International Trademark Association’s Europe Conference Will Explore Building and Maintaining Brands in Sports and Esports Industries

New York, New York—January 21, 2020—The International Trademark Association will focus on hot brand-related issues facing the sports and esports industries from the perspectives of brand stewards, intellectual property (IP) professionals, and athletes at its 2020 Europe Conference—Brands, Sports, and Esports: A Brand (R)evolution, in Madrid, Spain, on February 17–18.

The Conference will feature representatives from major industry players, including Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Go Pro, Inc., Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., NBA Properties, Inc., and Ubisoft Entertainment. They will provide insight into how they built, manage, and protect successful brands, events, and teams.

“Traditional sports continue to ignite a great deal of passion and to bring people together. They also create truly iconic brands around the world and produce major revenue streams,” said INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo. “We’re now seeing the same pattern with the booming esports industry. It’s critical to learn how to build and maintain value in these fields, and INTA’s Europe Conference will set registrants on that path.”

Sessions will examine dynamic and emerging issues related to traditional sports and the growing esports industry, such as creating an IP strategy for esports brands, the legal and operational issues in planning and executing a sporting or esport event, tips for effective sponsorship collaborations, fan engagement through influencer marketing and social media, and enforcing brand rights in the global world of sports.

The Conference will also specifically look at women in sports. In a capsule keynote address, Rebecca (Bex) Smith, Global Director of the Women’s Game at COPA90, United Kingdom, and a former professional footballer, will share her experiences and her mission to increase the visibility of women’s football. Other sessions will focus on women in esports, where women make up half of all gamers, as well as the marketing and branding investments required to reach this audience.

“At the Europe Conference we’re really focused on the people involved within each of the sports and esports industries—the men, the women, the younger generation, the older generation, everybody coming together and focusing on the parts they play,” said Conference Co-Chair Kristin McNulty, Senior Trademark Attorney at Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, California. “Whether it’s from the technology side, the legal side, the business side, the entrepreneurial side, I think we cover all of their stories at this Conference.”

For more information and to register for the 2020 Europe Conference, click here. 

About the International Trademark Association
The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation. Members include more than 7,200 trademark owners, professionals, and academics from 187 countries, who benefit from the Association’s global trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network. Founded in 1878, INTA is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, and Washington, D.C., and representatives in Geneva and New Delhi. For more information, visit inta.org.