The NTA Annual Meeting Live+ – the biggest annual gathering of IP practitioners – took place in Singapore in May. Aarna Law was represented by Spandana Ashwath.
The INTA Annual Meeting provides an unrivalled opportunity to learn about and discuss developments in trademark and related areas of law, as well as to meet clients and colleagues from all over the world. This year, there were some 8,200 registrants from 3,750 organisations in 140 jurisdictions. These organisations include brand owners, law firms, IP offices, IP service providers and universities.
IP & Innovation and Business
The agenda this year covered a variety of topical trademark issues and was divided into two tracks: IP & Innovation and Business.
The IP & Innovation panels included topics such as influencer marketing; the metaverse and in-game licensing; trade dress protection; copyright in the future; non-trademark IP issues; online reviews; Blockchain and smart contracts; brand restrictions; parodies; right of publicity; and IP issues relating to artificial intelligence. There were also panels comprising IP office representatives and judges from around the world.
Of particular interest to Indian practitioners was a panel on the Delhi High Court IP Division, which was established in 2021 and is the leading forum for resolving IP disputes in India. Four judges from the Court took part in the panel: Hon’ble Justice Prathiba M Singh, Hon’ble Justice Sanjeev Narula, Hon’ble Justice Navin Chawla and Hon’ble Justice Amit Bansal. The panel discussed a broad spectrum of issues, from the disbandment of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in India to the specialised needs of the IP division of the courts adjudicating IP matters.
The Business track involved topics including trade secrets; innovation and business plans; the impact of financial markets; and diversity, equality and inclusion.
Speeches from WIPO, Rotary International and Tencent
In addition to the formal sessions, there were networking activities ranging from “All about local coffee” and “Chinese tea appreciation” to a closing ceremony at Universal Studios.
One of the most popular events at the INTA Annual Meeting is the Opening Ceremony, which this year featured some fascinating keynote presentations from World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Director General Daren Tang, President of Rotary International Jennifer Jones and Tencent Head of Public Affairs and Global Policy Danny Marti, who was assisted in his speech by a digital avatar.
Mr Tang emphasised that: “IP is a powerful catalyst for jobs, business growth, and investment. But we need to bring this message to the 99% out there so let us work together to make IP a force for good in the world.” He also announced that WIPO had recently launched a High-Level Conversation on IP financing and presented a new list of IP valuation experts developed in collaboration with the IP Office of Singapore.
“Reliable valuation is key to moving IP financing forward and we are hopeful that this expert group can have a positive impact here in Singapore and inspire similar initiatives around the world,” he said.
During the Meeting, WIPO launched its future eMadrid portal for users of the Madrid system for international trademarks.
Other notable speakers at the meeting included the Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, Kathi Vidal and judges from China, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia and the EU General Court.
Next year’s INTA Annual Meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, US, the venue for 2025 is to be confirmed and the 2026 Meeting will be in Dubai, UAE. We look forward to attending and meeting more of our business associates in 2024!
