Read the highlights from the INTA Annual Meeting

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Read the highlights from the INTA Annual Meeting

INTA day 3 165

More than 10,000 trade mark practitioners – a record – were in Orlando for the INTA Annual Meeting this week. Managing IP was there, reporting from the sessions and publishing interviews with in-house counsel, IP office officials and INTA executive team members

INTA Daily News day 3

Managing IP published the INTA Daily News newspaper in Orlando this week. You can download all five issues here.

The articles were also published on managingip.com

Some of the highlights are below:

The trademark cases to watch in the US

Top cases include In re Tam, Pro Football, and Belmora.

Whatever will be of B&B?

Trademark practitioners in the US are thinking more strategically about the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

May the enforcement be with you

In-house counsel for some of the biggest names in their respective businesses shared their best strategies on enforcing brands in the digital environment in a panel.

Protecting IP in a 3D printed future

3D printing might just change everything. At least John Hornick, who leads Finnegan’s 3D printing working group and wrote 3D Printing Will Rock the World, certainly thinks so.

Tarnishment and free speech debated

Professor Glynn S. Lunney Jr. and Antoine Gautier-Sauvagnac dueled over tarnishment law in INTA’s Annual Professor vs. Practitioner Debate.

Professors debate nontraditional marks

Sound, shape and color are some of the nontraditional signs that are now accepted as trademarks in many jurisdictions. Does this stifle lawful competition and communication?

How brands can make friends and influence people online

The opportunities and dangers of brands interacting on social media were discussed in a session “Beyond Native Advertising: The Line Between Social Media Posts and Advertising”.

Make the fans your friends

Interaction via the Internet and social media has fundamentally changed the relationship between brand owners and fans in the entertainment industry, argued keynote speaker and entertainment industry executive Diane Nelson.

Last call for comments on TTAB rule changes

Gerard Rogers, Chief Administrative Trademark Judge at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, gave an update on the Board’s proposed rule changes during the USPTO Users’ Meeting.

Judges consider disparagement versus free speech

A session examining the interaction between trademarks and free speech included judges from three jurisdictions offering their perspectives on some hot-button issues and how their respective courts approach them.

We interviewed INTA President Ronald van Tuijl, CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo, and Senior Director of Government Relations Deborah Cohn.

We also published profiles of the in-house counsel of Hard Rock, Perry Ellis, Office Depot and Zumba. In addition, we heard updates from IMPI Director General Miguel Margáin, IPOPHL’s new Director General Josephine Rima Santiago, and ARIPO Director General Fernando dos Santos.

Download and view the PDFs to see the popular vox pop interviews, highlights from Twitter roundup (you can see all tweets from the event with the hashtag #INTA16) and photos from many of the INTA and affiliate receptions.

IP Stars cards

The Exhibition Hall was busy. Managing IP had a booth stocked with magazines and handbooks, which also gave the chance to meet some of the 14 staff we had at the event

This year we also had a special treat for those listed as IP Stars – sets of baseball-style cards. These proved a very popular addition among the trade mark practitioners lucky enough to have their face on a card.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

With the INTA Annual Meeting drawing to a close, we asked attendees for their top tips on how to close business after a meeting
Senior UK judges discussing the impact of AI on the judiciary, and the role of in-house IP lawyers during corporate transactions and carve-outs were among the top talking points
Tarun Khurana, founding partner of Khurana & Khurana, discusses juggling tasks, why every hour has a value, and the importance of ‘trusting the process’
Annual Meeting hears that IP firms are targeting hires with technical literacy in a fragmented landscape, and that those that build an online presence will distinguish themselves from the digital chaos
How law firms can secure themselves in a technology-driven IP landscape and how IP teams can develop future leadership were among the top talking points
The variety of winners demonstrates that the UPC is now a core benchmark rather than an experimental consideration, while junior lawyers are becoming more deeply involved in key work
The Indian government announcing a fee waiver for sports-related IP registrations, and the US adding the EU to its IP 'watch list' were also among major developments
Sources say the judge could return to a disputes or mediation-focussed role, though others have questioned whether the Texas court will remain a litigation hotspot in his absence
Sheppard, which has hired 14 IP partners in the last 12 months, has cited client demand for expert counsel in SEP, ITC, and district court disputes
Tingxi Huo joins our ‘Five minutes with’ series to discuss boosting the value of clients’ IP and the importance of reflection
Gift this article