Taxes likely don’t spring to mind when discussing IP management and IP law practice generally. Yet, as assets to every organization, IP rights, including trademarks, have financial and tax implications that are critical from a financial and business perspective, and cannot be dismissed or overridden by IP professionals.  To address this topic, INTA released in May of this year a new report dedicated to tax implications across the trademark lifecycle in the European Union, Switzerland, and the...

Companies need to be innovative to get their brands noticed – among customers, partners, employees – and ultimately to thrive from a business perspective. And this concern for innovation shows, at least on paper. In 2012, a report by The Wall Street Journal that remains relevant and cited today reported interesting infographics: over 250 books published in the last 90 days had the word “innovation” in the title, 43% of the companies surveyed had a Chief Innovation Officer, and the term...

Codes of Business Conduct and Ethics Charters are powerful tools for companies to foster and re-affirm their culture of integrity and their values, based on compliance with laws and regulations. These inward and outward-facing documents provide a framework of expectations for each of their employees, as well as on the other stakeholders, from shareholders to customers and suppliers. All business partners are on the same boat, sharing fundamental principles as responsible citizens such as...

India is one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the world, that developed recently an ambitious national strategy to transform India, including actions related to Artificial Intelligence, to tackle challenges such as quality of education, demographic issues with smart cities and access to health care. In this context, the government is considering reforming the IP legal system to make it more innovation-friendly. Hemant Singh, managing partner of the IP law firm Inttl Advocare for more than...

Just by reading the news, the metaverse seems like a storm of experiential, edgy, immersive technology poised at the juncture of art, entertainment, social media, and crypto currency. With that, we are told the metaverse has the potential to revolutionize the art world. Storage, location, display, transparency, authenticity and accessibility are the stumbling blocks to experiencing or owning fine art – Yet the metaverse theoretically provides a platform for creators, commentators, critics,...

Internet of Things, wearables, smart houses, connected cars … We now hear about these technologies and their promising potential in our lives on a daily basis. However, most of us do not necessarily grasp the broad ecosystem they rely on, and the variety of issues they deal with from a legal perspective. Luke Dembosky and Jim Pastore, both partners at the multi-awarded law firm Debevoise & Plimpton in the U.S., explain in this episode how connected devices and more generally Internet of...

While the art sector did not intuitively seem like a good match for blockchain, overnight, at some point in 2021, everyone started talking about record-setting sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) like they had always existed. Just like that, this new application of blockchain made all lawyers’ heads spin fast again. Despite the recent frenzy around them, NFTs actually gained popularity in the niche crypto community back in 2017 when a company, Dapper Labs, started selling NFTs linked to...

Born 1997 onward, Gen Z is  the world’s largest group of consumers, wielding hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars in spending power.  But whereas lots have been said about the previous generation, millennials, and their impact on marketing and branding strategies, especially online, Gen Z’ s preferences on brands are now under scrutiny, including in a major study launched by the INTA.  On track to be the most educated generation yet, Gen Z seem to have strong opinions and values and want to...

Over the last few years, an increasing number of organizations across all industries have been reviewing their corporate cultures, management processes, and hiring practices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Like other industries, law firms have been under a microscope for their DEI practices. From the client’s point of view, a law firm with diverse teams bring a rich set of perspectives that result in better-reasoned strategies and recommendations.  Yet, despite converging...

The 2020 Global Gender Gap Report, published by the World Economic Forum, shows that gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years.  In the intellectual property (IP) industry, even though genders are similarly creative and innovative, it is not a secret to say that the field is predominantly male-oriented.  Women are, for instance, underrepresented in patenting; one study has even projected that women will not see parity in patenting until 2092!  This issue is addressed by the World...

Strengthened by the civil unrest in the United States and across the globe that ignited almost two years ago, companies have been watching and reviewing their brand message but also their corporate cultures and hiring practices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). DEI has become actual priorities for executive teams, HR leaders, boards of directors, marketing teams, and legal departments seeking to ensure their ongoing success by aligning their daily practice with the DEI...

With a steady GDP growth over 5% last year, Kenya is one of the leading economic forces not only in East Africa but on the entire continent. In this context, it’s no surprise that intellectual property issues are at the forefront of most national institutional projects. From legislative amendments to update the main laws in light of new challenges raised by new techs, to punchy enforcement initiatives to tackle counterfeiting, IP issues are regarded as critical to foster the economy. Our...

Business-wise in a complex challenged global economy Africa is more on the move than ever. The World Economic Forum pointed out last year that six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa and the continent’s average annual GDP growth is projected to remain at a robust average of six percent until 2023.  How does this unstoppable growth translate from an intellectual property (IP) perspective? What are the continent’s strengths and challenges that can explain where...

With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide have been implementing more or less stringent social distancing and lockdown measures, and the operations of intellectual property (IP) offices have been impacted just as any other businesses or institutions. Many IP offices around the world have implemented emergency policies to limit their services, and some even have shut down for the foreseeable feature. For companies and individuals with worldwide trademark or patent...

With the implementation of the Phase One deal between the United States and China on import tariffs, as well as the ongoing global pandemic, the new Silk Roads, and even current supply chain issues, businesses in Asia have been navigating unprecedented circumstances when it comes to product development, marketing, distribution, and sales.  But Asia also continues to inspire global leaders to step outside of their comfort zone and use innovation in new ways to expand their business portfolios....

A frightening new threat cascades around the world, upending familiar routines, disrupting the global economy, and endangering lives. While all multi-layered impacts of the Covid19 pandemic have yet to unfold, we already know that we are experiencing a major health crisis with significant global economic and social fallouts. Our guest today, Peter McAleese, is a partner with the intellectual property firm Akran, based in Rome, Italy, one of the nations worst hit by the pandemic. Peter deals...

Historically, the digital world emerged as a threat for the luxury retail industry – mostly by giving customers access to counterfeits. Also, the way business is often done online seemed to contradict the mere identity of luxury brands and the exclusive shopping experience they intend to offer. In other words, the digital world was perceived as a minefield for luxury, and many brands have been hesitant and sometimes late to move online and develop dedicated and sophisticated marketing...

RECORDED BEFORE THE CURRENT SANITARY CRISIS Major brands regularly experience crises and make the news for alleged fundamental rights violations or similar breaches with high social stakes. Think racial discrimination, privacy and data breaches, sexual harassment at the workplace, or even life-threatening health hazards such as food poisoning.  This episode sheds light on brand crisis management, the impact of such crises on brand value and intellectual property assets, as well as the...

Eran Kahana is an intellectual property (IP) and cybersecurity attorney at Maslon LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota, a research fellow at Stanford Law School, Palo Alto, California, and a director at InfraGard (Minnesota chapter), a FBI and private partnership. He shares his experience and views about cybersecurity, the threats related to data, and potential solutions in a complex ecosystem where IP is basically everywhere and where cybercrime is increasingly alarming.  Every two weeks, on Tuesday,...

While counterfeit goods are available almost everywhere online and offline, manufacturing and exportation is highly monopolized by a handful of countries. In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security reported seizures of counterfeit goods at U.S. borders have increased tenfold over the past two decades, with nearly 90 percent of seized products in 2018 arriving from mainland China or Hong Kong SAR, China.  The most recent trade deal between the United States and China, in 2020,...

While the digital age has unleashed huge positive and beneficial opportunities, there are also more controversial, debatable, or even unlawful or harmful innovations. With hidden data breaches, dark web criminality, chatbots trolls, or deep fake impersonations, high technology provides anyone – literally anyone – with many easily accessible effective tools to serve any malicious agenda they may have. In this episode, you will learn more about deep fakes and the “dark web”- the unindexed and...

Global sales of counterfeits are growing at a furious 15 percent each year and have reached over US $1.82 trillion in 2020. This represents 3.3 percent of global trade (according to the OECD8), with e-commerce making up more than a quarter of that, according to the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report. The rise of digital channels facilitating the sale and purchase of consumer goods has indeed fueled a rapid increase in the trade of counterfeit products around the world. No retail products seem...

Today’s episode is dedicated to a generation of people born in the late 90s to early 2000, post-millenials, called Generation Z.  This cohort of millions of kids, teens, and young adults, exposed to social media and new techs in their upbringing, shall redefine the relationships with brands in the future.  That’s why INTA researched this group, and released a multi-country study, Gen Z Insights: brands and counterfeit products, which explores Gen Z’s relationships with brands and attitudes...

As the world begins to adjust to the short and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies are seeking ways to preserve cash on their balance sheets while simultaneously raising funds to ensure a continuation of operations and a growth of their business and customer base. In particular, the sudden drop in revenues created acute liquidity shortages about a year ago, threatening the survival of many viable businesses. Having in mind this very challenging context, how do brands...

What does being innovative mean for legal professionals, in relation to work quality, client relationships, responsiveness, proactiveness, cost efficiency? Firoz Dattu, the Chair and Founder of AdvanceLaw, based in Washington D.C. and present in several countries, shares his views on the legal market dynamics and the changes–including the impact of automation—in the relationships between in-house clients and their law firms. Founded 10 years ago, AdvanceLaw, focuses on management and strategy...