GlobalReport

Global Report: Europe
Association Activities continued from page 13
current priorities of INTA and other activities in
the ASEAN Community.
Africa
The INTA cocktail reception for the government
representatives from Africa took place on the
evening of October 5. The reception drew 25
representatives from the offices of the Central
African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial
Guinea, Kenya, Swaziland, United Republic
of Tanzania, OAPI, and ARIPO. Mr. van Tuijl
gave opening remarks on the priorities of INTA
and its recent activities in Africa, in particular
the success of the Building Brands in Africa
Conference.
Latin America and the Caribbean
On October 6, 2016, Mr. van Tuijl, Mr. Machado,
and Ms. Doyle hosted a luncheon with government
officials from Latin America and the
Caribbean to touch on issues affecting their
jurisdictions and to receive office updates. The
luncheon featured 21 attendees and included
the heads of the industrial property offices
of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
and Mexico, as well as officials of the industrial
property offices of Brazil, Costa Rica, and Peru,
and WIPO’s Director of the Regional Bureau
for Latin America. Mr. van Tuijl gave opening
remarks on the current priorities of INTA and
its recent activities in Latin America and the
Caribbean, including the anticipated opening of
INTA’s Representative Office in Santiago, Chile,
this year. The offices were delighted by the
news and pleased to know that it would serve
as a means to provide additional focus to the
region.
The receptions were an overall success. INTA
was pleased to have such a broad turnout
from the various IP offices and looks forward
to organizing these events again next year.
For more information on INTA’s activities with
WIPO, please contact Chief Policy Officer Bruce
Macpherson at bmacpherson@inta.org.
Government Officials Training Committee Co-Hosts
13th Annual Industry Training with EUIPO
Each year, INTA’s Government Officials Training
(GOT) Committee collaborates with the EUIPO
on an Industry Training presentation for the
Office’s examining attorneys and staff. The
industry trainings provide a forum whereby an
industry sector and the EUIPO come together
to share information on the latest trends within
the industry that may affect the examination
of trademark applications. The trainings are
mutually beneficial—examiners hear about
common trademark challenges that in-house
counsel face, while in-house counsel have a
direct line of communication to the examiners.
This year’s training was the 13th annual event
and was held at the EUIPO on October 5, 2016.
The topic was titled “Telecommunications and
the Software Industries: IP Challenges.” Reyes
Campello Estebaranz (CEALAW EUIP Attorneys,
Spain), GOT Committee Vice Chair; Seana
Smith (Pfizer, USA), GOT Committee EUIPO
Subcommittee Chair; and EUIPO Subcommittee
members organized a successful and well-received
event. More than 100 representatives
from EU National Offices and EUIPO attended
the panel presentation in the morning and
workshops in the afternoon.
The training seminar presentation was
co-moderated by Stefan Martin of EUIPO and
Ms. Campello Esteberanz. Speakers were INTA
members Angie Hankins (Samsung Electronic
Strategy & Innovation Center, USA); Helen Stanwell-Smith
(Orange Brand Service Limited, UK);
and Sanjiv Sarwate (Dell Inc., USA). While there
was overlap in the issues faced in the various
industries, each panelist presented concerns
unique to his or her company and industry. A
hot topic of discussion was the impact of the
Internet of Things on a company’s trademark
strategy, with some of the major challenges being
ownership of data, privacy and data security,
interoperability of devices, and bandwidth.
The GOT Committee also collaborated with the
Trademark Office Practices Committee on an
industry training that took place on October
26–27 in Mexico City, Mexico, at the Mexican
Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI).
For more information on government officials
training events, contact GOT Committee Staff
Liaison Carin Diep.
INTA Participates in Anticounterfeiting Activities
in the European Union
International Law Enforcement Intellectual
Property Crime Conference
On September 19 and 20, 2016, INTA was
represented at the 10th Annual International
Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime
Conference at the Guildhall in London,
England. The event was co-hosted by INTERPOL
and the City of London Police in partnership
with Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
INTA was a Silver Sponsor of the event and was
able to exhibit materials to promote anticounterfeiting
events and the Customs Connection
program to officials. INTA Anticounterfeiting
Manager, Maysa Razavi, spoke on a panel
addressing the effectiveness of investigation
outcomes. She discussed the elements of a
successful investigation and also highlighted
that consumers, as the victims of counterfeiting,
are an underutilized source of information
for these investigations. The Association was
able to coordinate several meetings with
officials in the United Kingdom, including the
Risk and Intelligence Service of Her Majesty’s
Revenue and Customs, Police Intellectual Property
Crime Unit of the City of London Police,
and the Intelligence Unit of the U.K. Intellectual
Property Office. Other meetings were held with
local associations, including the Anti-Counterfeiting
Group, National Market Group, and
the Intellectual Property Chartered Trading
Standards Institute.
INTA would like to thank the following members
14 INTA Global Report, February 2017