In Brief—Recent Developments in Europe - International Trademark Association

Here, the Europe Representative Office highlights some of its recent advocacy and educational activities, and meetings with government officials:

Training IP office examiners: On February 19, INTA held its first European national examiner training with the Spanish IP Office (OEPM), at the OEPM premises in Madrid, Spain. Four speakers from three brands discussed management of intangibles by companies and the marketing function of trademarks with 50+ examiners.
Raising awareness on counterfeits among young consumers: On February 19, in collaboration with the OEPM, INTA delivered Unreal Campaign presentations at four schools in Madrid, Spain, reaching more than 100 students.
Advocating on fraudulent advertising: On February 26, the INTA Europe Office, together with Toe Su Aung (Elipe, UK), and Mark Bearfoot and Alastair Gray (PVH, the Netherlands), held meetings with representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) and the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG Grow). Discussions focused on fraudulent advertising within the upcoming Digital Single Act as well as the EU Memorandum of Understanding on online advertising and intellectual property (IP) rights.
Addressing IP issues on the Internet and GDPR: On February 26, INTA and the European Brands Association (AIM) gave a joint presentation to the IP Unit of the EU Commission’s DG Grow, in Brussels, Belgium, on ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), and the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the WHOIS platform.
Supporting anticounterfeiting efforts in Portugal: On February 26, INTA, represented by João Jorge (RCF – Protecting Innovation, Portugal), attended an Anticounterfeiting Group (Grupo Anti-Contrafação – GAC) meeting, as an observer, in Lisbon, Portugal. Discussions focused on actions and events to be planned for Anticounterfeiting Week in June (which has subsequently been postponed due to COVID-19).
Educating law students on trademark basics: On March 11, Florence Verhoestraete (NautaDutilh, Belgium) and INTA Policy Officer Hadrien Valembois provided more than 20 law students from Greece’s University of Thessaloniki with an overview of trademark basics. The event was sponsored by the European Law Students Association.

INTA’s Europe Representative Office, based in Brussels, Belgium, represents the Association’s 1,800+ members across Europe (including those in EU and non-EU member states, and Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States). Working in collaboration with staff at INTA’s headquarters in New York City, the Europe Representative Office leads the Association’s policy, membership, marketing, and communications initiatives throughout the region. To learn more about INTA’s activities in Europe, please contact INTA Chief Representative Officer-Europe Hélène Nicora at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter at @INTABrussels.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.