INTA 125th Annual Meeting

 The International Trademark Association (INTA) held its 2003 Annual Meeting at the Amsterdam RAI International Exhibition and Congress Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands from May 3-7, 2003. The meeting brought together 6,000 trademark professionals from all over the world to celebrate INTA’s 125th Anniversary and tackle some of the most pressing issues in representing the Trademark Community since 1878. The Conference featured key guest speakers and major international figures in the field. Representing the Arab World was Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman & CEO of Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) and Vice Chairman of UN Information and Communications Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF), NY. The Conference conducted a number of celebratory events, in addition to an innovative mix of educational programs, exhibitions and networking opportunities.
 Among the topics discussed in the Conference, by Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, was the ICT important role over the last 10 years and the significance of e-business development for both developed and developing countries. In addition to this, Chairman Abu-Ghazaleh defined the types of existing digital divide as the following:
 
 - That between developed and developing countries
 
 - That between different geographical, racial, class, income, gender and other groups within the same country.
 
 - That between different developing countries.
 
 Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh also pointed out the key aspects and the importance of the Digital Divide to the Trademark community. The issue of creating a” Coordinated Intellectual Property Global System” had been discussed and the valuable role that IP protection has played in economic development of developing countries was clarified “Intellectual property may be thought of as the substantiation of the insubstantial, the valuation of the invaluable, a way to put a price on the most important aspect of human development, creativity and innovation.”. It is important to mention that in his speech, Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh highlighted the importance of The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) particularly the top 5 issues of the ICC’s Road Map, which are:
 
 - The globalization of the economy
 
 - The development of new technologies
 
 - The growth in economic importance of non-technological business innovations and resources not protected by existing intellectual property regimes.
 
 - The politicization of intellectual property issues.
 
 - Changes in the ways businesses operate.
 
 Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh raised the question on how bridging the Digital Divide should take place, taking into consideration its importance in the long-term prospects of intellectual property owners and practitioners, including trademark agents.
 In conclusion, Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh reminded everyone of the historical role of the Arabs and the one that should guide their future by stating that “After all, it is the Arabs who invented numbers on which the digital languages of zeros and ones is based”.
 
 
 At INTA's Annual Meeting, there were informative programs covering a wide scope of international TM issues and developments. The meeting also included special presentations on the Madrid Protocol and future European TM law among others. This year's annual meeting featured the presentation of INTA's 125th Anniversary DVD, showing its rich history and global impact in TM protection including member interviews and photographs.
 
 The Chairman, along with 34 AGIP leading employees from 25 offices, presided over a thorough strategy meeting for 2003 and beyond, to ensure that AGIP's activities and services would cover the five continents. Highly relevant among others were the decisions to open new affiliates in Turkey, Pakistan, China and Mauritania, and the implementation of the International Marketing process.