Denise McFarland was delighted to present one of the main sessions at the prestigious CITMA Spring International conference, held at County Hall, London, on 22 March 2018. As an acknowledged expert in her field, Denise gave a wide ranging overview of recent developments in trade mark case law and practice. She selected several important cases to highlight practical and commercial points that were of interest to the 300 or so practitioners who attended from over 33 countries. Some of the topics Denise covered included new developments, infamous and offensive marks, analysis of costs in IPEC and the interaction with CPR Part 36, joinder of parties, re-opening revision by the IPO via appeal routes and fresh evidence on appeal. The CITMA Spring Conference theme was “IP in a Global Economy”. The geographical spread and diversity of delegates’ home territories was impressive, with practitioners attending from as far afield as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dubai, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Ecuador, Japan, USA, Canada, China and Iceland as well as many European Member states. Denise McFarland is an Associate Member of CITMA and regular contributor to their publications and events.

Photo reproduced with kind permission of CITMA and their photographer Simon O’Connor.