What is your role with MARQUES?I started working for MARQUES in 2003, when Tove Graulund was chair. Next to the Secretariat I was the first paid “employee” within MARQUES. I started as Development Executive and later I became the Internal Relations Officer, focusing on internal issues. That means that, for the Annual Conference for example, I am involved through the Venue Team in the venue and locations but I mainly concentrate on the content of the conference, seminars etc rather than on things like the catering, which the Secretariat look after.
The organisation was growing at the time and they were looking for someone with an IP background to complement the secretariat. At that time I was vice chair of MARQUES. I was the Marketing Property Manager responsible for trade marks at Van Melle, which was taken over by Perfetti and the IP department was moved to Milan.
The role is supposed to take 12 hours per week, but that is normally not enough to do all the work. I concentrate on the Programming Team and Communication & Membership Team, and also on all the events such as the Judges Meetings and one day seminars/workshops through the year. Another big part of the role is managing the Team elections – which can involve a lot of diplomacy when the elections come round every other year.
How long have you been involved with MARQUES?
I have been on the MARQUES Council since the Barcelona conference in 1997. My first conference was Stockholm in 1996 and I was introduced by Marius Knijff.
What else do you do?
I have my own company and I am active as an in-house trade mark attorney for small and medium-sized companies who don’t have their own team but do have a trade mark portfolio and some international activities which needs attention but not full-time. It’s all IP work: at the moment I’m working for a jewellery company in Germany and a big anchor firm in Holland. It’s quite diverse and means I still do day-to-day trade mark work, so MARQUES is only part of my activities. Sometimes people are surprised when I tell them that.
Tell us about the new role?
It will start on 1st December officially. The idea is to make sure that all the information which comes from the Teams or MARQUES itself will be put on the website. I’m not involved in the technical part but in making sure that the documents are posted and updated. It means following up with people and also making sure that out-of-date information is taken off the website.
There is a lot of information on the site - I’m surprised how much sometimes. If you need something specific, you can find it, but we can always do a better job of making it easier. You’re overwhelmed by newsletters from organisations/companies whenever there is an important case. We need this information also on our website and we need to be updated: if it’s not there, people will complain!
The database and membership list also have to be kept updated, for example when members move firms and they often forget to inform MARQUES, which is natural. So when I hear about people who move I make sure their details changed on the website. I also keep the Team details, including the biographies, up to date.
What do you think about the new website?
The new website is much better, though there are still bits and pieces that need to be taken care of. In February the Communication & Membership Team will go through the whole website and see if it is working as we want. I think it is generally, but there are some small things that need to be changed. The framework, and 90% of the content, is there.
Why do you think people join MARQUES?
The main reason I think is the networking opportunities, which affects how we structure the annual conference – there are no independent parties and we all stay together for the whole time. MARQUES is also important in bridging the gap between legal and marketing professionals, something we always try to reflect in the conference and other events.
As representatives of trade mark owners sometimes we need to take a risk, as decisions are never 100% go or no-go. As in-house you are a liaison between sales/marketing and legal. That’s what I like about MARQUES so much, that we keep focusing on that: there is more to the trade mark world than just laws and regulations. Other associations are maybe more focused on legal, and I think that’s good, but that’s not the starting-point of MARQUES. However we cannot do without the legal input – we need each other to make MARQUES and our job a success.
What does the future hold for MARQUES?
There will be more events. The Judges Meetings have become very important and we are looking at various new ones in 2014.
In terms of membership, I’m not in favour of saying “this is enough” when it comes to members. People retire or don’t renew so you need to add new people. It’s good to grow. On the other hand it’s important to keep our specific character that makes us different from other associations. If that means we grow but only steadily, that’s fine.
What have been the highlights of the past 10 years?
I’ve been involved in every annual conference, even before I was Internal Relations Officer. Every year it feels like a baby is born. The annual conferences are still the biggest things to organise and it is a challenge to find new topics and new speakers that fit into the theme. One thing we did was a roadshow when the Designs Regulation came into force and that was nice to organise. It’s also special when you hold an event in say Hong Kong or Shanghai which we organise from Europe. We are a European organisation but it shows our influence is bigger than we sometimes think, and Europe is not the end of the world.
What do you do in your spare time?
People know I have two daughters, but they are not living at home anymore. One has graduated in social/public administration science and is working for a water company and the other is doing hotel and event management – she came to the conference in Baveno.
I play golf with my husband but it’s just for fun: I never count my score! I am a member of two cookery clubs and like to organise dinner parties with friends. I also read a lot and I enjoy being on my own with a book. I don’t always need company – people might not expect that from me!
Issue 035
MARQUES Internal Relations Officer Ingrid De Groot talks about her role and about managing the MARQUES website as Web Content Manager, picks out some of her highlights from the past 10 years and explains why her job sometimes requires diplomacy.
MARQUES participated in the 30th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) in November 2013 in Geneva. Peter Gustav Olson from MAQS Law Firm in Copenhagen represented MARQUES.
OHIM's Common Communication on the Common Practice on the General Indications of the Nice Class Headings was published on 20th November.
Under a new common practice endorsed by the OHIM Administrative Board on 19th November 2013, black and white marks no longer automatically cover all colours.
OHIM’s new website was launched on 2nd December.
Follow twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and the blogs Class 46 and Class 99 for the latest news and debate around trade marks.
