With less than two weeks to go until the start of MARQUES Month, the Class 46 blog takes a closer look at which topics are being covered and when the sessions are available.

MARQUES Month is a month-long series of webinars, including panel discussions, interactive workshops and networking sessions. It has been organised to replace this year’s MARQUES Annual Conference, which had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.

The sessions take place throughout September, and you can sign up for any or all of them. Full details, including details about free registration for in-house counsel, are available on the MARQUES Month portal.

Once registered, you can take part in the live sessions, including by asking questions. You can also watch and listen to the recordings as often as you want.

Technology’s impact on brands

The first session is on 1 September at 09.00 CEST and features MARQUES Chair Susie Harris and Magnus Ahlgren of the Swedish Intellectual Property Office.

Susie will provide an introduction to MARQUES Month and some of the themes linking the sessions, including the impact of technology and sustainability. Magnus will focus on issues of particular interest to the Swedish office, including the practical uses of technologies such as AI and Blockchain, harmonisation in Europe and promoting IP among SMEs.

The technology theme is picked up in the first panel session later on 1 September, starting at 14.30 CEST. This will explore the relevance of Blockchain and Brands, covering topics such as: what is blockchain? How does it work? And what are the advantages it could offer to brands and brand owners?

The panellists will explain the fundamentals of blockchain, and discuss its application to IP. They will look in particular at how it can be used to improve analytics and monitor supply chains and its role in smart contracts and compiling records of trade mark use.

Blockchain will also feature in the next session, on 3 September at 10.30 CEST. This will include Miguel Ortega, Head of the New Technologies in Digital Transformation Team at EUIPO. Miguel will focus on the EUIPO’s IP Register on Blockchain project, and discuss the benefits it will offer to users of the trade mark system.

The session will also look at the potential of Blockchain as an independent ledger, where information can be verified, potentially cutting out redundant admin tasks, and at the EU Blockathon project.

The panel session on 9 September at 14.30 CEST will look at examples of how technology is being used to combat counterfeits, including a case study of how software was used to track a counterfeiter from identification right through to a successful prosecution.

Three speakers from an IP technology company, a large brand owner and a law firm will provide complementary perspectives on role technology can play in the day-to-day fight against counterfeits, and how it can deliver more effective results and greater efficiency.

Global brands, music and games

On 11 September at 10.30 CEST we will tackle myths and rumours about the Madrid System, as use of the System continues to grow.

Speakers including Ms Debbie Roenning (Director, Madrid Legal Division, Madrid Registry, Brands and Designs Sector, WIPO) will discuss the benefits of challenges of the system, and where it is going. With two in-house counsel on the panel, the focus will be on key trends and strategic issues rather than technical details.

Music increasingly plays an important role in branding, whether in the form of jingles used as trade marks or pieces of music used to reinforce branding messages in marketing and advertising. It can have a powerful impact in appealing to the subconscious and making an emotional connection.

In a discussion on 15 September at 14.30 CEST, experts on using music in branding will provide practical and legal perspectives on the challenges and opportunities regarding the use of music and its limits. This session is highly recommended for branding and trade mark specialists, as well as those interested in copyright and advertising issues.

The final session of MARQUES Month on 25 September at 14.30 CEST will explore issues relating to IP protection for electronic games, including: What aspects are protectable? Which IP rights are relevant? Who are the innovators? How do brand strategies vary? And what are the implications of the resurgence in sentimental brands?

The panel will draw on the expertise of representatives of companies at the cutting-edge of gaming. They will also discuss what brands in other sectors can learn from this highly innovative and dynamic sector.

Two workshops

As well as the panel sessions described above, there will be two interactive workshops.

The first is on the concept of technical functionality in design, copyright and trade mark law and will be on 18 September at 14.30 BST. This issue is very relevant at the moment, following decisions from the CJEU in the DOCERAM, Cofemel and Brompton Bicycle cases (see this post on Class 99 for analysis of these cases).

This will be an interactive session, with introductory presentations after which participants are encouraged to contribute their thoughts and experiences. There will also be a quiz at the end!

Following the recent virtual round table hosted by MARQUES on managing brands in a crisis, the second workshop on 21 September at 14.30 CEST will look at the impact of debates about sustainability on brands – and specifically on brand value.

The interactive workshop will cover topics such as brand policies, the financial impact of taking decisions based on sustainability, the risks of neglecting to do so and the negative effects of phoney initiatives.

Find out more

You can watch video interviews with the session moderators about the topics and speakers in the MARQUES Month Auditorium and find full details of speakers by clicking on “Programme” in the Lobby.