2018 Asia-Pacific Conference: Looking Beyond Trademarks

Registration and Information Desk Open

Networking Coffee

Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dr. Frances Roden, Deputy Director General, IP Rights Division, IP Australia (Australia)
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, CEO, International Trademark Association (United States)

Conference Co-Chairs:
Rebecca Thomas, Forever New Clothing Pty Ltd (Australia)
Ken Hamilton, Spruson & Ferguson (Australia)

Session 1—The Important Role IP Offices Play in Supporting Economic Growth

Intellectual Property plays a pivotal role in a country’s economic and technological development. IP Offices play a crucial role in protecting new innovations and educating the public on the importance of brands and other IP, and they are continually evolving to ensure that their practices, procedures, and advocacy help to support the economic health of their community, their country, and the world. Representatives of key IP Offices in the region will provide an update on the issues they are focusing on; how innovation is changing the nature of the filings and who are the top filers; the role of harmonization (Madrid; cross-office collaboration); and current challenges with respect to a wide variety of issues, including dealing with use and misuse of geographic references, evidence of trademark use, and more!

Moderator:
John Braybrooks, IP Australia (Australia)

Speakers:
Steffen Gazley, Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (New Zealand)
Kok Wan Ng, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) (Singapore)
Paula Adamson, IP Australia (Australia)

Networking Coffee

Session 2—A Brand New World: Balancing IP Rights and Regulatory Restrictions

The regulatory landscape is becoming more complex, and the interplay between IP and regulation is a balancing act for many brand teams. Learn about current do’s and don’ts and how regulation and IP intersect and, at times, may appear to be at odds. Listen to leading regulatory and IP experts as they talk about packaging design, claims, use of characters, and who ultimately should decide what a brand looks like and stands for. Hear them debate about whether current regulatory regimes are too restrictive or are just about right, what the future of branding may look like, and how regulatory changes in recent years have affected brand growth and health.

Moderator:
Ken Hamilton, Spruson & Ferguson (Australia)

Speakers:
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, International Trademark Association (United States)
Gavin Lovie,  IP Australia (Australia)
Kylie McPherson, Diageo Australia Limited (Australia)
Prof. Mark Davison, Monash University (Australia)

Session 3—Supersize Your IP Rights: Copyrights, Designs, and Brand Innovation

As innovation continues to drive business growth, brand lawyers need to be savvy about a variety of legal and business issues. By using real-world examples, this panel will discuss the various protection routines they consider when developing and implementing an effective protection strategy for their business teams—including registering marks in non-Roman characters, nontraditional trademarks, copyrights, designs, and more. Walk away with a toolkit of the questions to ask, the pitfalls to avoid, and the strategies to consider to help businesses leverage their IP rights to their full advantage in a timely and efficient manner.

Moderator
Peter Chalk, Ashurst (Australia)

Speakers:
Edward Heerey, Nigel Bowen Chambers (Australia)
Jane Perrier, Telstra Legal Services (Australia)

Featured Speaker: Christian Archambeau, European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (Spain)

Registrants have an opportunity to hear from the Executive Director of the EUIPO. Mr. Archambeau will share his perspective on the EUIPO’s strategy within the TM5/ID5, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

Networking Lunch

Session 4—Bringing Your Business Online: The View from China

For most firms, bringing their business online is not merely a nice-to-have but indeed a must-have strategy for continued relevance and growth. This session focuses on the opportunities and challenges to be aware of when considering an online presence in China.

China is home to the largest online retail market, with over US $499 billion in transactions in 2017. As market intelligence shows that more than one in three (36 percent) Chinese consumers had bought imported products from either Australia or New Zealand through online channels in the first six months of 2017, this panel will provide a helpful primer as to important questions and issues to consider, such as:

• Whether to set up an online store as opposed to selling via a third-party retailer
• The impact of an online presence on a business’s trademark filing strategy and protection efforts
• Daigou channels and how they may positively or negatively affect brand reputation and business development
• The use of free trade zones in online sales
• How to effectively manage brand rights when working with online platforms, third-party sellers, and Daigou channels

Moderator & Speaker:
George Chan, Simmons & Simmons (Beijing) Intellectual Property Agency Company Limited (China)

Speakers:
David Bennett, Australian Embassy, Beijing (China)
Donna Short, Addisons (Australia)
Glen Murphy, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (China)
Tim Brown, Health More (Australia)

Session 5—Advertising and Data Privacy: Be Prepared

Learn how to spot and handle advertising law and data privacy concerns lurking in marketing initiatives. This session will discuss such situations as when personal information is collected for one reason and used for another; the use of testimonials; friend-get-friend marketing and other marketing methods; and accompanying regulations and laws. The panel will discuss a variety of topics, including:

• Overview of relevant marketing restraints arising under privacy regulation
• Overlap of privacy, spam, and telemarketing regulation
• GDPR and its impact beyond the European Union
• Identifying personal information
• Opting in and opting out
• New advertising law in China

Co-Moderators:
Toby Patten, Baker McKenzie (Australia)
Kath Slack, Telstra Legal Services (Australia)

Speakers:
Angela Dally, Telstra Legal Services (Australia)
Gordon Hughes, Davies Collison Cave (Australia)

Networking Break

Session 6—Enforcement in the New WHOIS Reality

Traditionally, WHOIS data have been the first action point for brand owners to enforce their rights against misuse, but traditionally the reliability of WHOIS data has been a mixed bag. Although reliability of WHOIS data has been a constant source of consternation for brand owners, discussion of that subject has been sidelined by the implementation of the GDPR. Many domain name registries believe that the GDPR requires them to hide critical WHOIS data for domain name registrants. Now the concern is that in a world post-GDPR, domain owner information will be blocked. What does this mean for brand owners and their ability to enforce their IP rights? Hear from leading experts as they discuss what enforcement looks like post-GDPR. Will this lead to the availability of reliable WHOIS data, and if that is the case, at what cost? Will enforcement always have to start with a court action to uncover registration details? What role should ICANN play in the enforcement of brand owners’ rights? These questions and more will be covered during this panel discussion.

Interviewer:
Peter Chalk, Ashurst (Australia)

Interviewee:
Heather Forrest, University of Tasmania (Australia)

Wrap-Up from Conference Co-Chairs

Networking Reception

Registration and Information Desk Open

Networking Coffee

Welcome Back by Conference Co-Chairs

Rebecca Thomas, Forever New Clothing Pty Ltd (Australia)
Ken Hamilton, Spruson & Ferguson (Australia)

Keynote

Louise Baxter GAICD
Chief Executive and Executive Director
Starlight Children’s Foundation

Ms. Baxter has over 30 years’ experience in marketing, sales, and communications including responsibility for a range of blue chip international brands and government projects. Ms. Baxter was a member of the Sydney board of Leo Burnett Connaghan and May Advertising and was founding partner of Brave New World Advertising.

Ms. Baxter originally joined Starlight in 2001 and was the Head of Partnerships for six years before returning mid-2009 to take on the role as Chief Executive. Since then Ms. Baxter has been responsible for significant program development and expansion funded by sustainable revenue growth. She is focused on performance through people, and Starlight has been awarded AON Hewitt Best Employer accreditation, is in the top 20 in Australia’s Great Places to Work, and #1 most reputable charity brand supporting children and young people.

Ms. Baxter has been described as an inspiring and authentic leader and has clear strengths in establishing strategic vision, achieving organizational alignment, and ensuring resources are available to efficiently implement business plans. In 2015 Ms. Baxter was the Not-for-Profit Executive of the Year by CEO Magazine.

Starlight Children’s Foundation brings joy and comfort to hospitalized children and their families.

Session 7—People, Planet, Profit: The Rise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become the new benchmark against which brands are judged and valued. Commitments to global sustainability and a drive to make a positive impact motivate companies to perform and drive consumer and employee choice. Demands from consumers for accountability have enabled the development of business models such as B Corp to provide consumer assurances.
Developing countries with limited resources have created transformational CSR programs, and even law firms hold certifications related to their sustainability efforts. The panelists will provide real-world examples of what can be done to improve the world we live in and how doing good has a positive impact on brand reputation and value.

Moderator:
Marion Heathcote, Davies Collison Cave (Australia)

Speakers:
Peter Dernbach, Winkler Partners (Taiwan)
Natalie Fagg, Sydney Swans (Australia)
Jane Perrier, Telstra Legal Services (Australia)

Session 8—3D Printing: A Positive Disruption

One of the most exciting technological developments in recent years has been three-dimensional (3D) printing.
Hear from a leading surgeon how 3D printing is positively transforming the medical and healthcare fields and revolutionizing personalized care. Join the discussion on the emerging interplay between innovation and regulation, particularly as the roles of researcher, designer, manufacturer, supplier, and healthcare provider become blurred.

Interviewer:
Tracy Lu, Allens (Australia)

Interviewee:
Associate Professor Payal Mukherjee, ENT Care Sydney (Australia)

Networking Break

Session 9—Ad Words, Metatags, and Trademarks, Oh My! How to Enforce Your Trademark Rights on an Uneven Playing Field

As more and more consumers shop online and the number of product and service offerings keeps growing exponentially, brand owners have modified their business practices to ensure that their brand is visible online as the go-to brand to buy. Ad words and keywords as metatags are a significant driver of online traffic to the brand owner’s products and services. What do you do when an ad word is not considered a trademark use? How do you prevent competitors from getting the traffic meant for your brand? The panelists will discuss these questions and more as they compare and contrast the state of the law for trademark infringement actions against ad words and metatags in key countries in the region. Walk away with helpful tools to add to your arsenal to help you create an effective strategy for your business.

Moderator:
Sue Irwin Ironside, Baldwins Intellectual Property (New Zealand)

Speakers:
Miho Hirota, AIGI Intellectual Property Law Firm (Japan)
Benjamin Morris, PI IP Law (Lee, Park & Morris) (South Korea)
Daniel Plane, SIPS – Simone Intellectual Property Services Asia Ltd. (Hong Kong)

Session 10— Indigenous Intellectual Property: Protection from Appropriation and Vehicle for Economic Change

Where we come from is an important part of who we are, and how we protect and manage that knowledge will influence the future. The artwork and symbolism of indigenous people have become increasingly popular outside their communities, and they are used by others in products and brands without respect to the cultural significance for or benefit to the communities from which they are appropriated. To gain a national perspective and a holistic understanding of key issues, IP Australia recently commissioned a discussion paper. Hear from a panel of experts as they help brand owners understand indigenous property rights and discuss the possible utilization of national IP systems and other international frameworks to facilitate the protection and management of indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions.

Moderator:
Marion Heathcote, Davies Collison Cave (Australia)

Speakers:
Terri Janke, Terri Janke and Company Pty Ltd (Australia)
Kerry Sillcock, IP Australia (Australia)
Karaitiana Taiuru, Trade Marks Māori Advisory Committee, Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (New Zealand)

Networking Lunch

Session 11—Play Ball: Ambush Marketing in the World of Sport

Sports are a global phenomenon embraced around the world—whether rugby, football (soccer), tennis, or racing, sports are a multi-billion-dollar industry, and sports sponsorships are used by many brands to increase brand visibility. As sporting events have grown around the world, so has ambush marketing. Hear about the latest developments and most relevant issues in ambush marketing, with examples from a range of Australian sporting events, such as the Commonwealth Games, Melbourne Cup, Australian Grand Prix, and Rugby World Cup.

Listen in as legal experts, industry specialists, and representatives of some of the biggest sporting events will explore the key issues and challenges for intellectual property protection in sport today, including practical strategies to combat ambush marketing, managing sponsor expectations, tactics for protecting licensing, the extent that they engage with relevant legislation, and how to make swift and effective decisions. Rosie Hooper, a former international athlete now with Nike, will provide an alternative perspective based on her experiences.

Moderator:
Tim Golder, Allens (Australia)

Speakers:
Stuart Corbishley, Invictus Games Sydney 2018 (Australia)
Rosie Hooper, Nike Australia Pty Ltd (Australia)
Prataal Raj, GiVV Technologies Ltd (Australia)
Paula Robinson, MinterEllison – Gold Coast (Australia)

Networking Break

Session 12—Anticounterfeiting: Defense Strategies and Tools

Online counterfeiting is growing exponentially. As innovation enhances the consumer’s one-click online buying experience, it is also being leveraged by counterfeiters to enhance their counterfeiting networks. Hear about the new technology and tools that are helping in the fight against counterfeits, including blockchain technology, enhanced online enforcement tools, use of images to track counterfeit activities, artificial intelligence, and more!

Moderator:
Wendy P. Collie, Mars, Incorporated (Australia)

Speakers:
Frances Drummond, Norton Rose Fulbright (Australia)
Huong Nguyen, Tiffany & Co (Australia)

Closing Remarks and Thank You