The 132nd INTA Annual Meeting Held in Boston
The 132nd Annual Meeting of International Trademark Association (INTA) was held in Boston of the U.S. during 22-26 May 2010. Over 8,300 IP practitioners from 140 plus countries participated in this year's meeting, including more than 3,000 participants from the U.S. and about 260 participants from China.
INTA Annual Meeting is a significant event to the IP community. Its importance is evidenced by the attendance of delegations and representatives from major international organizations and government entities such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) under the European Union, the State Administration for Industry & Commerce of the People's Republic of China (SAIC), and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC).
One of this year's themes revolves around the feasibility and prospect of protection for non-conventional trademarks such as 3D marks, color marks, sound marks, scent marks and motion marks. While 3D and color marks are protected by the current Trademark Law of China, marks in relation to sound, scent and motion have just been included in the Draft Amendment to the Trademark Law of China for consideration. This makes the revision of China's Trademark Law a timely topic to receive wide attention during the meeting.
Other issues of interest include passing off as a worldwide phenomenon, domain name infringement, the liability of internet service providers in trademark infringement as well as identification and protection of well-known trademarks.
During the annual meeting, Ms. Heather C. STEINMEYER, President of INTA, and Mr. AN Qinghu, Director General of Department of Foreign Affairs under SAIC, signed a framework agreement on further enhancing the cooperation between INTA and SAIC.
China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. attended the meeting with a delegation of 9 attorneys.
President Ms. Heather C. STEINMEYER and Director General Mr. AN Qinghu
