The International Trademark Association (INTA) has announced that it will be holding its 2022 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., April 30 to May 4—returning to an in-person format for the first time in more than two years. Unlike past in-person Annual Meetings, the 2022 event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center will also include robust virtual components.
INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo made the announcement at the Opening Ceremonies of the Association’s 2021 Annual Meeting Virtual+, taking place November 15 to 19. This year’s Meeting consists of five days of virtual educational programming and Business Development opportunities, complemented by in-person, one-day mini-conferences in New York, Berlin, and Los Angeles.
“While the current Meeting is a full-fledged virtual event and inching back into ‘in person’ with limited-capacity mini-conferences, next year, we’re in effect reversing the formula, with a full-fledged onsite Meeting plus virtual components,” Mr. Sanz de Acedo said.
“The 2022 Annual Meeting marks a return to our legacy as the world’s largest in-person gathering of brand professionals and affirms our strategic decision to combine the best of both worlds—in-person plus virtual—into our events moving forward,” he said. “This hybrid formula works, advancing the Association into the future and accommodating different schedules, budgets, personal preferences, and other circumstances.”
Details about the next Annual Meeting come as the Association’s annual membership renewal campaign is underway. One of the many exclusive benefits of membership is access to pre-registration at a discounted member registration rate.
Pre-registration for the 2022 Annual Meeting will run from November 18, at 9:00 am EST, through December 3, for members who registered for the 2021 Meeting during Premium Access and Early Access.
Members also benefit from a significantly lower registration fee, compared with non-members, during the early bird registration which will open in January.
“There is no doubt that our Annual Meeting represents our premier event,” Mr. Sanz de Acedo said, “but our members leverage their exclusive member benefits throughout the year. Our extensive resources, advocacy efforts, and volunteer opportunities empower them to grow professionally and contribute tremendous value to their organizations.”
More than 3,000 brand professionals from more than 110 countries are attending the current Annual Meeting, including about 800 who will be at one or more of the mini-conferences this week. The program features more than 150 speakers from 30 countries.
In 2020 and 2021, INTA pivoted to hold the Annual Meeting on a virtual platform to protect the health and safety of registrants during the ongoing global pandemic. The last time INTA hosted an on-site Annual Meeting was in 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts, drawing a record crowd of nearly 11,500 registrants.
As always, Mr. Sanz de Acedo pointed out, INTA will continue to monitor the pandemic to prioritize safety.
“If there’s one thing the past two years has taught us, it’s that agility leads to long-term success,” he commented. “We know the INTA community is looking forward to reconnecting in person and building on the bonds they form and strengthen each time we gather.”
About the International Trademark Association (INTA)
The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation. Members include nearly 6,500 organizations, representing more than 34,350 individuals (trademark owners, professionals, and academics) from 185 countries, who benefit from the Association’s global trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network. Founded in 1878, INTA is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Beijing, Brussels, Santiago, Singapore, and Washington, D.C., and a representative in New Delhi. For more information, visit inta.org.
