Corporates Are Flocking to the 2022 Annual Meeting Live+ for Critical Side Conversations with External Counsel, Others

More than 350 Corporates—from SMEs to industry goliaths—will be at INTA’s 2022 Annual Meeting Live+, with more expected to sign up as registration continues.

While the majority (79%) hail from North America, other regions from around the world will also be present at either Live+ (in person + virtual) or Virtual Only. For instance, 8 percent of Corporates are based in Europe, Non-European Union; 7 percent in Europe, European Union; and 3 percent, in both East Asia and Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Also of significance, companies recognize the value in bringing teams to the Annual Meeting. Evident of this among Corporates, 40 umbrella organizations have registered three or more individuals.

Why do Corporates find this global annual gathering so appealing? And what do law firm registrants have to gain from their presence there?

The INTA Bulletin posed these and other questions to a cross section of INTA Corporate members from around the world.

David Lossignol, Global Head Legal Brand Protection, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland

Why is being at INTA’s Annual Meeting, especially this year, so critical—if not almost mandatory—for your company?
The INTA Annual Meeting is a must-attend for IP professionals, not only for the educational program, which is always very rich, but also for the networking opportunities, since we can really have constructive discussions with our actual and potential vendors and law firms. All our divisions/units will be represented by one or two associates in Washington, D.C., so in total, there should be at least seven individuals from our company present on site, and additional Novartis associates attending the Virtual Only format.

Will you be taking advantage of the opportunities designed exclusively for Corporates, such as the free Corporate Meeting Space, the In-House Practitioners Workshop, and the Anticounterfeiting Workshop—and why?
We intend to benefit from the usual offering of INTA Corporate Meeting rooms at the in-person event, so we can organize meetings with many of our business partners. Together with our business partners, we have always found them extremely valuable. In addition, the health and safety protocols in place at the Convention Center are highly encouraging us to safely hold our meetings there.

Tara Steketee, Director, Product Integrity, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania, USA

Why is being at INTA’s Annual Meeting, especially this year, so critical—if not almost mandatory—for your company?
We are very engaged in the Anticounterfeiting Committee (ACC), and the collaboration that happens for ACC at the Annual Meeting is so important.

How would you characterize how you spend your time at the Annual Meeting? Are there any adjustments to that routine for the upcoming Meeting, given the long gap since INTA has had a full-scale in-person gathering?
I end up spending about 50 percent of my time on committee work and INTA-related meetings. The remainder is spent meeting with service providers and counsel and taking advantage of the various networking opportunities that facilitate great collaboration between rights holders.

Looking back at past Annual Meetings, can you please describe one example of how meeting face-to-face with external counsel saved time, money, or led to a more amenable resolution of an issue, for example?
We work with almost 100 outside service providers and firms that provide considerable support to our anticounterfeiting strategy. Being able to meet with most of those folks in person at the same event each year is incredibly helpful.

Will you be taking advantage of the opportunities designed exclusively for Corporates, such as the free Corporate Meeting Space, the In-House Practitioners Workshop, and the Anticounterfeiting Workshop—and why?
Absolutely. The Anticounterfeiting Workshop is always a critical part of our INTA Annual Meeting experience.

Pieter van den Bulck, Global Director Intellectual Property, Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A., Leuven, Belgium

Why is being at INTA’s Annual Meeting, especially this year, so critical—if not almost mandatory—for your company?
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s IP is carefully protected by a global “IP Community of Practice” (IP CoP) with IP lawyers all over the world led by Global Legal & Corporate Affairs. INTA’s Annual Meeting provides a unique opportunity for this IP CoP to meet in person. Not only do we have internal meetings, but we also organize an outside counsel workshop to update our network of agents on business development and current focus points. Combined with the ability to have one-on-ones with the same network, unique networking opportunities, and world-class educational sessions, this makes the Annual Meeting the highlight of the year.

Looking back at past Annual Meetings, can you please describe one example of how meeting face-to-face with external counsel saved time, money, or led to a more amenable resolution of an issue, for example?
We have managed to settle a number of trademark conflicts either at or by meeting with the other side and/or the other side’s outside counsel. Nothing beats the way in which the Annual Meeting facilitates an informal meeting, and it is precisely this type of get-together that can help to unlock even longstanding disputes, as parties can talk freely and get to the core of the problem.

Daniel Zohny, Head of Intellectual Property, Legal and Compliance Division, Fédération Internationale de Football Association, Zurich, Switzerland

Why is being at INTA’s Annual Meeting, especially this year, so critical—if not almost mandatory—for your company?
We have not seen most of our external counsel in person since the last Annual Meeting in Boston [in 2019]. That’s a long time not to connect face-to-face.

Looking back at past Annual Meetings, can you please describe one example of how meeting face-to-face with external counsel saved time, money, or led to a more amenable resolution of an issue, for example?
We have used the INTA Annual Meeting to engage in settlement discussions with adverse parties and have normally made much more progress by meeting in person than via any other means of communication.

Will you be taking advantage of the opportunities designed exclusively for Corporates, such as the free Corporate Meeting Space, the In-House Practitioners Workshop, and the Anticounterfeiting Workshop?
Yes, we are looking into resuming holding our regular FIFA external counsel meeting in an INTA Annual Meeting Corporate Meeting space. Since our counsel network is quite large, we cannot meet with every counsel individually, and, therefore, a meeting in such a space made available by INTA provides a lot of added value.

Early-bird registration for Live+ (in person+ virtual) ends on March 4, 11:59 pm (EST). Premier Access pricing for Virtual Only runs through April 1, 11:59 pm (EST). The final day to register is April 22. Learn more and register.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.

Topics Annual Meeting Corporates