Conference Report

ECTA 26th Annual Conference, Deauville, 20-23 June 2007

Following last year’s meeting, at which the theme was that of a theatre play, this year’s meeting took as its theme that of a cinema film, in deference to the setting, famed for its film festivals and Claude Lelouch’s film “A Man and a Woman”, starring Anouk Aimee and Jean-Paul Trintignant, a winner, fourty year ago, of two Oscars and many other filmic awards.

Deauville proved to be both an unusual and very popular destination for the latest ECTA conference, attracting a total attendance in excess of 800. Most attendees arrived and departed comfortably by a variety of routes, but some transportation difficulties arose, not least those caused by a train strike affecting Normandy during the period of the conference. The Association and the organisers express their regret that these difficulties should have arisen and apologise to those affected. Apart from this, the conference ran very smoothly and delegates commented favourably upon the superb facilities of the CID Conference Centre, with its vast auditorium, very comfortable seats, and airy foyers. Approaching the centre through a columned archway, one was greeted with a veritable sea of ECTA flags fluttering from their poles, with the famous plage and real sea beyond.

Blessed with almost continuous fair weather throughout the period of the conference, delegates were able to stroll around Deauville, with its distinctive Haussmann style boulevards and stately architecture, and along the decked promenade, as freely as time permitted.

The conference began, after Council and committee meetings, and a workshop entitled Final Destinations: US, via Madrid and Geneva, at which the speakers were Lynne Beresford, Commissioner for Trademarks at the USPTO and Marie-Paule Rizo from WIPO, with a Welcome Reception at the Deauville Casino. Speeches of welcome were made by ECTA President Mireia Curell (ES) and Phillipe Augier, Mayor of Deauville, who spoke with evident pride of the charms of his home town. Many attendees remained afterwards to try their luck at the tables.

The conference proceedings began in earnest on the following morning when, after the ECTA AGM, at which the election of several new Council members was announced, including representatives of the new member states Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia, and welcome speeches from Isabelle Leroux, Chairwoman of the organising committee, and Benoit Battistelli, Director General of the Institut Nationale de la Propriete Industrielle (FR), a film set was revealed and a series of interviews took place on stage. This new format for questions to be put to Wubbo de Boer of OHIM, Erik Nooteboom of the Commission and Ernesto Rubio of WIPO, respectively by Jean-Claude Combaldieu, Past President of OHIM (FR), Richard Gilbey of Gilbey de Haas (FR) and Keith Hodkinson of Marks & Clerk (UK), proved to be very engaging and informative.

Next on the agenda was a prolonged session on Designs. “The production” on this topic was effectively chaired by Leopold von Gerlach of Lovells (DE), and featured Erling Borcher (DK) and Lesley Moradian of Estee Lauder (US). The session and first day concluded with a comparative study on domain, commercial and corporate names by Richard Wessman of MAQS Law Firm (SE).

In the evening, attendees enjoyed a night at the races, with real horse races and betting, albeit money-free. This took place at the picturesque Deauville Hippodrome Clairefontaine on the outskirts of the town, fine weather being again enjoyed.

On the second day proper of the conference, sessions took place on “The branding issues”, beginning with papers on the value of IP rights, by Raul Bercovitz of Estudio Juridico Alberto Bercovitz (ES) and José Monteiro of L’Oreal (FR), under the chairmanship of Sylvie Mandel of the Versailles Court of Appeal (FR) and continuing after the break with ones on Comparative advertising (under the chairmanship of Martin Michaus of Basham, Ringe & Corres) (MX) by Joanna Piotrowska of Nestlé (PL) and Product placement by Irene Bramm of Bertelsmann AG (BE) and (under the chairmanship of Fabio Angelini of Intel) (IT) by Joe Simone of Baker & McKenzie (HK) and Erwan Guilmin of the French Customs Authorities.

After a second delicious delegates’ lunch, the day continued under the chairmanship of Laurence Julien-Raes of Santarelli (FR), with papers on the Contentious Strategies – first a review of ECJ cases by Alex von Mühlendahl of Bardehle Pagenberg (DE) and secondly a paper on Unfair competition, Parasitic trading and Parody cases in Europe by Giuseppe Bertoli of the EC CFI (LU).

Finally, a session on the Creation of a Personal brand, with Simon Reeves of AstraZeneca (UK) in the chair, featured Alexis Ewbank of Ewbank de Soete (BE) and Maurice Watkins of Brabners Chaffe Street and a Director of Manchester United Football Club Ltd (UK).

A Gala Dinner at the CID Centre in the evening brought a successful and very well attended conference to an end. At the dinner, which was followed by dancing into the small hours, a presentation was made by the President Mireia Curell to retiring Treasurer General Norman MacLachlan (IR) to acknowledge his dedication and long service in that office, and grateful thanks were offered to the organisers of the conference, Isabelle Leroux and her colleagues Sylvie Harding, Claire Lauga and Maryse Tonnin-Philbert, for all their hard work.

Next year’s conference will take place in Killarney, Ireland from 18-21 June 2008. We look forward to seeing you there.

Keith Havelock ECTA Secretary General