The event was organized by the Trademark Administrators Subcommittee and opened with remarks by INTA President Rhonda Steele, who began her career at Baker & McKenzie in Australia as a paralegal in the general trademark department. “I’m proud to be here, not only as INTA President, but as a trademark administrator,” said Steele. “I understand the challenges of being a trademark administrator and I’m glad that INTA gives us access to programming that is relevant to our needs.”

One of the challenges facing trademark administrators working in a global economy is keeping track of proper business etiquette when communicating with clients across a variety of cultures. Sheida Hodge, intercultural business management expert and president of Hodge International Advisors, provided attendees with tips for navigating some of the most common problems faced, which include avoiding faux pas when exchanging business cards, dealing with language and accent barriers, emailing someone whose gender is unknown and distinguishing proper greetings across different cultures.

Rhonda Hetman, a member of the Trademark Administrators Subcommittee, said that Hodge’s advice was particularly relevant to trademark administrators today because they often deal with clients in many different countries on a daily basis. “Things like how to address a person you’re emailing are a huge issue for us,” said Hetman. “Most of the people in attendance here have jobs that are very international in scope.”

The brunch was financially supported by Bufete Mejia & Asociados, CT Corsearch, the Treadstone Group, Eli Lilly and Company and Thomson CompuMark.

INTA, Thomson CompuMark, 7 for All Mankind, The National Hockey League and Circle R Trademark Services Corp. also donated gifts for the event, which were raffled off to attendees. Some of the giveaways included a free 2009 INTA Annual Meeting registration, 100 Euros to spend in Berlin and free registration for the Trademark Administrators Conference in October.