Today’s News Roundup—November 1, 2023 - International Trademark Association

U.S. Congressman Russell Fry Announced as Keynote Speaker for INTA PAC Reception at 2023 Leadership Meeting

United States Congressman Russell Fry (R-South Carolina) will deliver the keynote address at the INTA Political Action Committee (PAC) Reception on Wednesday, November 15, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the 2023 Leadership Meeting in Houston, Texas, USA. Register here.

Congressman Fry represents South Carolina’s Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives and serves on both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight Committee. Prior to being elected to Congress, he practiced law along the South Carolia coast, and represented District Six in the South Carolina State House.

Unless you are a current member of the Capitol Club, a $200 contribution to INTA PAC is requested. To review eligibility rules for contributing to INTA PAC, please visit our website.

~ Jenny Simmons, Director, Government Relations, INTA, Washington D.C., USA

The New Issue of The Trademark Reporter Features the Latest Thought Leadership on Surveys

Anyone seeking the latest in likelihood-of-confusion survey thought leadership should check out the September–October 2023 (Vol. 113 No. 5) issue of The Trademark Reporter. In “A History of the Evolution of Likelihood of Confusion Methodologies,” leading practitioner-scholar Jerre B. Swann caps more than a decade’s worth of his work on likelihood-of-confusion surveys. And in “Why Ask Why? A Critical Assessment of an Historical Survey Artifact¸” next-generation litigator and author R. Charles Henn Jr. challenges the continued reliance by some survey experts and courts upon “Why do you say that?”-style questions in order to, in turn, answer the question of whether an allegedly infringing mark is likely to cause confusion in consumers.

~ Willard Knox, Editor-in-Chief, The Trademark Reporter (INTA), New York, New York, USA

The 2023 Country Guides Update is Live

The 2023 update of INTA’s Country Guides: Trademark Protection Worldwide is now live on the INTA website and is exclusively accessible to INTA members at no additional cost. About 90 jurisdictions have been updated, and a few more are on the way. See why your colleagues make this one of the most popular online trademark tools, year after year. Find essential information on areas of local practice and procedure, including trademark filing, prosecution, registration, maintenance, pre-and post-filing use, Customs recordation, domain names, and more.

~ Liz Hanellin, Director, Legal Resources, INTA, New York, New York, USA

INTA Joins the EU Commission’s DG TAXUD 10th Joint Meeting of Customs Officers and Rights Holders

Meriem Bourahla-Loudiyi (Biofarma, France), Western Europe Subcommittee Chair of the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, attended the EU Customs Rights Holders and Stakeholders Meeting on Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. Organized by the European Commission Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) in Brussels, Belgium, the DG TAXUD discussed the EU Customs Code Reform and potential amendments of Regulation (EU) No. 608/2013, intended to provide alignment with the proposed revision of Union Customs Code. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) Observatory also presented on the latest status of the EUIPO’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Portal (IPEP). The DG TAXUD representatives, rights holders, and EU customs officers also exchanged ideas and comments on the implementation of Regulation (EU) No. 608/2013, including but not limited to seizure and destruction of counterfeit goods.

~ Meriem Bourahla-Loudiyi, Biofarma, France
Anticounterfeiting Committee

Legal Resources Introduces Series Trademarks Fact Sheet

INTA’s new Fact Sheet on Series Trademarks provides useful information on what a series trademark is, how many marks can be included in a series trademark, what the general criteria are for acceptance of series trademarks, and what the benefits are of protecting series trademarks. The Fact Sheet also provides information about the criteria for acceptance of series trademarks in jurisdictions where they are protectible and provides examples of acceptable and unacceptable series trademarks and the underlying reasoning behind their acceptability or lack of acceptability.

~ Liz Hanellin, Director, Legal Resources, INTA, New York, New York, USA

Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Promotes Diversity in the Workplace at INTA Meetings

The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative (WLI) presented a session at the 2023 Trademark Administrators and Practitioners (TMAP) Meeting, entitled Where Are They Now: Your TMAP for Success. The session focused on fostering leadership through mentorship and allyship. Each of the panelists brought a unique perspective, sharing examples of women’s struggles and how they found success in their respective countries. Each panelist commended valuable mentors and allies who not only helped open doors for them but also provided them with the support needed to take their careers to new levels. At the 2023 Leadership Meeting in Houston, Texas, USA, the Women’s LeadershIP Initiative will continue its efforts with a workshop entitled How to Build and Future-Proof Your Team Through Times of Change on Thursday, November 16 from 12:45 pm to 3:00 pm. This workshop will address the social and geographical disruptors organizations face when building and strengthening a team. Immediately following this presentation, a Gender Study Focus Group will look at how gender affects the experience of trademark practitioners in the workplace. This study will focus on representation, career progression, and work-life integration. Register here.

~ Isabella Cardozo, Daniel Law, BrazilProfessional Development Committee

~ Stacey Watson, Markery Law, Washington, D.C., USA
Women’s LeadershIP Initiative

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.