INTA’s 2019 Europe Conference: Embracing Change—Exploring Change from Multiple Angles

Published: March 1, 2019

Maria Kyriakou Makylo IP Services Nicosia, Cyprus

2019 INTA President David Lossignol welcomed attendees to the Association’s 2019 Europe Conference: Embracing Change by urging them to never stop changing. He underscored his message with the words of Benjamin Franklin: “When you are finished changing, you are finished.”

Those words set the tone for the Conference, which took place February 18‒19 in Paris, France, and drew a larger-than-expected crowd of 350+ registrants from 58 countries.

Also providing opening remarks, Valérie Dorey, T. Mark Conseils (France), President, Association des Praticiens du Droit des Marques et des Modèles, challenged the audience to face change as an opportunity for development.

The first set of keynote speakers, Mathieu Morgenszterm, CEO of GroupM and WPP France (France), and Jason Oke, EMEA Managing Director Red Fuse (France), highlighted the way the marketplace is changing and how brand marketing strategies are changing as well with utilizing new formats, platforms, and tools that make campaign strategies agile. Creative ideas and completely different approaches driven by the deep understanding of human behavior-such as the consumer experience-in combination with new technologies are being integrated into today’s marketing.

Among other sessions, a panel explored the significant increase of online influencers and the importance of legal frameworks for the brand and the influencer. Panelists discussed this from the perspective of U.S., UK, and German legislation and how the different regulations are shaping the brand and influencer relationship and actions. In addition, popular influencer Sophie Radcliffe, Challenge Sophie (United Kingdom), shared her touching personal story and thoughts on being an online influencer.

Sessions also looked at the General Data Protection Regulation, including privacy risks, data breaches, and enforcement; the ongoing EU copyright reform, including its scope, its purpose, and how artificial intelligence (AI) will change it even more; and how trademark teams need to broaden their roles to become brand lawyers and business partners.

On the second day of the Conference, new technologies took center stage starting with a keynote session with Regina Polanco, founder and CEO of PYRATES smart fabrics (Spain) and Loes Backus, ASICS Europe B.V. (Netherlands). Ms. Polanco took attendees on the journey of her sustainable fiber startup which is disrupting the athleisure industry, including how ASICS selected to work with PYRATES.

Among the sessions, panelists spoke about a broad range of topics, including the following:

How AI can be concretely and efficiently used for trademark clearances and to evaluate infringement risks, and the chances of success and damages in litigation;
The future of IP offices, in which leaders from the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, the French National Institute for Industrial Property, and the Austrian Patent Office explained the impact of new technologies on their systems and their roles, including becoming more of business advisors; and
How blockchain can be used to improve quality and consistency in the intellectual property (IP) field, which was discussed by several panelists, including French Senator Ronan Le Gleut.

In all, the Conference Project Team, led by Co-Chairs Chehrazade Chemcham, Colgate-Palmolive Company Europe SARL (Switzerland), and Nick Wood, Com Laude (United Kingdom), brought together a diverse international panel of speakers who provided attendees with an interactive exchange of knowledge on cutting-edge topics in IP and insights into what lies ahead.

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.