INTA Hosts Congressional Briefing on Counterfeits and Consumer Safety During the Holiday Shopping Season

This month kicks off the second year of the 115th session of the U.S. Congress. Elections for the entire House of Representatives and a portion of the U.S. Senate will occur in November. With congressional retirements during this session, there are now some new leaders of key committees, including the House Judiciary Committee. While many of INTA’s congressional champions remain in Congress, INTA’s Washington, D.C., office will be engaging with the new leadership, including providing information about the Congressional Trademark Caucus. As a reminder, INTA is nonpartisan and continues to maintain great working relationships with both political parties.

INTA Hosts Congressional Briefing Focused on Counterfeits and Consumer Safety on Capitol Hill

In December, INTA’s Washington, D.C., office, in collaboration with the Global Innovation Policy Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, hosted its annual holiday shopping congressional briefing, which provided insight and guidance for consumers. You can read the full report on the congressional briefing here.

USPTO IP Attachés Meet with IP Stakeholders

In late December, the USPTO intellectual property (IP) attachés from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C., for their annual outreach and consultation sessions with the IP stakeholder community. During these sessions, the IP attachés shared information and guidance about IP-related legislation and regulations in their respective areas of jurisdiction. Further, the IP attachés discussed their engagement with the trademark offices, brand owners, and consumers in their regions, including education and outreach.

Throughout the year, INTA staff and members regularly work with the IP attachés on education, policy initiatives, and outreach. INTA leadership participated in the IP attaché consultation at the USPTO and discussed INTA engagement and continuing support for the program.

INTA Hosts Event with Congressional Staff at the USPTO

In late December, the USPTO hosted a “day in the life” program at the office for congressional staff to learn more about trademarks and patents. The event concluded with a discussion hosted and sponsored by INTA about IP and the craft brewery industry. One of INTA’s members and a local brewery, Port City Brewery, co-hosted the “beer tasting” with INTA and spoke about the importance of protecting and enforcing its IP in the brewery industry. The discussion included insight about how businesses try to use alternative dispute strategies to solve potential infringements and work together to support the growth of the industry as a whole.

Please contact Debbie Cohn, Senior Director of Government Affairs, at [email protected] with any questions.

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.