International Trademark Association to Head to Atlanta, Georgia for 2024 Annual Meeting
New York, New York—May 17, 2023—The International Trademark Association (INTA) announced today that it will hold its 146th Annual Meeting, the world’s largest event for brand owners and intellectual property (IP) professionals, in Atlanta, Georgia, from May 18 to 22, 2024.
INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo made the announcement during the Association’s 2023 Annual Meeting Live+, which this year took place in Singapore from May 16 to May 20. The Association employs a rotating schedule of locations, with every third Meeting held in a non-U.S. city, in order to reflect and engage with its global membership.
Pre-sale registration for the 2024 Annual Meeting Live+ is now underway, through June 30, for INTA members who registered for the 2023 Annual Meeting Live+. Registrants who have enjoyed the educational and networking opportunities the Meeting offers, especially first-time attendees, will have the opportunity to make plans to attend next year, and enjoy the 2023 Annual Meeting Live+ early bird pricing for the in-person Meeting and the ability to access the Association’s hotel block system a few days in advance of other registrants. General registration will open in January 2024.
INTA hosted a well-attended and exciting Annual Meeting in Atlanta in 2003 and looks forward to an event that will be even bigger, more edifying, and provides yet more opportunities for our registrants to gather, connect, learn, and do business. It boasts an international airport, a wide range of hotels, and a city that is as convenient as it is bountiful in its culinary and sight-seeing options.
Atlanta is also a city that is increasingly known as a tech hub that is also among the most diverse, with companies like Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft establishing offices there in the last few years. Metro Atlanta is home to 40 corporate innovation centers, making it the highest concentrated city of startups and innovators in the US southeast. More than a dozen companies started or based in Atlanta have grown over the past decade to valuations above US $1 billion. With a wide range of incubators and accelerators that provide resources, networking, mentorship, and more.
“We are thrilled to be heading to Atlanta next year. The city has become a center of innovation and creative spirit in the US,” said Mr. Sanz de Acedo. “It is also a convenient destination, and we look forward to welcoming our members from around the world to Atlanta next May.”
International Trademark Association to Hold 2026 Annual Meeting in Dubai
The International Trademark Association (INTA) has announced that it will hold its 148th Annual Meeting, the largest gathering of brand owners and intellectual property professionals, academics, and government officials, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from May 16 to May 20, 2026.
INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo made the announcement during the Association’s Annual Meeting Live+ Opening Ceremonies today in Singapore, the second Annual Meeting to be held in Asia. The event drew more than 8,000 brand professionals, government officials, business leaders, and academics from 140 countries to the in-person gathering.
In 2014 INTA’s Board of Directors approved a rotation strategy to host the Annual Meeting in a location outside the United States every third year and this marks the first time INTA will host its Annual Meeting in the Middle East. It is not the first INTA gathering in Dubai; previous events include the 2017 Membership Road Show and Free Trade Zone workshop, as well as the 2018 Middle East and Africa Conference.
The process of choosing a host city for the Annual Meeting is one that is multi-years long and is as logistically complex as the global membership the Association serves.
The Meeting will take place at the Dubai World Trade Center. It is equipped with the necessary space and technology the Association requires for its programming, with ample food options and in-house technology and exhibition suppliers. Dubai is also a regional travel hub with direct flights from points around the globe. As an international destination, the city boasts abundant cuisine; scenic desert, sea, and modern city vistas; with inexpensive taxi service available for inter-city movement.
An international city in which ex-pats are the majority, Dubai boasts a wide variety of hotel options and English is spoken widely. It is also a sustainable city where vaccinations and other health precautions earn it high ratings. The UAE is home to INTA corporate members, associate members, and the Association has fostered a strong and productive relationship with the country’s government. INTA also has a newly appointed consultant based in the region to focus on Middle East issues and there are strong member champions firmly entrenched in the regional IP community.
Dubai ranks first in the Middle East and North Africa cities and 14th in the world in the Innovative Cities Index for 2023, up from number 23 in 2021. There is an extraordinary focus on growing itself into a leader in innovation, with government spending and private sector investment contributing to create an innovation ecosystem that has start-ups, entrepreneurs, and those who invest in them taking notice.
“We are most thrilled to deepen our collaboration with INTA, an organization with which we share so many goals advancing intellectual property for brands and consumers alike. Dubai is easily accessible, with one-third of the world’s population able to reach the city within a four-hour flight and two-thirds able to access it in less than eight hours. We are honored to host the first Annual Meeting in our region and look forward to welcoming the global IP community to Dubai in 2026,” said the Chair of EIPA, HE Major General Dr. Abdel Qudous Al-Obaidli.
“As a global IP Association, INTA is thrilled to bring its 2026 Annual Meeting to Dubai, one of the leading cities in the world. From its constantly thriving culture to its incredible success in the business world, Dubai is a must for INTA as its next international Annual Meeting venue,” declared INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo.
