Taking Brand Restrictions to the Top of Government

INTA has long been active in the area of brand restrictions, urging legislators to respect IP owners’ legal right to display their trademarks on their products. But the Association’s views have fallen on deaf ears in some cases, perhaps most notably in Australia, which was the first jurisdiction to implement plain packaging for tobacco products in 2012.

Since the 2017 Annual Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, the 2017 Brand Restrictions Response Presidential Task Force concluded its work (in November), finding that INTA should make the issue a higher priority across a range of Association activities, including advocacy, education, and publications, says Bruce MacPherson, INTA Chief Policy Officer.

“The idea is that we will raise our visibility regarding brand restrictions,” he explains. “We have a tremendous network of member companies and we will try to leverage that network and our influence on the issue to protect IP rights.”

Mr. MacPherson says INTA is looking into conducting an Impact Study on the topic, specifically the harm brand restrictions have on a country’s economic well-being.