What’s Virtual +? INTA Reveals More Details About the 2021 Annual Meeting

The intellectual property (IP) community will get the best of both worlds—virtual and onsite—when INTA’s 2021 Annual Meeting Virtual + takes place from November 15 to 19. This week, the Association provided more insights into what “Virtual +” involves, including announcing the cities that will have onsite events and the Meeting’s registration details.

The hybrid approach is a first-of-its-kind for INTA and comes on the heels of the Association’s successful hosting of fully virtual conferences and meetings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the past year.

The 2021 Annual Meeting will be fully virtual for all five days, November 15–19—complete with educational programming, Business Development opportunities, social activities, committee meetings, and limited-attendance workshops. The educational sessions will follow five tracks that mirror some of INTA’s key priorities: Building a Better Society Through Brands, Innovation and the Future of IP, The Business of Brands, Regional Updates, and Enforcement & Anticounterfeiting.

As for the “+” component, INTA will hold onsite, one-day mini-conferences in four cities in different regions throughout the week of the Meeting. They will take place on November 15 in Hong Kong SAR, China; November 16 in New York, New York, USA; November 17 in Berlin, Germany; and November 18 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Each mini-conference will have limited attendance and feature discussion forums, receptions, and other networking opportunities.

Registration for the Annual Meeting will open July 14—exclusively for members. Participants must register for the fully virtual Meeting in order to register for an onsite mini-conference, which will carry an additional fee. INTA is encouraging members to register early to get the best member rate—$775 for the Annual Meeting plus $300 for each mini-conference. General registration for non-members will take place at a later date.

“We’ve proven that virtual works and that it’s a very valuable means to learn and connect, but we also know that many stakeholders now are at the point where they’d like to return to meeting in person,” said INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo. “As we continue to be innovative, we believe the Virtual + Meeting is an exciting and unique formula that will meet the needs of our community.”

He emphasized that registrants’ health and safety at the in-person events will be a main priority. More details on precautionary measures will be forthcoming.

Immediately after INTA released the latest details about the Annual Meeting, many of INTA’s corporate members indicated that they welcome the format and have already expressed interest in attending the one- day events in one or more cities.

“It’s definitely capturing attention,” said Mr. Sanz de Acedo, noting that some members have even noted that they might go to two mini-conferences, either in both U.S. locations or in different regions. “From a practical standpoint, attendees might want to arrive before or stay after a mini-conference, organize their own meetings, and get together with friends. They see it as a way to build upon an already great networking opportunity!”

INTA announced last month that it would pivot to the Virtual + structure rather than host a fully in-person event in Houston, Texas, USA, as originally planned, after assessing the status of the pandemic around the world and keeping top of mind the health and safety of registrants, sponsors, staff, and others.

In initially announcing the Virtual + format, Mr. Sanz de Acedo said, “In these times, one of our greatest strengths as an organization is being realistic and flexible.” With the Virtual + approach, he added, “We will achieve the desired objective—to still come together as a community, but in the safest, most sensitive, and most prudent way given the unsettling circumstances.”

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.

© 2021 International Trademark Association