trademarks and related intellectual property to protect consumers and promote fair and eff ective commerce. With more than 6,500 member organisations in 190 countries, INTA’s ability to support this mission has never been greater. Since we last met at INTA’s 2014 annual meeting in Hong Kong, the association has achieved a lot. INTA’s advocacy eff orts have concentrated
T
around some major issues for brand owners including counterfeiting, enforcement and the internet, as well as some major legislative initiatives such as the European trademark reform. In September 2014, the European Parliament,
Council and Commission began negotiating a fi nal text of the Community Trade Mark Regulation and Trade Marks Directive. INTA has been closely involved in all steps of the trademark reform project. Most recently, INTA has voiced concerns over
the proposed diversion of surplus funds from the Offi ce for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the EU budget, the national budgets of EU member states, and to the European School of Alicante. INTA strongly opposes these proposals and, along with other user associations, sent a joint email on March 10 to selected members of the European Parliament’s legal aff airs committee to protest against these moves.
As part of
its advocacy eff orts, INTA has recently sent delegations to Asia (China, India,
he International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global advocate for brand owners
dedicated to supporting
Japan, Myanmar, Singapore and T ailand) and Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Panama) and has been regularly meeting offi cials from the ‘TM5’ (Trademark 5), a cooperative framework comprising the Japan Patent Offi ce, Korean Intellectual Property Offi ce, OHIM, China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the US Patent and Trademark Offi ce, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, with much success: • On our visit in February to India, the delegation was given the opportunity to meet the India IP Rights T ink Tank. India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion had set up a think tank to advise the government on a range of IP-related issues. T e think tank produced the fi rst draſt of a national IP rights policy in December 2014. INTA submitted comments on the draſt and the delegation discussed them with members of the think tank while in New Delhi.
• A month earlier, our China delegation held meetings with offi cials from the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Supreme People’s Court and representatives of
the Chinese
Trademark Association. For the fi rst time we were received at the Supreme People’s Court by its chief IP judge. We had a very fruitful conversation and off ered our support to Chinese judges.
• Looking back a little further, last December we met several chief judges from the Supreme Court of Panama and Paraguay, and Corte Andina, as well as the heads of the Chilean, Mexican and Peruvian IP offi ces. T ese meetings give us the opportunity to
express our gratitude for the improvements being made for the benefi t of brand owners, to show our willingness to support their work, to off er our expertise and to provide suggestions for improvements on legislative and practical registration or enforcement issues.
INTA also provides input to courts through amicus briefs and other fi lings. Over the last several months, INTA’s amicus brief fi lings have included submissions in Canada, the EU, Japan and the US. In January 2015, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling in the Hana Financial v Hana Bank case, which was in line with the position INTA advocated in its amicus brief. T e court held that “trademark tacking”
cases require a determination of whether two diff erent versions of one mark create the same “continuing commercial impression”, and that the enquiry is a question of fact for a jury. In November 2014, INTA submitted comments to China’s Supreme People’s Court on issues concerning the hearing of administrative cases, including bad faith registrations and determination of well-known marks. To support meaningful engagement and provide a structured approach
for future
activities with our partners around the world, INTA has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and cooperation agreements with several organisations. In 2014, we signed MOUs with the World Customs Organization, the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department and the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of the Republic of Colombia (SIC). We also entered into cooperation agreements with the Inter-
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