PROFILE in California (established in 1958), which was involved in a long legal battle with Australian spa operator Golden Door Health Retreats (established in 1993) over the unauthorised use of its name. Ellis admits it’s a complex <strong>issue</strong>. Copyright law is generally territorial, and although there are a number of international treaties requiring member countries to acknowledge the rights of each other’s nationals, these are oft en diffi cult to enforce – especially in the internet age, where there are no clear borders and everyone is a writer. International patent or trademark infringements are no less of a legal minefi eld. However, Ellis believes it as much an ethical challenge as a legal one, and one that could be damaging to the industry if not addressed. Th e good news is that, based on <strong>Spa</strong>Finder’s experience, Ellis believes the problem has more to do with ignorance than wilful wrongdoing. “I would say that in almost every case, when we’ve sent out a letter [about copyright infringement of our trends], we’ve had an apology from whoever made the mistake, and it has not been repeated,” she says. Innovation through imagination Although at the time of writing, the fi nal agenda for this year’s GSWS (taking place this June in Aspen, Colorado) is still under discussion, Ellis is hopeful that the <strong>issue</strong> of plagiarism might get some air time – if not directly, then under the Last year’s summit (below) saw the launch of spaevidence. com (right) – a website to help consumers and professionals fi nd medical evidence for specifi c spa therapies 54 Read <strong>Spa</strong> <strong>Business</strong> online spabusiness.com / digital The GSWS was launched by a group of top spa fi gures – including Pete and Susie Ellis – to create greater unity in the global industry “In more mature [spa] markets... a lack of innovation could become a problem because if we’re not growing in terms of development and revenue, we’re vulnerable” banner of the summit’s overarching theme of Innovation through Imagination. The theme of innovation in general is a topic close to Ellis’ heart, and one she believes will be central to the growth of the industry as it matures. “Because our industry is young, we haven’t really needed to talk about innovation before,” she says. “Th at’s still the case in parts of the world where there aren’t yet a lot of spas, such as China, India and South America. But in more mature markets such as the US and Europe… a lack of innovation could become a problem, because if we’re not growing in terms of development and revenue, we’re vulnerable.” To achieve continued growth, Ellis believes the industry needs to look to beyond itself for inspiration. With this in mind, many of the speakers at this year’s GSWS are drawn from outside the industry, from John Kao, author of Innovation Nation, to Peter Rummell, chair of Disney Imagineering. “We’re also going to have one whole day where we’re not going to talk about the spa industry at all,” says Ellis. “Instead we’ll be looking at other industries and how their innovations have moved them along and changed the world.” Something else Ellis believes is crucial to the future of the industry, and also on the agenda at this year’s summit, is ‘spa evidence’ – the growing body of scientifi c research that gives credence to the health and wellness benefi ts of spa treatments. Last year’s summit saw the launch of spaevidence.com, a website designed to help both consumers and professionals fi nd medical evidence for specifi c therapies. However, Ellis admits to being surprised that more spas haven’t been quick to get on board. “Feedback from people who have gone to the site has been terrifi c, but we haven’t had as many companies linking to it as we’d hoped,” she says. “We’ve discussed tying it in a bit more with social media and trying some other things… but fundamentally we have to do a better job encouraging the industry to engage with it, so we have more people linking to it and sharing the information with their clients.” But whatever the future holds, this much is certain: for Ellis, the success of the global spa and wellness industry remains a very personal goal. “What I enjoy most about what I do is seeing the growth of the industry and perhaps having some infl uence on that, in a positive way, for both the industry and the consumer,” she says. “Th at is really very satisfying.” ● SPA BUSINESS 2 <strong>2012</strong> © Cybertrek <strong>2012</strong>
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