Our lawyer Anne Nyström recently attended the most important annual professional event in Europe for the trademark industry, the ECTA conference. She brought back key observations on the themes that trademark professionals and brand owners are currently discussing: "green" environmental claims, IP challenges related to AI, inconsistent case law on animal trademarks, and ways to fight copycats.

I had the great opportunity to participate as a representative of Kaulo & Partners in the 42nd ECTA (European Communities Trade Mark Association) Annual Conference in Antwerp. It was really lovely to meet and network with colleagues from the intellectual property community worldwide. The conference was full of ideas and discussions, and I would like to share some key takeaways that stood out for me.

Sustainability: A double-edged sword

Sustainability was one of the major themes at the conference. According to a study by the European Commission, 50% of green claims are not backed by supporting evidence, hence the concern related to "greenwashing." This led to a heated debate among participants about whether the new Green Claims Directive would be a way to fight greenwashing or whether it would just lead to companies avoiding any environmental claims at all to avoid scrutiny. The general feeling was that although there is a role for regulation, the balance will need to be struck right so that businesses can flourish and make genuine improvements in the environment without being held back from innovation.

The role of AI in IP: opportunities and pitfalls

Another widely discussed theme was artificial intelligence. AI has enormous potential in the IP area and can tirelessly support most tasks. But again, it was also stressed with the word 'supervision.' AI, without the right level of supervision, can draft frivolous submissions or, worse still, make up case laws that do not even exist, leading to costly mistakes. There is a need to develop a firm policy on AI, specifying the type of data fed into the system and the specific functions it is used for.

Animal trademarks: Inconsistent case law

The animal trademark debate was one of the more exciting areas of discussion. Case law is so inconsistent that it allows for unique possibilities to be creative with legal argumentation. For example, whether a purely figurative animal mark can have phonetic significance may differ. This inconsistency opens the door to unique legal strategies in each case and makes the overall area pretty thrilling for IP practitioners.

Fighting copycats

The fight against copycats was also widely addressed. One actual strategy that in-house counsel often like to adopt is to amass an extensive portfolio of registered IP rights, particularly design rights, which are used as a solid platform. Still, alternative strategies available include using unregistered design rights, copyright, passing-off, and unfair competition laws, which were also recognized. This forms a multi-faceted approach and provides all-encompassing protection.

Committee work: The Internet and emerging technologies

As a member of the ECTA Internet Committee, I am very interested in the discussions concerning trademarks and IP on the upcoming themes regarding the Internet and technology. The current issues that we are looking into with our committee revolve around how digital transformation is affecting trademark law, fast-evolving technology, and dealing with and protecting rights within an online world. What we are doing here is quite important in assisting us in manoeuvring through the tough web that we are working within this era of technology and trying to make sure that trademarks and IP laws progress hand in hand with technological advancement.

Conclusion

All in all, the 42nd ECTA annual conference proved to be very fruitful event, as always. The broad space covered by the conference — from sustainability, diversity and inclusion, artificial intelligence to the niceties of animal trademarks and combating copycats through the many essential committee workings on the Internet and technology — was current and relevant for today's IP world. It is a pleasure to be part of this community, and I look forward to the Internet Committee meetings in October.