INTA News

Designed for Global Participation: 2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Meeting

Published: October 28, 2020

INTA’s 2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Meeting is truly a global gathering. As the INTA Bulletin went to press, there were more than 3,000 registrants from 110 countries, with more signing up every day as the registration deadline nears at 11:59 pm (EDT) on October 30.

In the past, Meeting registrants have gathered in one place, but now with this year’s 2020 virtual event, participants span many locations and time zones. INTA rose to the occasion and has developed ways to cater to those variances, creating innovative strategies for registrants to network with colleagues, participate in social activities, and take advantage of educational offerings.

Watch Parties, educational tracks, business development opportunities, and social activities in different time zones, 24-hour Hospitality, the INTAconnect appointment system, and on demand educational offerings—these are some of the ways you can participate on your own terms—from anywhere, anytime.

This year’s Annual Meeting program offers 12 educational tracks, including one designed to deliver substantive content to the trademark community in Asia. The sessions of the Developing Issues in China educational track will be presented in Mandarin and will be offered in the China Standard Time (CST) zone (GMT+8 hours; EST+12 hours), on November 18. There is also another day of programming in English in the CST (GMT+8) zone, on November 19.

For the Annual Meeting programming, INTA is making it easy for registrants to take advantage of educational offerings in their time zone. While most live sessions are in EST, some are offered more than once at different times. And registrants who miss the general education live sessions during the week, November 16–20, can capture most of them on-demand shortly after they are given in real time.

In addition, INTA is offering some sessions across tracks in an On Demand format right from the get-go. Covering topics such as anticounterfeiting, regional updates, innovation, and the future of intellectual property, the on-demand sessions are available on the virtual Meeting platform starting November 9, 2020.

All on-demand sessions can be viewed at your convenience during and after the Meeting, until January 10, 2021.

At Watch Parties, registrants can view a recorded version of select sessions and have live chat discussions with others in the same time zone. These hosted events are scheduled conveniently for registrants during business hours in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Hospitality is another way to seamlessly meet and network in live time around the clock, as you drop in and see who’s around the tables, plan a meeting with a friend or contact, or attend a thematic gathering. Registrants can enter three virtual buildings, including one (Building 2) that will be open 24/7 and the other two, which are open 12 and 14 hours, accommodating all time zones.

On the social networking front, registrants can dive into an array of live activities in four categories: experiences, sports, tastings, and wellness. Just as one example: Tune in to see who scores as eight Meeting registrants face off in a 2v2 game of FIFA (November 11, 8:00 am–9:00 am (EST) (GMT – 4:00) and November 16, 7:00 pm–8:00 pm (EST) (GMT – 4:00).

The social activities are repeated at different times and days, so plan ahead and sign up now to participate. Seats are still available, and preregistration by October 30 is required.

And of course, registrants will be active on INTAconnect—the Meeting’s 24-hour networking and appointment system that uses artificial intelligence to match Meeting registrants based on their own unique profiles, interests, and time zone preferences. All registrants will have access to INTAconnect as well as the entire virtual Meeting platform on November 9.

Register here for the 2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Meeting. Registration closes at 11:59 pm (EDT) on October 30. In addition, seats are still available at some educational and networking sessions with limited capacity, but preregistration is required by 11:59 pm (EDT) on October 30.

Note: There will be no registration of any kind for the Meeting or limited-capacity sessions after that date, including no day-of registration.

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