Last few days of Early Bird registration until 31 March! REGISTER HERE for the ECTA 43rd Annual Conference, Bears on the Loose, in Berlin (18-21 June).

There is no ECTA Conference without its signature overview of recent EU case law – and this year, you won’t want to miss it as the session will be moderated by the fabulous Verena von Bomhard (Bomhard Intellectual Property, Spain).

Learn more about this panel from Verena:

1. Verena, introduce yourself and your link to ECTA.

I am Verena von Bomhard, co-founder of BomhardIP in Alicante and one of the “EU Trade Mark Dinosaurs”, having lived and worked in Alicante focusing on EUIPO activities and case law development since late 1995. Originally, I am from Munich, Germany. My very first IP conference was the ECTA Conference in Cannes in 1995. At the time the decision that I would move to Alicante to open the local office for my then law firm had been made (I was a real rookie - but I fulfilled two crucial conditions: I was available, and I spoke Spanish!) and I was happy about that – but the ECTA Conference completely convinced me that I had won the jack pot.

2. Introduce the topic of your Conference session.

I am in the lucky position to moderate this year’s case law session, titled “My Name is Law..Case Law”. With a panel of three plus myself, we will introduce and discuss recent important decisions and trends ranging from evergreens like weak marks to spotlights on marks tapping into the current political scene. We will exchange opinions and thoughts and hopefully get the audience to participate in this.

3. Introduce the panel of your Conference session.

The panellists are fabulous. We have Gabriele Steinfatt, dual qualified lawyer in France and Germany, who has been a judge at the General Court in Luxembourg since 2019, following 15 years as a judge at the Administrative and then Higher Administrative Court in Bremen, Germany.

From the EUIPO, Nina Korjus will join us, who has been at the Boards of Appeal since 2021, as chairperson since 2022. Before that, Nina was a judge and department head at the Finnish Market Court for many years, having previously spent eight years at the General Court as a référendaire – already then with a strong focus on EU trade marks.

And finally, we have Bartosz Krakowiak, Polish patent and trade mark attorney whose fame precedes him. Bartosz currently serves on the ECTA EUIPO-Link Committee and is ECTA’s representative in the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights (Enforcement Working Group).

4. Why should Conference participants join your session, and at whom in particular will it be directed?

The case law review session is a must-attend event at any ECTA Annual Conference and everyone who has any professional interest in EU trade mark case law developments will benefit from the insights shared by the highly skilled and experienced panellists. Listening to them will be much more fun than reading decisions!

5. Why should IP colleagues register for the ECTA Annual Conference?

The ECTA Annual Conference is one of the cornerstones in the agenda of any IP practitioner that deals with trade mark and related IP issues in the EU or in wider Europe. The size of the conference provides ample networking opportunities while not being overwhelming. ECTA is a big Family, which welcomes everyone – including long lost relatives and first-timers.