The first day of the two-day event featured presentations from luxury brand owners and trade mark specialists, while the second day saw workshops addressing various issues related to luxury brands. These included the internet, selective distribution and protecting famous marks.
After the workshops, the speakers shared some of the discussions and points that emerged from the workshops with the whole symposium. “The participants were really active and there was a very good exchange of information,” said Michael Noth, of TIMES Attorneys, a member of the MARQUES Famous and Well-Known Marks Team, which helped plan the event.
The Symposium was introduced by Gregor Versondert, Vice-Chair of the MARQUES Council. Clemens Pflanz of Meisterkreis in Germany gave a presentation on the campaign against counterfeits, and Wilhelm Luxem of Hotel Baur au Lac in Switzerland provided a case study of a luxury brand. The keynote speaker was Rene Weber of Bank Vontobel, who provided an original perspective on luxury goods from the position of the stock market.
Benjamin Berghaus of HSG University St Gallen, Benjamin Gilgen of Metadesign and Thomas Fischer of Porsche AG provided different views on the topic of luxury brands in a panel discussion. “These three speakers had very different perspectives, for example about how to approach copying. It was refreshing to think about the topic from different viewpoints,” said Michael.
The internet was the focus of a session featuring Manon Rieger-Jansen of Bird & Bird and Professor Philippe Gilliéron of the University of Lausanne and TIMES Attorneys.
The Swiss watch industry provided the case study for a discussion on developing, defending and preserving a local brand image in a global environment, which featured Paul Rüst of BaselWorld, Yves Bugmann of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry SH and Gwenaelle Vache, Franck Muller – FMTM Distribution Ltd.
The Sympoisum also featured a Champagne Reception and Jewellery Exhibition and a memorable dinner, sponsored by Doris Hangartner AG.
Participants in the Symposium can download the speaker presentation and attendee details on the MARQUES website.
Issue 055
MARQUES has been active over many years in the discussions leading to the EU trade mark reforms, which were published in May this year. Members of the EU Trade Mark Reform Task Force highlight the good, the bad and the surprising aspects of what has been agreed
OHIM’s online classification services include nearly 5,000 new goods and services from the Madrid system as of 1st July
