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18 September 2019Rory O'Neill

Marques 2019: navigating social change

Trademark lawyers and brand owners came together today, September 18, to hear about the importance of adapting to a rapidly changing world at the opening session of Marques’ annual conference in Dublin, Ireland.

Speakers agreed that one of the biggest challenges for brand owners was consumers’ changing expectations when it came to their performance on moral and cultural issues.

As Jan Willem Velthuijsen, chief economist, partner deals at Price Waterhouse Coopers noted, millennials want companies to “be known for pursuing certain objectives”, presenting a new challenge for brand owners.

This trend comes against a backdrop of deteriorating trust in institutions and brands, Velthuijsen said.

Session chair Robert MacDonald, partner at Gowling WLG in Ottawa, noted that it was easier than ever for brands to find themselves on the wrong end of controversy.

Going viral for the wrong reasons, for example, could be the “end of your business,” he said, while changing perspectives and values around issues such as the environment required brand owners to adapt.

“Your product may be ubiquitous today, but like the plastic straw, gone tomorrow,” he warned.

The point was echoed by Susie Harris, chair of the Marques council and general counsel at The Plum Guide, who cited other pitfalls for brands such as “cultural appropriation”, where a brand is perceived to have misused or misappropriated the cultural heritage of another group for their own purposes.

“Cultural appropriation has proven difficult for even the biggest brands to navigate,” she said.

Clare Willets, former director of customer experience at Virgin Group and founder of Not Only Pink and Blue, speaking on her own behalf, said that traditional corporate social responsibility was no longer enough.

She cited the example of Gillette, who she said deemed it necessary to adopt a new, more inclusive message on ‘masculinity’ in its advertising.

Amid changing values, and the increased scrutiny consumers place on brands, trademark attorneys still have a “vital role” to play in helping brands navigate these challenges, said Simon Black, chief strategy officer at marketing firm Design Bridge.

Black said that a brand’s ability to transform itself was critical to its survival, citing brewer Carlsberg’s recent rebrand which saw it “renew perceptions” of its products.

Whereas Carlsberg had famously claimed its beer to be ‘probably the best in the world’, it this year changed course and rebranded as a ‘true pilsner’, acknowledging past criticism of the product’s taste.

He also cited the work his firm had done with Guinness amid a “clear attack” on its product from the craft beer market.

“The famous trademark harp had diminished” over time, he said, citing recent iterations of the Guinness logo as plain compared to older, more ornate designs which his company sought to revive in the company’s branding.

According to Black, trademark attorneys were “absolutely vital” to brands.

“By protecting the idea, and not just its current execution,” trademark lawyers enabled brands to adapt and grow, he said.

All trademark attorneys had reason to pay close attention to the pace of change across the world, he said, and advise brands accordingly.

“If brands don’t survive, neither do we,” he said.

Irish perspective

As Harris noted, this year’s conference is Marques’ first return to Dublin since 1997.

Gerry Barrett, controller of patents, trademarks, and designs at the Irish Patents Office (IPO), told attendees that the office itself was having to adapt to changing times.

He noted that the IPO is set to rename itself as the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland, while his title will become controller of IP.

Barrett noted that Ireland had transposed the provisions of the European trademark regulations into its national law, but raised concern with some of the changes.

He criticised the removal of the possibility to oppose trademark applications on absolute grounds as a “retrograde step”, which hindered brand owners’ ability to stop bad faith trademark filings.

The biggest challenge facing Irish brands, Barrett said, was Brexit and the looming possibility of no-deal.

Barrett praised the “clear guidance” issued by the UK Intellectual Property Office on the status of European trademarks and designs post-Brexit.

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