INTA Strengthens Leadership Role in Europe with Brussels Delegation

An INTA delegation to Brussels, Belgium, the European Union’s capital, last week included meetings with officials from several key EU institutions, covering a range of IP-related issues. INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo, INTA 2022 President Zeeger Vink, and Europe Global Advisory Council Co-Chairs Meriem Bourahla-Loudiyi and Pieter Van Den Bulck made up the Brussels delegation that met with EU officials to present INTA’s 2022‒2025 Strategic Plan and share the Association’s perspective on matters of common interest.

The delegation met with DG GROW, the main EU body responsible for the administration of intellectual property (IP) rights, to discuss the preparation of the upcoming EU Toolbox in which INTA’s position highlights the need for using technology to fight counterfeiting and create a streamlined EU anticounterfeiting portal that guarantees information sharing among key actors (see the full position paper). In a meeting with DG TRADE, the delegation discussed INTA’s collaboration with the EU free trade agreement negotiation process, as well as DG AGRI, in relation to the recent consultations on geographic indications (GIs).

Furthermore, the delegation met with several members of the European Parliament who have a general interest in IP and are eager to promote and protect it. We brainstormed on the Agri GIs Review and the Non-Agri GI, where our common approach to both focuses on the quality of the registration system rather than on the expansion or contraction of the scope of GIs. Also discussed was the implementation of a registration system with effective and transparent mechanisms for addressing: (i) applications for GIs, amendments, and cancellation; and (ii) opposition, cancellation, and notification procedures that would recognize pre-existing trademark rights with which GIs might conflict or cause confusion. INTA also advocates for a Design Review,” that would modernize, clarify, and strengthen design protection, and improve accessibility and affordability, and bring about greater harmonization of national enforcement procedures (see the full position paper).

Finally, we conversed with the ambassadors of the Permanent Representations (PermReps), who form the cornerstone of the Council of the EU. We took the opportunity to congratulate the French Presidency, the outgoing presidency of the Council, and to offer our support to Spain, which will take over in the second half of 2023.

With this delegation, INTA continues to strengthen its position as a key stakeholder within and beyond the EU.

INTA’s Europe Representative Office, based in Brussels, Belgium, represents the Association’s members across Europe (which includes the European Union, non-EU member states, and Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States). Working in collaboration with staff at INTA’s headquarters in New York City, the Europe Representative Office leads the Association’s policy, membership, marketing, and communications initiatives throughout the region. To learn more about INTA’s activities in Europe, please contact INTA Chief Europe Representative Officer Tat-Tienne Louembe and follow us on Twitter.

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.

Topics Europe