Today, Trade-Marks & Technology in Toronto
I’m in Toronto to podcast presentations of three expert trade-mark professionals: Keltie Sim, Brian Wynn, and Catherine Douglas. I hope to share some specifics they discussed, and link to the recordings over the next few weeks. //And yes, while here in Canada, I’m spelling trademark “trade-mark” in respect of local practice.//
Here are some thoughts and reactions to today’s presentations:
- Changes in value creation have elevated this part of legal practice:
Trademark, copyright and entertainment law have grown in stature as product differentiation has shifted toward brands. - More information means more responsibility:
Increased speed and accesses to huge amounts of global data is both the boon and the burden of the information age. Having reports that provide dramatically more data increases practitioners’ responsibly to carefully consider all citations. This results in more, and a wider range of, potential conflicts to present to clients. Practitioners ultimately need to create better reports that put this expanded array of information into context. - Canada’s thinking globally
These Canadian practitioners gave more active consideration to international (non-US) precedents that what I’ve seen in the States. This seems like an advantage in our increasingly globalized business environment. - The 24×7 tech lifestyle isn’t as much of a thing with this group.
The energy for ‘everything Net all the time’ was more measured that what I’ve seen at similar gatherings elsewhere. User generated content seemed like a fresh topic, and Web2.0 seemed not to have already chewed to death. Second Life was very hot emerging topic, and I shared some of the Second Life coverage already seen here. - All trademark searches are Internet searches now:
Searching domains and web common law sources is standard for regular trademark searching, not just for tech or online related properties. No surprise, but it shows that searching the Internet is a built-in part best practice for any trademark search.
If you were at the event, or just have thoughts to add, please comment. Your input is always welcome.
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