INTA Annual Meeting 2026: Brands In The Digital Era

PROTECTING TRADEMARKS IN DIGITAL-FIRST MARKETS

Brand identity is no longer confined to what consumers see. Increasingly, it is experienced through sounds, motions, gestures, haptics, gameplay, interface behaviours and AI-personalised interactions.

At the International Trademark Association (INTA)'s Annual Meeting in London, Samta Mehra, Partner and Trademark Chair at Remfry & Sagar — who also served on the INTA 2026 Annual Meeting Project Team — moderated the panel “From Gameplay to Gestures: Trademarking the Intangible in the Digital Era”.

The session examined how trademark law is adapting to non-traditional marks in digital-first environments, including XR, wearables, gaming and AI-powered platforms, and what this means for distinctiveness, authorship, enforcement and brand strategy.

Samta was joined by Charlotte Champion, Head of Trade Marks and Designs, UK Intellectual Property Office, Monica Leenders, IP Business Partner Oral Healthcare – Mother and Child Care, Philips International B.V., and Maria-Gemma Huijnen, Partner, Chiever B.V.

A timely and engaging conversation on how law must keep pace as brands become more immersive, interactive and intangible.