How INTA’s Legal Resources Can Help Brand Professionals Better Serve Their Clients

It’s late Friday afternoon. A hardworking trademark professional—who is also an INTA member—is wrapping up her workweek and looking forward to the weekend. One of her clients pings her, bringing to her attention a trademark application in a jurisdiction several time zones away, which her client just discovered and wants to oppose—and the opposition deadline is this coming Monday!

It would cut things awfully close to wait for local counsel to let her know whether extensions are available in that jurisdiction. What are her options? Wait for local counsel to get back to her once the weekend is over? And, if an opposition is not available, will she have to scramble (after getting to the office at dawn on Monday) to get everything pulled together in order to file an opposition, including getting a power of attorney from the client? Perhaps she should just presume there is no extension available (and say farewell to her weekend)? But then she remembers that as an INTA member, she has free access to INTA’s online Legal Resources, and she knows just where to look first: INTA’s Practice Guides. Happily, the Guides have the answer—and, luckily, the answer is that the deadline can be extended. All she needs to do right now is arrange for an extension.

Problem solved. Client happy. (Weekend saved; early Monday wake-up averted.)

Yes, this scenario is hypothetical—but it’s a fact that thousands of INTA members rely on INTA’s useful Legal Resources in their daily practice to better serve their clients, not to mention save them time and money.

Still, some folks may not realize that INTA membership includes unlimited access to all of INTA’s Legal Resources at no additional charge. They may not realize that anyone who works at an organization that is an INTA member can have access to Legal Resources by logging in to the INTA website with their username and password. Those who don’t already have their own account can contact Member Operations to help them set one up. Non-members can also contact Member Operations to join.

So, what are INTA’s Legal Resources and where can they be found?

INTA’s suite of Legal Resources ranges from the practical to the scholarly: from Practice Guides, the Quick-Start Trademark Chart, and Fact Sheets to thought-provoking articles in The Trademark Reporter (TMR). They can all be accessed from the Resources tab on the INTA website.

Also under the Resources tab, in the Practice Tools section, members can find two treatises—Trademark Administration and U.S. State Trademark and Unfair Competition Law—plus Practitioners’ Checklists, Case Excerpts on Survey Evidence in U.S. Litigation, and more.

Who produces INTA’s Legal Resources?

The INTA member community contributes to the Legal Resources in multiple ways—as Publications and TMR Committee members, Principal Editors, contributors, and authors. In fact, 600+ members of the INTA community from 130+ jurisdictions contribute to the Association’s Legal Resources. They often say that the main reason they participate is because INTA is such an important part of their professional life, and they love having the opportunity to give back to the INTA community.

And speaking of the INTA community, membership renewal begins October 1. Encourage your organization to renew its membership and ensure continued access to INTA’s invaluable Legal Resources.

Ensure you’re ready for that next client call!

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.