Protection of company trademarks and copyrights is becoming increasingly important. This point was driven home to me last week when I attended the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) Annual Meeting in San Diego along with a wide variety of trademark professionals from around the world, including brand specialists, trademark attorneys, experts on surveys, and in-house counsel for large and small brands.
Three primary issues repeatedly arose throughout the INTA conference:
1. Protecting and monitoring the use of company trademarks has become imperative.
More and more frequently, competitors and bad actors are committing trademark infringement and confusing customers into unknowingly doing business with competitors or fraudulent websites.
Companies need to be vigilant in monitoring the marketplace on the internet for harmful information about their goods/services and improper suggestions of affiliation or sponsorship. Businesses that ignore trademark infringement and harmful information about their brands will see those brands damaged and diluted, which ultimately leads to loss of income and reputation.
2. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is growing faster by the day.
Responsible companies must make sure they are only utilizing AI databases with properly licensed content for the development of advertising, correspondence, legal documents, and publications. Why? Because AI databases that include unlicensed content open both individuals and companies up to allegations of copyright infringement.
Marketing, advertising, and social media professionals should have “brand social media content guidelines” as well as contracts with clients in place that address the use of AI in advertising and marketing. These contracts should spell out who is responsible if copyright infringement claims are brought against companies for the use of unlicensed content.
3. The technology sector is moving faster than legislators and courts.
New legal issues related to copyrights, trademarks, patents, and AI are being brought forth daily in courts throughout the world. Unfortunately, the courts often only have out-of-date case law and/or statutes to use for guidance.
Because of this, lawyers need to be vigilant in keeping up with the law in their geographic region so that they may use the most recent court rulings and administrative public policy positions (i.e., those of the US Copyright Office and the US Patent and Trademark Office) to educate judges and ensure sound court decisions are issued.
Bottom line? Everyone at the INTA conference seemed to agree that right now is a challenging time for lawyers, creators, and businesses. Learning to protect original works, trademarks, and company reputations in this fast-moving climate means not only keeping up with developing technology, but remaining vigilant and staying up-to-date with clients and the law.
I know I am up for the challenge – are you? Get in touch to learn more about how I can help you protect your business in the realm of intellectual property as technology continues to evolve.