New Volunteer Term Kicks off at INTA!
Posted by Rosemary Brkopac on Thu, Jan 28, 2010
2010 will be an exciting year for me because as the new decade kicks off so does another volunteer term on the INTA bulletin committee. Thousands of INTA members spend countless hours volunteering their time and talents contributing to INTA, but I think working on the Bulletin must be one of the most rewarding and instantly gratifying ways to be involved in the Association. Close to 30,000 INTA members receive the Bulletin every two weeks, with each issue being much anticipated as receiving the publication was voted the most important benefit of INTA membership – even over the annual meeting!
Over the past two years my role on the committee has afforded me the privilege of reporting on cutting edge trademark conferences as well conducting Member Spotlight interviews with the most respected trademark attorneys in the world. If I had to pick one highlight of my last term it would be covering the Trademark Law and the Internet forum held last year in San Francisco. The conference featured one of the founders of the Internet, Google Evangelist Dr. Vint Cerf, as a keynote speaker. To be in the same room with him and hear him speak about topics such as Interplanetary Internet and the introduction of IPv6 was a truly phenomenal experience. I enjoyed writing the article and sharing information gleaned from the conference with clients and colleagues alike. When doing a Member Spotlight interview the one question I ask each person without fail is “What do you see as the most serious issue today concerning trademark infractions on the Internet?” The responses I get back vary from person to person, and I (and my clients here at BrandProtect) benefit from their responses. I always learn something new and often get a different perspective on the issues that are important to all of us in the brand protection field.
Though we are still in the early days of 2010, the members of the INTA Bulletin committee are hard at work preparing stories for upcoming issues. Please look out for my Member Spotlight focusing on Nancy Lutz appearing next month.Nancy is an IP attorney and a partner of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, in Washington D.C. I’m currently working on articles focusing on J. Scott Evans, Senior Legal Director, Global Brand and Trademarks - Yahoo! Inc. (who is heavily involved with ICANN, advocating the protection of rights holders interests with the introduction of the new gTLDs) and Vincent Martell, Intellectual Property Manager at CKX (American Idol, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Muhammad Ali, the Beckhams). I always appreciate feedback, so after reading my articles please drop me a line and let me know your thoughts!