INTA News

Signs of a New Normal in Trademark Practice

Published: September 2, 2020

Shifts in trademark activity, adapting to new requirements, relocating of workspaces, and adjusting to previously unknown distractions and pressures. No matter where you work, COVID-19 has affected everything we do, at least for now. Which changes will be long-lived, and which will go back to the old ways? At INTA, we are observing these questions constantly. A timely review of our COVID-19-related coverage in the INTA Bulletin over the past months offers some clues about the new normal.

This special theme issue of the INTA Bulletin features a new, in-depth analysis of COVID-19–related trademark filings and how they are faring. By documenting activity around the world, author Pedro Tavares (Barbosa Müssnich Aragão, Brazil) analyzes applied-for trademarks based on general principles reflected in most trademark laws worldwide, especially prohibitions relating to lack of distinctiveness, offense to morality and public order, and deceptiveness.

Past INTA News articles included in this issue delve into important topics like resolving disputes online, how brands have responded in a time of crisis, and how an intellectual property (IP) office is managing bad-faith filings—all related to the virus. And a series of previously published Law & Practice articles shine a light on some recent coronavirus-related legal actions.

We have all been presented with challenges in this time and are all responding, often in what would have seemed extraordinary ways just a few months ago. INTA’s 2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Meeting went from spring in Singapore to virtual in November, and now is attracting thousands of participants to the industry’s premier event of the year, hosted for the first time in a fully virtual format.

So a look at COVID-19 related topics wouldn’t be complete without noting what’s on tap for registrants at this event. In this issue, we look at the Meeting’s just-announced social networking opportunities spanning from November 11–20, 2020. The 31 sessions will virtually bring experts into your home to lead morning workouts and meditation, and offer tastings of coffee, chocolate, whiskey, cheese and wine, as well as let you match skills in sports or match wits in an escape room with your colleagues.

While all of this marks a change from the past, the new normal may also hold endless interesting possibilities for the future. We’ll keep watching.

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

© 2020 International Trademark Association