NEW YORK - As the International Trademark Association (INTA) prepares to hold its first full-scale in-person event in nearly three years, more than 2,500 brand owners and intellectual property professionals from more than 100 countries have already registered for the 2022 Annual Meeting Live+. The Annual Meeting continues a 144-year-old tradition and is renowned as the world’s largest gathering of industry professionals, a press release stated by INTA.
Registrants run the gamut, including representatives of brands, law firms, government, service providers, and academia worldwide, and first timers to experienced practitioners who have attended the Annual Meeting for years or even decades.
Among corporates, 250 brand owner representatives from 14 countries have already signed up. They include corporate giants like Amazon.com, Inc. (USA), Heineken International B.V. (Netherlands), LG Display Co. (South Korea), Nestle Ltd. (Switzerland), PepsiCo, Inc. (Mexico), Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (USA), and Zoom Video Communications (USA). As well, 67 organizations are sending six or more team members.
“There is tremendous pent-up demand to connect again in person,” said INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo. “While many attend because an event of this scope offers enormous potential to conduct business and fortify client-counsel relationships, it goes well beyond that. It is a reunion, a gathering of community in every sense of the word.”
Given INTA’s return to an in-person Annual Meeting, since the last one in 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts, registrants can expect some changes in programming to present a “whole new experience,” Mr. Sanz de Acedo noted.
Most representative of this, the Association is hosting a hybrid event, with an all-out onsite meeting and virtual components. Participants can register for either Live+ (in person plus virtual) or Virtual Only.
At the onsite event, the revamped programming includes more time, opportunities, and venues for networking, such as a new Business Development Lounge, reimagined Exhibition Hall called the Brand Marketplace, and an online scheduling and networking tool, INTAconnect.
Educational programming centers on thematic tracks: Building a Better Society Through Brands; Complementary Rights, Regulatory Issues, and Brand Restrictions; Enforcement and Anticounterfeiting; Innovation and the Future of IP; Professional Development; Regional Updates; and The Business of Brands.
Sessions address top-of-mind trends, key policy issues, and career pointers. For example, panels include “Counterfeiting in the Metaverse: Protecting, Policing, and Enforcing Digital Rights as Technology Races Forward,” “Green Is the New Black: How Does This Fit into an IP Strategy,” “Indigenous Communities and the Design Industry: Boundaries and Balances,” and “Leveraging Legal Technology to Support the Business: Trends to Watch.” Also on tap are sessions on blockchain, brand valuation, case law, and NFTs, among others.
Also new, several sessions will be live streamed, such as the Opening Ceremonies and the legendary “Annual Review of U.S. Federal Case Law and TTAB Developments.” At the end of February, registration will open for approximately 100 small-group Table Topics, and in-house practitioners will be able to sign up for the popular Anticounterfeiting Workshop and In-House Practitioners Workshop.
As the pandemic continues to develop, INTA has updated its health precautions for the in-person portion of the 2022 Annual Meeting Live+. The revisions make the requirements more cost-effective and seamless for registrants while maintaining the Association’s emphasis on health and safety.
Under the guidelines, registrants must show proof of being “fully vaccinated” and a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR, Rapid-Antigen, or self-administered) within 48 hours before picking up their badge.
“Our commitment to registrants’ health and safety is unwavering,” Mr. Sanz de Acedo said. “We recognize, however, that just as we have been agile throughout the pandemic, we need to continually adapt our health precautions when appropriate to make in-person entry as simple as possible while also ensuring safety.”
The Convention Center itself has top-notch and innovative health and safety practices, such as self-cleaning escalators and utilizing the UV-C disinfection robot ADIBOT. As well, INTA has adapted its Meeting schedule to allow for cleaning of rooms between sessions.
For those who cannot or choose not to attend in person, the Association is offering a Virtual Only option. Educational sessions, focusing on key IP issues, will be held in different time zones each day (China Standard, Central European, U.S. Eastern). In addition, the agenda includes small-group Table Topics and various Business Development opportunities.
Early-bird pricing for Live+ (in person plus virtual) is available until March 4. Premium Access pricing for Virtual Only runs through April 1. For both options, the last day to register is April 22.