Where Innovation Meets Business
The 2023 Annual Meeting Live+ Educational Program
Today’s brand professional is many things to many people, with a portfolio that includes more than just the most immediate trademark and brand concerns. With this mind, this year’s dual track educational program is broadly themed around “The Business of Innovation.” Elizabeth Bogner reports.
For as many Annual Meeting registrants as there are—and there are more than 7,500 as of today—there are as many iterations of the Annual Meeting itself. Each person will bring their individual curiosity, goals, needs, and interests to curate an experience that speaks to their version of the perfect combination of Business Development , education, and adventure. Here, we provide insight into the meat of this sandwich: education!
Working from the premise that today’s brand professional is many things to many people, with a portfolio that includes more than just the most immediate trademark and brand concerns, this year’s educational program is broadly themed around “The Business of Innovation” and features, for the first time, dual tracks: the IP and Innovation Track and the Business Track.
“I look forward to a debate involving multiple IP rights from many different perspectives and jurisdictions.”
- Ivan Sempere | Padima (Spain)
The Dual Track Program
The IP and Innovation track covers 40+ sessions featuring the core intellectual property (IP) topics registrants have come to expect from an Annual Meeting and the pertinent legal issues shaping the future of brands and the IP practice. It includes sessions that serve to bolster, fine-tune, and expand one’s substantive knowledge and professional skills. It also features 10+ sessions and user meetings organized by and for government officials.
New this year, the Business Track—which will be held in the Innovation Marketplace (formally the Exhibition Hall) and reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of our host city—is aimed to form a bridge between the world of IP rights and the business operations behind the brands. It features 15 thoughtful 30-minute interview-style and fire-side chats between business experts, legal experts, and brand owners, catering not only to IP legal professionals but also to business professionals, including those from small- and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, and scale-ups.
“This year’s dual track approach to the educational programming speaks to both the essence of IP issues with sessions such as The Trademark Modernization Act Unplugged (Thursday, May 18, at 11:30 am–12:30 pm for non-US lawyers and brand owners and 1:30 pm–2:30 pm for U.S. lawyers and brand owners) and the In-House Practitioners Workshop and Luncheon: Financial Literacy and Using Data for In-House Practice (Friday, May 19, 8:30 am–1:30 pm), which inform IP stakeholders and their colleagues about the ever-expanding portfolio of IP professionals. Together, they offer registrants a chance to be more nuanced and engaged in their work,” said Annual Meeting Co-Chair Karina Dimidjian-Lecomte (Casalonga, France).
“We’re also excited to offer our global registrants the opportunity to engage with jurisdictions in a way they haven’t before.” said Annual Meeting Co-Chair Zaheera Hashim (Procter & Gamble, Singapore). To this end, the China Case Law Update (Tuesday, May 16, 1:30 pm–2:30 pm) will take place in-person for the first time this year and the India Case Law Update (Friday, May 19, 1:30 pm–2:30 pm) will take place for the first time ever at this year’s Annual Meeting featuring both practitioners and judges.
“I’m excited to learn how law firms have transformed their business and how those transformations are impacting the growth of their business.”
- Orietta Blanco Minino
Minino (Dominican Republic)
Emerging Issues and Hot Topics
The role of brand professionals is evolving in their companies and their mandates are expanding. The same can be said for those in law firms and the kinds of services they offer. Honing in on how brand professionals today can and should be key team members in business, speakers in the session, IP Lessons and Best Practices from Award Winning Start-ups, Entrepreneurs, and SMEs (Wednesday, May 17, 2:30 pm–3:00 pm), will look back at their experience of building a business from the ground up. “I am excited to be moderating this panel consisting of speakers from award-winning companies who will share their insights on using IP to fuel business growth,” said Candice Kwok (Squire Patton Boggs, Singapore). “We will examine the IP strategies and policies that the panelists have implemented in their companies, which have been instrumental in their success.”
Another trend featured in the program is how IP rights are increasingly complementary as brand owners seek to enhance IP protection in new and innovative ways. Samta Mehra (Remfry & Sagar, India) is an IP and Innovation Track Project Team member and moderating the session, The Conundrum of Protecting a Shape: How to Design a Marquee Strategy (Friday, May 19, 1:30 pm–2:30 pm). “This panel will delve into overlapping IP rights and how shapes can be protected under copyright, design, and trademark laws,” said Ms. Mehra. “The panel will provide a holistic view with insights from in-house and outside counsel.” A panelist on this session, Ivan Sempere (Padima, Spain) noted: “I look forward to a debate involving multiple IP rights from many different perspectives and jurisdictions. I am convinced that it will be enriching, creative, and fun!”
Welcome to the Future: Emerging IP Issues Relating to AI and its Impact on Brands (Friday, May 19, 10: 15 am–11:15 am) is an opportunity to grapple with one of today’s hottest topics and comes fresh on the heels of INTA’s two recently released white papers, Trademarks in the Metaverse and Non-Fungible Tokens.
On the other hand, Influencer Marketing: Balancing Regulation, Brand Protection, and Endorser Goals (Tuesday, May 16, 9:00 am–10:00 am) captures the zeitgeist by providing a forum where panelists will offer a range of experiences and solutions for how best to approach what is as much a challenge as it is an enormous opportunity for businesses.
To examine how you and your organization will choose to strike the balance between responding and reacting to the emerging changes—which are as fast paced as they frequently are seismic—add Future Proofing Your Business in the Digital World (Saturday, May 20, 10:15 am–11:15 am), moderated by Orietta Blanco Minino (Minino, Dominican Republic). “I’m excited to learn how law firms have transformed their business and how those transformations are impacting the growth of their business,” said Ms. Minino about the session.
“In this session we will learn that national cultures still exist in a globalized world, we are still far from a unified business culture. You really don’t want to lose business by failing to greet someone properly.”
- Brenda Matanga Bmatanga IP Attorneys (Zimbabwe)
Focus on Dynamic Skills
Effective brand professionals today are not only expanding their substantive knowledge but also their dynamic skills, including communications and cultural competence, for example. Refining such skills also speaks to the human experience and opportunities to effectively counterbalance what feels like constant digital engagement in working life today. In Communication Breakdown and Cultural Faux Pas: Why People from Different Countries Have Trouble Communicating with Each Other (Friday, May 19, 11:30 am–12:30 pm) panelists will discuss communication styles, including verbal and non-verbal communication, that differ among certain jurisdictions from the East and the West. One of the speakers, Brenda Matanga (Bmatanga IP Attorneys, Zimbabwe) notes: “In this session we will learn that national cultures still exist in a globalized world, we are still far from a unified business culture. You really don’t want to lose business by failing to greet someone properly, “properly” meaning different things to different people. You will start seeing the world and communication quite differently after this session!”
Relatedly, Mediating Across Cultural Differences (Saturday, May 20, 11:30 am–12:30 pm) will include a live-role-playing mediation during which our panel will play out several scenes that would typically occur in mediation. Participants will gain tips on how to conduct a successful mediation by avoiding cultural faux pas. Zech Chan (Lee & Lee, Singapore), who is moderating the session, said: “Our mediation role-play will allow us to act out and discuss cultural issues in mediation. It’s going to be a fun time of laughing and learning!”
How will you take the greatest advantage of all that the Annual Meeting and the host city, Singapore, have to offer? How, at the end of each day, will you feel the most enlightened and satisfied, and confident you have done all you could to maximize your time at this all-important once-a-year gathering? Step One: Review the full educational program and ensure you have all sessions added to your schedule!
