Change, Community, and Mentors at the Opening Ceremonies
Themes of change, community, and mentoring ran through the Opening Ceremonies yesterday afternoon, which featured INTA’s President and CEO as well as guests Daren Tang of WIPO and Dame Anya Hindmarch. James Nurton reports.
In a powerful welcoming speech, INTA President Deborah A. Hampton, Global Brand Enforcement & Trademark Team Leader, The Chemours Company (USA) described INTA as “a community that, for me, for more than four decades of my professional life, has been a place of learning, of security, of challenge, of growth—and, most importantly, belonging.”
Ms. Hampton began her career in 1983, the year of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the Mario Brothers arcade game, and the Sony Walkman. From the start, she promised herself she would never get comfortable: “I kept placing myself in spaces where I was not ‘supposed’ to be—rooms where I was new, where I was challenged.”
INTA was one of those places and, in 2026, Ms. Hampton became the first African American to be INTA President.
“This is a community that has allowed me to show up as myself—fully, honestly, and authentically. It allowed me to learn. It allowed me to grow. It allowed me to be passionate about the work we do and the impact it has,” said Ms. Hampton.
She said she built her career not on labels but on belief—in INTA; in the protection of intellectual property; in the power of the profession to support innovation, economic growth, and consumer trust; and most importantly in herself and her capabilities.
“INTA became my beacon,” said Ms. Hampton: “My safe harbor, especially during those times when my profession, knowledge, and experience as a Trademark Administrator or as an African American woman were not valued outside of this Association.”
She paid tribute to people who mentored her, saying belonging and inclusion are not abstract concepts but lived experiences. “They’re powerful emotions that manifest in those who feel welcome when they walk into a room, in those who feel heard when they speak, and in those who are encouraged to raise a hand and say, ‘I have an idea,’ or ‘I’d like to try.’”
She highlighted the work of the Belonging and Inclusion Council, the Women’s Leadership Initiative and the work of the INTA Foundation.
Ms. Hampton said periods of rapid change demand guidance and context—which is why mentorship matters more now than ever before. “Our future will be shaped not only by the policies we promote or the programs we offer, but by the people we prepare and the leaders we mentor.”
The Experience-Innovation Dynamic
The Annual Meeting Co-Chairs picked up on the themes of community and change in their welcoming remarks. “Intellectual property is, by its nature, both old and new,” said Tanya Fickenscher, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Major League Baseball (USA): we work with principles and laws that have existed for generations, but apply them to new technologies, industries, and creative expressions.
The dynamic between experience and innovation should be celebrated, said Lara Kayode, Owner and Managing Partner, O. Kayode & Co (Nigeria): “Because the future of IP doesn’t belong to one generation alone. It’s built through mentorship, curiosity, and the willingness to learn from one another.”
The Co-Chairs encouraged participants to pace themselves, talk to people they don’t know, ask questions and enjoy themselves.
“The program is designed not just to inform, but to spark dialogue, to help all of us think differently, ask better questions, and take new ideas back to our work and our organizations,” said Ms. Kayode.
The Annual Meeting Co-Chairs announced the winners of this year’s Open Innovation Challenge:
- The winner in the Early-Stage category was Heart and Tale (Nigeria);
- The Mid-Stage winner was Peripear Ltd (UK); and
- The winner in the Scale Up category was Aisthesis Medical Ltd. (UK)
Navigating Fragmentation
In his speech, Etienne Sanz de Acedo, Chief Executive Officer, INTA (USA) reflected on how 2025 was a year of fragmentation, division, and distrust. “2026 is a year when that fragmentation is being navigated … The world is operating with weaker assumptions that trade and security can be kept separate,” he said.
In this environment, Mr. Sanz de Acedo argued that consumers are not retreating from consumption, but they are becoming “more calculated” in how and how much they consume: “They’re looking for fair prices, clear explanations, and no hidden deterioration in quality of what they’re buying.” At the same time, AI is fundamentally changing commerce.
In this environment, he said: “IP is becoming part of broader public debates about fairness, trust, access, competition, identity, and technology governance.” But he warned that IP is more respected than loved. “IP must now win a legitimacy test, not just a technical one.”
For brands, this means IP strategy must move from episodic to continuous; data provenance and training rights become asset-level risks; brand protection becomes revenue protection; and IP legitimacy is now a reputational issue. For IP professionals, routine IP work is no longer defensible as premium labor; professional value shifts to judgment, not execution; and trust becomes the core professional currency.
“In times of fragmentation, we believe more strongly that collaboration, rule of law, and respect for creativity are essential for a resilient global society,” said Mr. Sanz de Acedo.
To this end, INTA has asked all committees to draft “The Future of …” papers and all Advocacy Group committees to do a “Policy Gap analysis.”
The Association is helping to support IP offices of the future and will soon issue a report on using AI in the likelihood of confusion analysis. INTA is also developing an AI Roadmap and looking into the financial value of IP.
Mr. Sanz de Acedo also said that INTA will “revisit the format, the venue, and how we handle the Annual Meeting.” He announced that the 149th Annual Meeting will be in San Diego, California from May 8 to 12, 2027.
This year, INTA planted one tree for each of the 9,800 registrants, said Mr. Sanz de Acedo, concluding: “Let’s work together to make a better society, to make better IP, and to make it better for the next generation.”
Meaningful and Purposeful Change
Daren Tang, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (Switzerland) took up the theme of building for the future in his speech, saying WIPO would work with IP owners and its member states to modernize its foundational treaties.
“Let’s embrace meaningful and purposeful change in order for IP systems to remain relevant for our children and their children,” he said, adding that it was necessary to demonstrate to the billions of people not in the room that “IP is not only a set of rights and regulations but a catalyst for jobs, growth, and prosperity.”
He described some of the innovations that WIPO has made to its core services, including the Madrid System, Hague System, and ADR tools. Reflecting more broadly that innovation and creativity have always been central to human society, he said: “I see our joint mission as building a global IP ecosystem to support the innovators and creators of the world.”
Concluding, he referenced recent news reports featuring NUTELLA chocolate floating on the Artemis II livestream and KIT-KAT going viral after being stolen (both brands are protected under the Madrid System).
Asking “What are we really working for?” he proposed the answer: “The power of brands to connect, the power of IP to touch every part of the modern world.”
Brands and Behavior
The Opening Ceremony wrapped up with an interview with Dame Anya Hindmarch DBE, CEO, Anya Hindmarch (UK), who founded her eponymous accessories company at the age of 18 and has built it into a global brand. Speaking to the Annual Meeting Co-Chairs, she discussed politics, sustainability, activism, and women in leadership.
Reflecting on her early experience creating a brand, Dame Anya said: “Suddenly it dawns on you that you have to register all those bits of IP. It’s a very, very expensive endeavor for a small start-up.”
She described the future as a “Wild West” given the challenges of geopolitics and technological change, saying: “Trying to protect your IP and design though this next phase is going to be an interesting ride for people producing original content. As designers we’re going to need proactive help.”
In her book, If In Doubt Wash Your Hair, Dame Anya argued that “brand equals behavior.” Expanding on that in the interview, she said: “Brand is an over-used term. It should be replaced by behavior … It’s easy to lose sight of how the customer feels and the really authentic part of being a brand.”
Dame Anya is known for sustainability and environmental initiatives, such as the launch of the “I am not a plastic bag” product and a universal bag initiative with supermarkets.
She described herself as “an accidental activist” and said she is guided by common sense: “Be open and honest and ask: How can I make a difference?”
But she also warned: “You have to be prepared for some choppy water. If you really care, do what you do. Your customer goes on the journey with you. You shake things up a bit. You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.”
Asked for her reflections on female leadership, to warm applause from the audience, she said: “Women can do it for themselves. I think we’re pretty great. We keep pushing on.”
Her three key words in looking to the future were: chaotic, constant, and good. While constant chaos seems to reflect the reality we face right now, Dame Anya emphasized the good. “We’re good people in this room. We try and do good with what we do. We don’t talk enough about the inherent good in people.”
