INTA Leadership Meeting 2015 – Panama

The 2015 International Brand Association Leadership Meeting in Panama will be its first major event in Latin America

Phoenix, Arizona – November 13, 2014 – The International Trademark Association (INTA) announced today that its 2015 Leadership Meeting will take place in Panama City, Panama. INTA’s Leadership Meeting convenes key decision-makers from the global trademark community. Its 2015 Leadership Meeting will be the Association’s first major event in Latin America. INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo made the announcement today during the 2014 Leadership Meeting Opening Ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona.

Explaining the choice of Panama, Mr. Sanz de Acedo spoke about the importance of the Panama Canal expansion and its impact on global trade and the global trademark community. Existing locks allow the passage of cargo ships that can carry up to 5,000 20-foot containers. The canal expansion includes the construction of locks that can cater for mega vessels carrying up to 12,600 containers. This will effectively double the annual capacity of the canal from 300 million PCUMS (Panama Canal Universal Measurement System) to 600 million tons of PCUMS. “It will undoubtedly improve the economy of scale for the shipping industry with a domino effect on all industries that rely on long-distance shipping,” said Mr. Sanz de Acedo.

“The expansion of the Panama Canal represents an extraordinary shift in the way the global economy operates,” said INTA President Mei-lan Stark (Fox Entertainment Group). “The 2015 Leadership Meeting will provide leading intellectual property attorneys and entrepreneurs from around the world with a unique opportunity to see the canal firsthand at this pivotal moment in its history. Indeed, the expanded canal is going to be a game-changer globally, and we will be there to witness it.”

The decision to bring the Leadership Meeting to Panama in 2015 is in keeping with the Association’s ongoing goal of internationalization, and to better serve its global membership. INTA hosted its first major event outside of the United States in 2003 when it brought its Annual Meeting to Amsterdam. In 2008, the Annual Meeting returned to Europe with another successful Annual Meeting in Berlin. Then, in May 2014, the Association brought the Annual Meeting to Hong Kong, its first major event in Asia. More than 8,600 trademark professionals from over 140 countries attended the event, making it INTA’s largest annual meeting outside of North America.

The INTA Leadership Meeting brings together its leaders and volunteer members once a year to advance the Association’s goals and objectives, to plan the upcoming year’s activities and events, and to look ahead to the future of INTA. The meeting includes an advanced-level educational program, which provides members with valuable information on the latest developments in trademark law. The occasion also provides INTA leaders with the opportunity to exchange ideas, conduct business, and network with colleagues from around the world. With more than 1,300 INTA member organizations from 77 countries in attendance, the 2014 Leadership Meeting is the largest to date.

About INTA

The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property in order to protect consumers and promote fair and effective trade. Members include more than 6,400 brand owners, professionals and academics from over 190 countries, who benefit from the Association’s trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network. Founded in 1878, INTA is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Shanghai and Washington, DC, and representatives in Geneva and Mumbai. For more information about INTA, please visit www.inta.org .

This press release can be found here at inta.org .

http://www.inta.org/Press/Pages/LM2015_Panama_En.aspx

ICAZA, GONZALEZ-RUIZ & ALEMAN, Member of the INTA 2015 Leadership Meeting Project Team.