Over 6,500 delegates attended the International Trademark Association (INTA) annual meeting in Washington DC last week, as the Association emphasized its global credentials.

Nils Montan

Montan stressed that expanding its coverage of trade mark developments around the globe was the key part of INTA's Strategic Plan launched in November 2001. In December last year, the Organization hosted a meeting in Munich, and representatives paid a visit to China in April this year.

He said: "My top priority during my remaining six months in the office& is to continue to stress the international aspects of this Association of trade mark owners and trade mark professionals." Already, INTA has 1,300 member volunteers from over 15 countries, and it hopes to build on this diversity.

This year, the annual meeting included sessions on developments in regions such as Europe, Latin America and China. There were also discussions held in Japanese, German, French and Spanish as well as English.

Next year INTA will hold its 125th annual conference in Amsterdam, its first outside North America. Some delegates have already expressed concerns about hotel and travel arrangements for the Amsterdam conference, and many US members are expected not to attend.

INTA has not revealed its expectations for the Amsterdam conference, but sources have indicated that the number of delegates is not expected to exceed 4,000. Last year, in San Francisco, there were more than 6,700 delegates.

* Managing Intellectual Property magazine hosted its annual awards reception for the top-rated IP practices in 60 countries during the INTA conference. Over 250 people attended the reception, sponsored by Register.com. For a full report on the reception, and pictures of awards winners, see the June issue of MIP.