What Belonging to INTA Means to Me: Brenda Zhao

Published: December 16, 2019

Brenda Zhao is Senior Partner of Corner Stone & Partners in Beijing, China, and serves as the Chair of the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee of INTA’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Mediation Committee. Here, Ms. Zhao discusses how belonging to INTA has benefitted her by providing greater opportunity for connections and expanded client contact.

Why is your organization an INTA member, and how does it benefit from membership?
INTA is a large, global, and active association of brand owners and intellectual property professionals. Becoming an INTA member expands our ability to serve our local clients and our clients from overseas. Connecting with colleagues through INTA has helped to enlarge our client base. INTA provides a very effective social platform for us to connect with our existing and potential clients every year, and, through the Annual Meeting, gives us the opportunity to meet with them year after year. INTA provides a variety of resources regarding global and local trademark matters. The Association also provides us with access to new and future trends, and organizes a wide variety of seminars and discussions, as well as providing useful information to form guidelines. When I discussed this question with other partners in our firm, their feedback was very positive. Moreover, as a Chinese law firm, we use our INTA membership to help us serve our clients efficiently and wisely, to gain access to IP professionals worldwide, and to choose those that can serve our clients best.

How long have you personally been an active INTA member, and what does belonging to INTA mean to you?
I have been an active member of INTA since 2010. Belonging to INTA means to me that I have greater opportunities to connect and communicate with colleagues all over the world. Also, belonging to INTA means to me that I find the feeling of a larger community, as well as a close bond with IP colleagues worldwide.

Outside of the Annual Meeting, how do you make use of your membership throughout the year?
Outside of the Annual Meeting, I also participate on an INTA committee, where I serve as the [2018-2019] Chair of the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee of INTA’s ADR and Mediation Committee, which is led by John MacKenzie (Shepherd and Wedderburn, United Kingdom) and Nathalia Mazzonetto (Muller, Mazzonetto, Brazil), and coordinated by our staff liaison, INTA Membership Director Peg Reardon. Working with a fantastic group of professionals to network among peers, and raise their visibility within the international trademark community is a precious experience to develop. Our firm has a number of partners serving on a variety of INTA committees, and who attend the INTA Leadership Meeting every year.

As a member of an INTA committee, I’m a moderator, and our firm holds INTA roundtables in China every year, which are very welcome and successful. I think it is a very good way to connect with local colleagues. These are some of the ways that we engage with INTA to build our network, enrich our experience, and promote our growth.

In a nutshell, why should trademark professionals join INTA?
In a nutshell, joining INTA is like returning to a big trademark family. INTA has rich resources beyond being a networking platform. With INTA, you can choose the option that serves your own goal best.

A video interview with Brenda Zhao on “What Belonging to INTA Means to Me” is available to view here.

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.

© 2019 International Trademark Association