What does diversity bring to the intellectual property industry and practice? What does it mean, in practice, to champion minority empowerment in the IP world?

In this third episode of our Women’s Empowerment in IP series, Myrtha Hurtado Rivas, the Global Head of Trademarks and Domain Names at Novartis International AG, Basel, Switzerland, talks about gender equality in the legal profession today. At the pharmaceutical company for more than 14 years and currently the chair of INTA’s Anticounterfeiting Committee, she discusses some of the lessons she learnt in her own personal path to the top of the group’s IP legal department, and future opportunities for the IP profession to maintain the momentum for change for women and other minorities.

Of note, Novartis AG recently released its 2020 preferred panel of global and U.S. law firms with strict staffing requirements to help create a more diverse legal profession. Each of the firms on the panel committed to having females, racially/ethnically diverse professionals or members of the LGBTQ+ community provide no less than 30 percent of associate time and 20 percent of partner time.

Related Resources

To go further:

About Myrtha Hurtado Rivas

Also of interest:

International Trademark Association: “The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative”

INTA Insights : Myrtha Hurtado Rivas on Trademarks

Forbes: “How IP Rights Empower Women”

Managing IP: “IP Counsel Reflect on Gender Phallenges and progress”

American Bar Association: “Making Strides Towards Gender Equality in the Legal Profession”

IP Watchdog: “Are Women Under-Represented in IP Litigation?”