 100+ exhibitors displaying their products and services. Exhibitors include trademark solution providers, law firms, media companies, IP offices, trade associations, and government offices.
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12:30 pm–1:45 pm |
GENERAL SESSIONS
Adjunct Professor Panel: Incorporating Practical Experience in the Classroom: Comparative Perspectives and Helpful Tips
Adjunct professors are facing questions on the extent to which they should focus on their practical experience when teaching trademark law and how to best impart this knowledge to students. Law clinics in the United States are well established, but other jurisdictions use different approaches to engage students in “experiential learning.” Please join us as expert teachers from several jurisdictions discuss the pros and cons of their respective teaching systems and share their tips on how to include practical training in their syllabuses.
Moderator:
Chris Lynch, Lee Hayes (United States)
Speakers:
Matthew Asbell, Ladas & Parry LLP (United States)
Ignacio Temino Ceniceros, Abril Abogados, S.L.P. (Spain)
Aurelio Lopez-Tarruella, FJF Legal/ University of Alicante (Spain)
Moray Mclaren, Redstone Consultants (Spain)
CSU20 Discussion of Design Law as Applied to “Functional” Aspects of Designs
(Advanced Level)
This panel will provide an in-depth look at how so-called “functional” aspects of designs are—and should be—treated under design laws from different jurisdictions. Speakers from around the world will discuss the following topics:
- Limits, if any, placed by various jurisdictions on design protection for functional items/designs.
- Enforcement of those limits (e.g., by ex ante examination, by post-grant agency review, as part of claim construction, as an affirmative defense in court, etc.).
- Spare parts: are they (or should they) be protected under design laws.
- Recent developments in the law in this area.
Moderator:
John Froemming, Jones Day (United States)
Speakers:
Sarah Burstein, University of Oklahoma College of Law (United States)
David Stone, Allen & Overy LLP (United Kingdom)
CSU21 What’s the Use? Exploring Recent Challenges and Changes to Common Law Unfair Competition and Trademark Use Requirements in the U.S. and Canada
2016 saw an assault on the age-old axiom that for a markholder to have rights in the U.S., that same mark must actually be used in the U.S. And, while what constitutes “use” has long been debated in U.S. courts and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), use in the U.S. as a precondition to an unfair competition claim under the Lanham Act is no longer the law in the Fourth Circuit. In Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Case AG et al., the Fourth Circuit concluded that a false advertising or false association claim under Lanham Act Section 43(a) (15 U.S.C. §1125(a)) need not be premised upon the ownership of a U.S. trademark registration or even use of a mark in the U.S. Rather, a §43(a) claim is available to “[a]ny person who believes that he is or will be damaged” as a result of a defendant’s conduct. Thus, reasoned the Fourth Circuit, the question to be resolved under §43(a) is not whether the defendant’s activities infringe the plaintiff’s registered mark; but rather, whether the defendant has used in commerce a word, term, name, or symbol that plaintiff believes is likely to cause it damage.
The Federal Circuit also abandoned this bedrock use requirement in Christian Faith Fellowship v. Adidas AG, where it reversed the TTAB’s cancellation of two marks on grounds that the registrant’s trivial out-of-state sales were nevertheless enough “use in commerce” to invoke protection under the Lanham Act.
But this sea change in the standards of use are not merely confined to the U.S. Canada too is scheduled to abandon its long time reliance on use as a precondition to obtaining a Canadian trademark registration. Canada’s recently amended Trade-marks Act is scheduled to be implemented in 2019 and looks to eliminate several filing bases, including proposed use.
The panellists will address relevant decisions and legislation and will explain how these developments contribute to an ever evolving trademark litigation and prosecution landscape in the U.S. and Canada.
Moderator:
Joel MacMull, Archer & Greiner P.C. (United States)
Speakers:
Ronald Coleman, Archer & Greiner P.C. (United States)
Lorraine M. Fleck, Fleck Innovation Law (Canada)
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1:30 pm–3:30 pm |
Committee Meetings
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2:00 pm–3:15 pm |
GENERAL SESSIONS
CSU50 dotBrand and You: Should You Apply in Round Two?
(Intermediate Level)
Over 600 brands applied for dotBrands in the 2012 new TLD round at ICANN. While a handful withdrew their applications, over 300 brands have already launched and are rapidly building experience with this important new option. With ICANN expected to open a new round in the future—and literally thousands of Chinese, Indian, and other companies expected to apply for new dotBrands, every large company needs to know the pros and cons of a “dotBrand” in order to make an informed decision. This panel brings together dotBRAND leaders and experts from across the globe to share their dotBrand experiences and discuss answers to the following questions: how have customers responded to the dotBrand; how are your dotBrand and legacy Internet presences being integrated; what benefits were expected and have they been realized; and what advice should be given to potential new applicants. If a sustainable and vibrant Internet presence is important to your company’s future, you should attend this lively and informative session.
Moderator:
Roland LaPlante, Afilias (United States)
Speakers:
Anil Garg, Dabur India Limited (India)
Gretchen Olive, CSC Digital Brand Services (United States)
CSU51 Annual Professor vs. Practitioner Debate
(Intermediate Level)
Don’t miss INTA’s annual Professor vs. Practitioner Debate, bringing passion and intellectual rigor (not to mention a fair bit of good humor) to the Annual Meeting. Each year, in a rumble between all-stars, a renowned professor battles a prominent practitioner regarding an important issue in trademark law. The debate resolution is designed to be provocative, and debaters are asked to take extreme opposing positions on it. Equivocation is discouraged! The debate will observe traditional rules and strict time limits, with an opportunity at the conclusion for audience voting.
This year’s debate, “RESOLVED: Geographical Indications Are the Antidote to Populist Nationalism,” will not disappoint. Professor Robert Brauneis of The George Washington University Law School (United States) will argue the affirmative. His counterpart practitioner, Burkhart Goebel of Hogan Lovells LLP (Germany), will argue the negative. The debate will highlight divergent attitudes regarding geographical indications, not only across the Atlantic Ocean but also across the occasional gulf between brand owners and academics. A question and answer panel with the audience will follow.
Robert Brauneis, George Washington University Law School (United States)
vs.
Burkhart Goebel, Hogan Lovells International LLP (Spain)
CSU52 Inclusive Leadership: Recognizing and Defeating Our Unconscious Biases
All of us have unconscious biases—attitudes and stereotypes that we may not even be aware of, or agree with, that can affect how we view and work with others, and act as potential hurdles to successful leadership and teamwork. This interactive session will explore how to recognize, and overcome, the negative effects of such biases, and foster a more inclusive and effective teamwork environment. In addition, the speakers will explore how diverse teams can deliver better results.
Moderator:
Marina Stipanac, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP (Canada)
Speakers:
Jack Manhire, Texas A&M University School of Law (United States)
Leticia Provedel, Souto Correa (Brazil)
CSU53 Submitting Amicus Briefs in European Trademark Cases: Does Europe’s Approach Differ from that of the United States?
(Intermediate to Advanced Level)
Discover what constitutes the successful (and unsuccessful) filing of amicus briefs in European trademark cases, in the European General Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and the national courts. Speakers will offer comparisons between Europe’s position with that of United States and will explore differences of approach while highlighting how to encourage European courts to adopt procedures allowing the submission of amicus briefs in situations where INTA believes they could play an important role in reference to the CJEU in relation to interpretation of trademark legislation. Topics the panel will explore include:
- Why do courts in the United States allow the submission of amicus briefs? What is the benefit to the U.S. judicial process?
- What are the recent amicus brief/third-party interventions submitted in EU courts? How do the number of amicus briefs filed in European trademark cases compare with those filed in U.S. trademark cases?
- How do judges in European courts view the submission of amicus brief/third-party interventions?
Moderator:
Tanguy de Haan, NautaDutilh (Belgium)
Speakers:
John Crittenden, Cooley LLP (United States)
M. Margaret McKeown, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (United States)
Ignacio Ulloa Rubio, judge at the General Court of the European Union (Luxemburg)
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3:00 pm–4:00 pm |
USPTO Users’ Meeting: News and Updates from the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Join Trademark Commissioner Mary Boney Denison for an overview of new USPTO initiatives, including proposed rulemaking regarding trademark fees and trademark maintenance filings, as well as an update on ongoing USPTO projects such as allowing registrants to amend IDs in registered marks to reflect technology changes. In addition, Chief Administrative Judge Gerard Rogers will discuss proposed changes to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board rules. |
4:00 pm–5:30 pm |
Opening Ceremonies and Keynote Address
Hear from INTA’s CEO and 2017 President as they share their vision for the Association in 2017 and discuss INTA’s impact on the IP industry. The 2017 Annual Meeting Co-Chairs will also introduce you to this year’s program and welcome the keynote speaker.
INTA CEO’s Address
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, International Trademark Association (United States)
2017 INTA President’s Address
Joseph Ferretti, PepsiCo, Inc. (United States)
2017 Annual Meeting Project Team Co-Chairs
Jomarie B. Fredericks, Rotary International (United States)
Slobodan Petosevic, PETOSEVIC (Luxembourg)
Keynote Address
Íñigo Méndez de Vigo
Spain’s Minister of Education, Culture and Sport and government spokesperson
We are excited to welcome Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, Spain’s Minister of Education, Culture and Sport and government spokesperson, as the 2017 Annual Meeting Keynote speaker. In his role as Minister, Mr. Méndez de Vigo is responsible for developing and implementing government policy on professional training, university education and sports. The Minister is also responsible for promoting, protecting, and disseminating Spanish historic heritage and promoting cultural cooperation, overseeing state museums, the arts, books, reading and literary creation, film and audiovisual activity, and state-owned books and libraries, and for promoting and disseminating culture in Spanish.
Mr. Méndez de Vigo will share with registrants his views on the future of Europe and IP in this fast-paced and ever-changing world.
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5:30 pm–7:30 pm |
Welcome Reception
INTA is excited to bring the Annual Meeting back to Europe and Barcelona is an excellent host city. Join us at this great networking opportunity at the Fira Gran Via as we welcome all attendees to the 139th Annual Meeting.
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