Volunteer Spotlight: Scott Phillips

Scott Phillips is Managing Director at Epsilon Economics LLC, based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. As an economist and a certified public accountant, Mr. Phillips spends his day listening and talking to trademark owners and their legal counsel to understand the financial and marketing aspects of the problems they face. This work also involves a lot of data and financial modeling.

Mr. Phillips has long held an interest in trademarks and branding and has enjoyed volunteering with INTA for close to 30 years. In the current committee term, he serves on the Impact Studies Committee and as project lead in the development of the Gen Z Insights: Brands and Counterfeit Products study. Mr. Phillips mentioned that the most rewarding aspect of this project “is working with high-caliber people,” including those on his project team, the committee leadership, and the INTA staff liaisons.

There are several hot topics in trademark law today, but speaking from his perspective as an economist, Mr. Phillips says that monetary relief is a relevant one. “There is no question that disparities in the application of laws regarding monetary relief create significant inefficiencies and frustrations for trademark owners in the United States and internationally. This applies to both plaintiffs and defendants,” he notes. In some instances, monetary awards have been described as excessive or disproportionate in the factual context of a specific dispute. In other instances, they have been described as inadequate to compensate trademark owners.”

He also says that trademarks and brands must evolve in order to remain relevant in the marketplace, as consumer attitudes are formed and changed at an increasingly rapid pace. Mr. Phillips points to the Gen Z study as a good example of what INTA is doing to help trademark owners look to the future and anticipate change.

When not at work or volunteering with INTA, Mr. Phillips gets outside! He and his wife enjoy tandem cycling with groups of other riders. They have traveled by bicycle in many parts of the United States, as well as in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. He also volunteers with a hospice organization by visiting patients. These visits include talking, reading books, playing music, and generally providing hospice patients with companionship. Mr. Phillips considers it an amazing privilege to spend time with these patients at such a difficult time in their lives.

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.

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