Attendees of the International Trademark Association’s 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego were greeted with a quick explanation of just why California is a great place to host the event.
“It’s quite special we’re here in San Diego, California,” said Jill Abasto, vice president and legal counsel at Qualcomm in San Diego, and the meeting’s co-chair. “The Golden State is renowned for its innovation ecosystem, particularly in science and technology. The state has long been an international leader in creativity and innovation, spawning industries such as biotechnology, computer hardware and software, semiconductors and wireless communication.”
Between 2010 and 2022, Abasto said, California saw the launch of more than a million new businesses; it also leads the United States in patent filings, with more than 100,000 PCT applications and nearly 500,000 patent applications.
“It’s leading the way as a smart, sustainable and livable state,” she said, and has also led the way as an attractive base for those involved in intellectual property. “Without IP, inventors, entrepreneurs, researchers and companies could not pursue their endeavours, market their products and services or invest in R&D and continue innovation.”
Okan Çan, senior partner at Deris in Istanbul and meeting co-chair, also cheered the state’s embrace of IP. “We protect and embrace IP. It’s difficult not to think about how complex and technologically advanced the world and global marketplace has become,” he said.
Çan noted that the jobs of IP lawyers have also become complex. “Brands are not just about trademarks. Today, we are asked to do more than ever in our firms and companies,” he said.
“We can’t simply focus on trademarks and IP,” Abasto said. “We need a deep understanding of the business of IP.”
Çan and Abasto emphasized that “The Business of IP” is the central theme to INTA’s 2025 Annual Meeting – a marketing decision that was made purposefully.
“It highlights how IP is not just a legal concept, but a critical component of business strategy and development,” Abasto said.
“It underscores that IP does not exist in a vacuum, but that it is deeply connected to almost all sides of a business. It’s a driver of business success,” Çan said.
The co-chairs said that more than 200 speakers from 42 different jurisdictions would be part of the meeting at more than 59 educational sessions, and that 188 exhibitors from 39 jurisdictions would take part in the Innovation Marketplace trade show.
INTA president Elisabeth Stewart Bradley, who serves as vice president, innovation law, and head of trademarks, copyrights and brand protection at Bristol Myers Squibb in Princeton, New Jersey, who called those in the audience “among IP greatest supporters and champions,” said that while we are living in complex and turbulent times, “it is very reassuring and inspiring that we can come together, connect, feel the positive energy from events like this and look forward to the future.”
Stewart Bradley said that INTA and IP professionals are facing significant challenges, including a rapidly evolving legal and business landscape, complex geopolitics, inflationary pressures and anti-IP sentiment. “But we are resilient,” she said. “There are also significant opportunities, including rapidly advancing technology, meaningful innovations and an increasingly connected global marketplace.”
She took a moment to tout the inclusivity of INTA’s leadership. Fourteen of the association’s last 25 presidents have been women, as are 19 of the 31 board members in 2025, and four of six of its 2025 officers. “The legal profession once, like many professions, was male dominated for many decades. As society evolved, we’ve seen progress in terms of female legal professionals. As you know, even today, there is still much to do, but for many years, INTA has had incredibly talented female members and leaders, and numbers have outpaced most of the legal industry. The association has an excellent track record in this regard.”
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, INTA’s chief executive officer, announced that the registration for the annual meeting had surpassed 10,000, coming from more than 140 jurisdictions. He said that despite road blocks – including a recent social media post by Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Block, calling for the “deletion of all IP law”, which has so far garnered more than 12 million views and widespread media coverage – IP also brings optimism.
“Reports from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the EU IP Observatory identify the contributions of IPR-intensive industries – and I’m referring to trademarks, designs, patents and other rights – and their contribution on GDP, unemployment and on social welfare,” Sanz de Acedo said, while the screen behind him stated that 33 percent of jobs in the United States and 39.4 percent of jobs in the European Union were due at least in part to those IPR-intensive industries.
Sanz de Acedo also announced that INTA’s 2026 Annual Meeting will be held in London.
- Gregory Glass, reporting from San Diego
