Our special envoys Dr Abigail Welford and Dr Abdulmalik Lawal have now returned from the 2023 meeting of the International Trademark Association in Singapore and report as follows.

1. They found a very big sign which says #INTA2023 which was a clue that they were in the right place.

2. INTA is perhaps the largest industry conference for the patent and trademark profession by number of attendees and despite its name, is not restricted to trademark agents and trademark attorneys or those concerned with trade marks. Many general lawyers, patent attorneys and other intellectual property professionals also attend including those employed in private practice firms, as well as IP professionals from internal trademark and patent departments of major corporations and major brands. INTA represents a brilliant opportunity to strengthen working relationships and to keep up-to-date with recent case law and practical guidance in other jurisdictions, to provide our clients with the best possible advice.

3. This year the turnout was strong (7,000+), with representatives from the UK and mainland Europe promoting in particular the new Unitary Patent which bolts on at the end of the present European patent system to give a single unitary right in 17 participating states across the European Union. The cost advantage of the Unitary Patent starts to become apparent for those patent owners who would normally continue their rights in around three participating European states and replace those national patents with the new Unitary Patent covering 17 states.

4. UK and European representatives were also promoting the new Unified Patent Court scheduled to open in June 2023. Dr Welford is already registered at the Unified Patent Court as a European Patent Litigator, and Dr Lawal’s application for UPC registration is currently in the pipeline. We are open for business now for any patent infringement or validity actions concerning the Unitary patent or for and national patents in:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.

5. Dr Lawal attended in his capacity as a member of the INTA Committee on Brand Restrictions. The committee’s report will be published by INTA in due course.

We thank all our associates and colleagues with whom we met and look forward to maintaining our productive relationships and hope to meet again at future INTA events.

For further information, or just to say “Hi”, please contact:

abigail.welford@franksco.com

abdulmalik.lawal@franksco.com


Article Published May 23rd, 2023