Last week was a great cause for celebration for many in the trademark and IP industry. INTA’s first in-person Annual Meeting since 2019 provided a long-awaited opportunity to meet with colleagues from around the word, discuss the latest trends in trademark law and showcase new Clarivate solutions.
The in-person plus virtual event played host to more than 6,700 trademark professionals from 130 countries representing over 3,000 different organizations. Attendees experienced many opportunities to share their thought on the trademark industry through committee meetings, social receptions, speed networking sessions and a renamed Brand Marketplace to meet with exhibitors.
INTA organized its learning sessions into ‘education tracks’ focused on specific topics. Attendee favorites included: Building a Better Society Through Brands focused on sustainability; Innovation and the Future of IP focused on new technologies impacting brands; and The Business of Brands focused on commercialization and the role of brands in business.
INTA workshops and panels
Our support for INTA went well beyond the Brand Marketplace. In addition to platinum sponsorship, Clarivate joined in educational sessions and year-round INTA committee work. Ronda Majure participated in The Women’s LeadershIP Initiative Workshop, lending her expertise on a panel titled Charting Your Own Course: Developing an Effective Leadership Style.
I was pleased to provide an ICANN update alongside Margie Milam from Meta and Susan Payne from Com Laude, which was moderated by Fabricio Vayra from Perkins Coie and coordinated by Caroline Chicoine from Husch Blackwell.
Many other Clarivate colleagues also contributed to the important work being done in their INTA committees, including Brands for a Better Society, Brands and Innovation and Commercialization of Brands.
Brand Landscape Analyzer and other exciting product announcements
At the Brand Marketplace, we were excited to display several new products and product features, especially our innovative approach to trademark research: Clarivate Brand Landscape Analyzer.
Powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) trained on years’ worth of data and experience from our industry-leading trademark search analysts, Brand Landscape Analyzer provides context and analysis for factors not currently provided in traditional search. For example, Brand Landscape Analyzer incorporates critical aspects of trademark ownership, legality, usage, AI-based phonetic and goods similarity and more. Early adopter feedback so far has been very positive, and we look forward to continued adoption of this new trademark research product.
“Powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) trained on years’ worth of data and experience from our industry-leading trademark search analysts, Brand Landscape Analyzer provides context and analysis for factors not currently provided in traditional search”
We also showcased an exciting enhancement to our trademark Watch product which combines deeper integration between Darts-ip™ trademark litigation data and CompuMark™ Watch. New Watch Opposition Strength scoring from Clarivate allows customers to form data-driven opinions faster and with greater confidence by assessing the potential success of filing an opposition against a third-party word mark.
Navigating Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
“Web 3” concepts of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), blockchain and the metaverse were the educational highlights of the Annual Meeting, with the most popular sessions drawing standing-room-only attendance.
Today’s trademark professionals are grappling with how to monitor – and to what extent enforcement is possible, if at all – when brands and branded products are “minted” and sold as NFTs.
Blockchain technology typically makes centralized IP rights enforcement impossible, so brand owners and even quasi-regulatory organizations like ICANN are justifiably concerned about growing adoption and new uses of this technology. This is especially true in the case of decentralized ‘domain names’ which you can read more about here, alongside options to strengthen defensive registration strategies.
The developing concept of the metaverse, “a highly immersive virtual world where people gather to socialize, play and work,” brought even more questions for discussion during the Annual Meeting.
“Blockchain technology typically makes centralized IP rights enforcement impossible, so brand owners and even quasi-regulatory organizations like ICANN are justifiably concerned about growing adoption and new uses of this technology.”
Beyond repeating the jurisdictional issues brought about by the creation of the global internet, the metaverse brings new legal questions to brand owners: Who owns virtual goods in the metaverse? How can smart contracts impact the first sale doctrine? Practical questions remain as well: How can brand owners monitor and enforce their IP rights in the metaverse? For some early thought leadership on these topics, please visit our Clarivate IP Forum breakout session on The Future of IP in the Metaverse.
We look forward to meeting many colleagues and customers at the 2023 Annual Meeting in Singapore. Please contact us to get in touch in the meantime.
