INTA Engages with Policy Makers on Capitol Hill - International Trademark Association

INTA’s engagement with Members of Congress and their staff is in full swing this summer as the Association works with them to draft legislation affecting the intellectual property (IP) community. INTA continues to work with the leadership of the Congressional Trademark Caucus, and with INTA members on outreach and education regarding trademark issues affecting both consumers and policy makers.

As a reminder, INTA is always non-partisan and continues to maintain excellent and substantive working relationships with both political parties.

Hearings on Capitol Hill

Both the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and the House Judiciary Committee held hearings this spring on topics relevant to the trademark community. The Subcommittee held a hearing on the role of IP in sports and public safety, addressing enforcement and outreach to consumers. The hearing also included a discussion about increasing opportunities for IP enforcement and coordination and amending criminal penalties for illegal streaming.

The House Judiciary Committee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, held a hearing on Oversight of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), featuring testimony from Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Among other topics, Mr. Iancu highlighted the challenges presented by fraudulent trademark filings and opportunities for the USPTO to work with the IP community on this issue. He also emphasized the USPTO’s commitment to improving customer experience, noting, “By measuring customer feedback and then providing transparency on customer experience performance, [the USPTO] provides its customers and stakeholders a voice at the table and motivates business units within the USPTO to work together toward common, customer-oriented outcomes.”

INTA PAC Reception Features Special Guest Speaker

INTA’s Political Action Committee (INTA PAC) hosted a reception at INTA’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with a packed room and remarks from special guest speaker, Ed Weiss, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy, and General Counsel for the Fenway Sports Group, Boston, Massachusetts, USA–the parent company of the Boston Red Sox and the Liverpool Football Club.

Mr. Weiss shared insight on the global strength of the Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club brands, including their passionate and dedicated fan bases. INTA PAC attendees had the opportunity to meet Mr. Weiss and to learn more about his work with the 2018 Major League Baseball World Series Champions, the Boston Red Sox.

The INTA PAC Board is grateful to all those who generously donated to the INTA PAC toward the Annual Meeting reception. The INTA PAC Board also wishes to thank registrants for their support of the INTA PAC, which provides important opportunities for INTA to advocate and represent the brand owners’ interests in Congress.

Although INTA’s Washington, D.C., Representative Office represents the Association’s 2,326 members in North America. Working in collaboration with staff at INTA’s headquarters in New York City, the Washington, D.C., Representative Office leads the Association’s policy, membership, marketing, and communications initiatives in Canada and the United States. To learn more about INTA’s activities in the region, please contact INTA Senior Director of Government Relations Deborah Cohn at [email protected].

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.