INTA News

Daren Tang, Duncan Wardle Headline Dynamic Speaker List at 2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Meeting

Published: September 23, 2020

Announced earlier today, INTA’s 2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Meeting will feature keynote addresses from the incoming WIPO Director General Daren Tang and the former VP of Innovation & Creativity at The Walt Disney Company, Duncan Wardle.

These industry leaders headline a slate of upwards of 100 speakers from nearly 20 countries. With 12 educational tracks covering a wide range of topics, the program will appeal to a diverse audience interested in growing their knowledge on issues affecting brands as well as building their own skills to advance their careers.

The keynote addresses take place at the Opening Ceremonies of the Annual Meeting program on November 16 at 9:30 am, kicking off a week of educational sessions and networking opportunities.

Mr. Tang takes over at WIPO on October 1, after heading the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, where he implemented a wide variety of innovative stakeholder programs and solutions. Mr. Wardle’s unique approach to design thinking helps people capture unlikely connections that lead to fresh thinking and disruptive innovation.

In this time of constantly evolving technologies and unexpected global challenges, Mr. Tang and Mr. Wardle will share how innovation can bring about transformative and meaningful change.

Joining them at the Opening Ceremonies will be INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo and INTA President Ayala Deutsch, NBA Properties, Inc. (USA), as well as the Annual Meeting co-chairs Elisabeth Bradley, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (USA), and Jo-Ann See, Amica Law LLC (Singapore).

The virtual event features leading legal experts and top government officials, judges, corporate executives, and intellectual property (IP) professionals who will provide the insights, trends, updates, and skills training to put yourself in front of your field in these challenging times.

The Meeting’s educational program is built around 12 thematic tracks to help guide registrants to sessions that meet their specific interests and needs. Some tracks cover familiar topics such as anticounterfeiting and brand protection, regulatory issues, and professional development. Others look at “Innovation and the Future of IP,” “Managing Your Brand in Times of Crisis,” “Diversity and Inclusion,” and “Brand Commercialization/Brand Value,” among other pertinent issues.

There are also several workshops that will be dedicated to topical issues, such as the intellectual property office of the future, the Madrid System managed by WIPO, combating online counterfeiting together, and the protection of store designs as trademarks.

A key workshop offered three times during the week revolves around INTA’s Women’s LeadershIP Initiative, INTA’s new project to champion and advance women’s leadership in IP. Entitled, “Advancing Women’s Leadership: Women and Men Working Together to Effect Change,” this workshop will bring together women and men to discuss current realities and to learn ways to support each other as they communicate and collaborate more effectively.

A notable related panel entitled, “Hot Topics in Trademark Law: A View from the Bench,” will bring together leading judges from around the world, discussing recent key trademark decisions, and the state of IP law. Moderated by Iris Gunther, INTA (USA), speakers include: Marianne Grabrucker, Former Presiding Judge at Federal Patent Court and President of Circle of European TM-Judges, Munich (Germany), Mary Kasango, Presiding Judge of Commercial &Tax Division, Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi (Kenya), Marcia Maria Nunes de Barros, Federal Judge and Intellectual Property Commission of eMARF, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Loretta A. Preska, District Court Judge, Southern District of New York (USA), and Prathiba M. Singh, High Court of Delhi (India).

Another strong theme during the week will be Asia, with a day of sessions at times accessible to participants in Asia, a track presented in Mandarin, a regional update, and other related panels.

On the panel, “Informing and Influencing: Trademark Issues Arising in Global Advertising”—in the Regulatory Issues and In-House Practice and Strategy track—moderator Paul Jordan, Bristows (UK) will discuss the issue with speakers Sharon Ceresnie Sorkin, Ford Motor Company (USA), Nerissa McGinn, Loeb & Loeb (USA), and Angela Lynnette Wilson, Hallmark Cards, Inc. (USA). Representatives from diverse consumer-facing goods industries will share practical tips on the overlap of advertising and trademarks, such as product placement in television and film, social media and global rights, and the use of third-party trademarks as keywords in online advertising.

In a provocative panel, “Scams, Frauds, and Other Misdeeds on the Internet,” in the Managing Your Brands in Times of Crisis and Professional Advancement track, moderator Signe Naeve, Starbucks Coffee Company (USA), and speakers Russell Pangborn, Seed Intellectual Property (USA), Frederick Felman, AppDetex (USA), and Evan Williams, International Computer Hacking & Intellectual Property (ICHIP) (Hong Kong SAR, China), will discuss these online challenges and show how companies can respond.

In the panel on “Diversity and Inclusion: How to Live Your Values to the Benefit of Your People and Your Brand,” in the diversity and inclusion track, law firm and company representatives will talk about programs related to employee wellbeing, talent retention, product design, and customer experience. Moderated by Sanjana Sharma, UL LLC (USA), speakers include: Adraea Brown, H-D U.S.A. LLC (USA), Kim Culmone, Mattel, Inc. (USA), and Michael Moore, Mattel, Inc. (USA). Ms. Culmone is senior vice president and global head of design for Barbie and Fashion Dolls, and a topic of discussion will be the evolution of Barbie.

The In-House Practice and Strategy and Professional Advancement track will include an advanced session called “Getting a Seat at the C-Suite Table,” moderated by Melissa Rotunno, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (USA). Sharing the panel will be Christopher Chan, Lazada and RedMart (Singapore), Jennifer Hamilton, Diageo North America, Inc. (USA), and Kenneth Ng, Chang Tsi & Partners (China).

The list goes on, with topics like artificial intelligence and data, social media, brand resilience, brand restrictions, brand authenticity, anticounterfeiting and bad faith, human resources, ethics, financial issues, design law, summaries of leading cases in regions such as Europe and the United States, and, operating in a crisis.

CLE credits/CPD points will be available for most sessions.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.

© 2020 International Trademark Association