Josh Burke has practiced trademark law for nearly three decades, including over twenty years in-house at General Mills, where he managed some of the world’s most beloved food brands, including Haagen-Dazs, Yoplait, and Betty Crocker.  Josh has held a variety of roles with INTA, including serving on the Board of Directors, co-chairing the 2011 Leadership Meeting and 2015 Annual Meeting, and chairing the In-House Practitioners Committee. Josh is currently a member of INTA’s Commercialization of Brands Committee.

Currently, Paula Wright is a Senior Manager for the Global Trademark Group with AstraZeneca.  Paula’s role includes managing the Global Trademarks Group, which covers all aspects of portfolio management including the selection, preparation, prosecution, maintenance, and enforcement of domestic and international trademark portfolios. In addition, she undertakes trademark availability searches and possesses an extensive amount of experience in conducting domestic and foreign trademark due diligence reviews.   

Paula received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a Paralegal Certificate from the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training. 

Over the past several years, Paula has been active within INTA and is currently serving on INTA’s Inhouse Practitioners’ Committee. 

Anthoula Pomrening is a seasoned attorney with substantial experience securing and protecting intellectual property rights.  She is presently Group Technology Counsel with Illinois Tool Works, a global industrial company, where she is responsible for advising the welding business segment on all matters of intellectual property.  Anthoula is active on INTA’s Inhouse Practitioners’ Committee.

Josh Burke has practiced trademark law for nearly three decades, including over twenty years in-house at General Mills, where he managed some of the world’s most beloved food brands, including Haagen-Dazs, Yoplait, and Betty Crocker.  Josh has held a variety of roles with INTA, including serving on the Board of Directors, co-chairing the 2011 Leadership Meeting and 2015 Annual Meeting, and chairing the In-House Practitioners Committee. Josh is currently a member of INTA’s Commercialization of Brands Committee.

Currently, Paula Wright is a Senior Manager for the Global Trademark Group with AstraZeneca.  Paula’s role includes managing the Global Trademarks Group, which covers all aspects of portfolio management including the selection, preparation, prosecution, maintenance, and enforcement of domestic and international trademark portfolios. In addition, she undertakes trademark availability searches and possesses an extensive amount of experience in conducting domestic and foreign trademark due diligence reviews.   

Paula received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a Paralegal Certificate from the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training. 

Over the past several years, Paula has been active within INTA and is currently serving on INTA’s Inhouse Practitioners’ Committee. 

Anthoula Pomrening is a seasoned attorney with substantial experience securing and protecting intellectual property rights.  She is presently Group Technology Counsel with Illinois Tool Works, a global industrial company, where she is responsible for advising the welding business segment on all matters of intellectual property.  Anthoula is active on INTA’s Inhouse Practitioners’ Committee.

Josh Burke has practiced trademark law for nearly three decades, including over twenty years in-house at General Mills, where he managed some of the world’s most beloved food brands, including Haagen-Dazs, Yoplait, and Betty Crocker.  Josh has held a variety of roles with INTA, including serving on the Board of Directors, co-chairing the 2011 Leadership Meeting and 2015 Annual Meeting, and chairing the In-House Practitioners Committee. Josh is currently a member of INTA’s Commercialization of Brands Committee.

Currently, Paula Wright is a Senior Manager for the Global Trademark Group with AstraZeneca.  Paula’s role includes managing the Global Trademarks Group, which covers all aspects of portfolio management including the selection, preparation, prosecution, maintenance, and enforcement of domestic and international trademark portfolios. In addition, she undertakes trademark availability searches and possesses an extensive amount of experience in conducting domestic and foreign trademark due diligence reviews.   

Paula received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a Paralegal Certificate from the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training. 

Over the past several years, Paula has been active within INTA and is currently serving on INTA’s Inhouse Practitioners’ Committee. 

Anthoula Pomrening is a seasoned attorney with substantial experience securing and protecting intellectual property rights.  She is presently Group Technology Counsel with Illinois Tool Works, a global industrial company, where she is responsible for advising the welding business segment on all matters of intellectual property.  Anthoula is active on INTA’s Inhouse Practitioners’ Committee.

Michael C. Maier is an expert in the field of trademark law and has many years of experience in providing strategic and commercial advice to trademark owners.

He advises German and international trademark owners from various industries and represents them in all trademark related matters before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and German courts. A particular focus of his practice are legal disputes before the General Court of the European Union (GC) as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and providing full range advice in complex trademark matters.

Before joining Nordemann, he has practiced trademark law for several years at various internationally renowned IP firms. Furthermore, in the role of an Associate General Counsel and General Manager, he has headed the trademark department of one the world’s largest beauty companies being responsible for all luxury trademark and design-related matters globally.

Being an acknowledged expert in the field of trademark law, Michael C. Maier is regularly invited as a speaker by professional organizations. He is also an experienced lecturer, currently teaching trademark law at the Düsseldorf University as well as at the Potsdam University – but has also taught at Harvard Law School and San Francisco Law School as a guest lecturer in the past. Furthermore, he is regularly holding trademark law seminars across Germany and is co-author of a commentary on the European Union Trademark Regulation (EUTMR) released by C. H. Beck, a well-known publishing company in Germany.

Michael C. Maier is fluent in German, English and French and has basic knowledge of Spanish.

Richard is a trademark attorney at BP p.l.c., where his work includes advising on the registration and enforcement of BP’s trademarks and designs, and the licensing of trademarks within the BP Group and to third parties.

Richard’s role involves liaising directly with clients within the BP business as well as providing advice to colleagues within BP’s wider legal function. 

Richard joined the trademark profession in 2003, working in private practice for several years before moving in-house. Richard was previously the treasurer of the Institute of Trademark Attorneys (ITMA) and chairs the ITMA Publications & Communications Committee.

Annie Allison is an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the New York office of Haynes and Boone, LLP where she helps clients to obtain, enforce, and leverage their valuable intellectual property assets. Annie provides a broad range of transactional and litigation IP legal services including trademark prosecution, rights enforcement strategies, brand management and licensing for media, entertainment, fashion and technology companies. Annie counsels clients on the management and enforcement of global trademark portfolios, represents clients in TTAB proceedings and related negotiations, and advises and assists on trademark-related issues in M&A transactions and corporate due diligence. 

Annie is a member of the INTA Young Practitioners Committee – Digital Programming Subcommittee. 

Jethro Trenteetun is a Trademark Counsel at General Mills, where he oversees the company's expansive global brand portfolios on all trademark and copyright matters. He has a wealth of experience in the IP field, having previously worked as a trademark paralegal for 8 years and as IP & Technology Counsel at Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Jethro holds a J.D. from New England Law Boston and a B.A. in Political Science from Bates College. 

Jethro is a member of the INTA Young Practitioners Committee – Digital Programming Subcommittee. 

As a Strategist, Committee and Member Success of INTA, Ken King oversees the Committee Selection process and works with INTA members to get the most out of their membership. Ken has been with the Association since 2011 and has filled various roles, most recently as Senior Manager of Member Operations and previously in Sponsorship & Exhibition. 

As Director of Communications and Research at INTA, Jean-Claude (JC) Darné is responsible for developing and implementing the Association’s overall communications strategy and annual research agenda. In this role, he is also staff liaison to the Communications Group and Research Advisory Council. Mr. Darné hold a Masters in Business Administration from Wagner College, a Honors Degree in Philosophy from the University of South Africa, and a B.A. Degree in English and Philosophy from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. 

As the Chief Governance Officer of INTA, Randi Mustello oversees the implementation and review of the Association’s governance structure and policies. She provides strategic advice and guidance to the Board and staff on opportunities and approaches for Association governance and compliance issues and performs ongoing review and recommendations to enhance the quality and future viability of the Board and the INTA member experience.  She is also the staff liaison for the Resources Group of INTA committees. Ms. Mustello holds a J.D. from New York Law School and a B.A. in English Literature from Manhattanville College. 

Heather Steinmeyer is Chief Policy Officer of the International Trademark Association, responsible for leading global policy and advocacy work in support of INTA's mission and strategy. She is also the staff liaison for the Advocacy Group of INTA committees.  Prior to joining the INTA staff, Heather was a long-time volunteer who served as a board member and officer, including 2010 President, as well as on numerous committees and task forces.  Immediately prior to joining INTA staff, Heather was Vice President & Counsel with Elevance Health, a Fortune 20 healthcare and health analytics company, where she was responsible for leading the legal teams supporting intellectual property and branding, marketing, privacy and security, data rights, IT, international operations, and vendor contracting.  She also served as Legal Chief Operating Officer and interim Chief Ethics and Privacy Officer.  Additional roles include Senior Brand Counsel with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, and Partner at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd (now part of K&L Gates).  Heather is based in Chicago, Illinois. 

Tim Hance is Senior Counsel in the Brands & Content Intellectual Property group at NBCUniversal.  He works with the company’s major business units, including NBC News, NBC Entertainment, and Peacock, on a variety of IP issues.  He is also the lead IP counsel for NBC Sports, where he advises on production clearance, trademark enforcement, and rights agreements with sports leagues and athletes, including issues related to name, image, and likeness (“NIL”).  In addition to currently serving on the In-House Practitioners Committee, Tim was previously a member of INTA’s Right of Publicity Committee, where he and other committee members developed educational materials and presentations on emerging NIL and Right of Publicity topics.  Before joining NBCU in 2018, Tim was an associate in Cooley LLP’s Trademark, Copyright, and Advertising practice group.  

Jessica Elliott Cardon is the General Counsel for fragrance company Parlux Holdings, Inc., a developer of licensed celebrity and fashion fragrances, and its related entity Quality King Distributors, Inc., a distributor of personal care, healthy and beauty products throughout the United States.  Ms. Cardon was previously the General Counsel for fashion company, Camuto Group, and its house brand Vince Camuto.  Ms. Cardon has negotiated numerous licenses across multiple product categories in the fashion, fragrance and home goods industries for prominent fashion brands and celebrities.  She advises clients on intellectual property matters (including brand protection), advertising and marketing issues, FTC and regulatory compliance, international distribution and sourcing, as well as employment matters.  Ms. Cardon is a current Director of the INTA Board and the former Chair of the Commercialization of Brands and Trademark Reporter Committees.

With 20 years of experience, Frank Liu is a senior IP lawyer who heads the Intellectual Property practice of Shanghai Pacific Legal. Frank specializes in offering a full range of services to clients including IPR registration, protection, management, and dealing with infringement issues as well as working with clients on creating an end-to-end IP strategy. His clients include a significant number of Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporates as well as domestic PRC corporations from a wide range of sectors. He has acted for clients in over a hundred litigation and arbitration cases in China, many of which secured favorable awards. Frank worked in an intermediate level Chinese Court for five years from 1996 prior to his entering private practice in 2002.

Sun Hong is a corporate lawyer based in Shanghai, where she is head of office. Sun has more than 20 years' experience in China-related corporate and regulatory matters. She represents clients in cross-border transactions including foreign direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and general corporate and commercial projects involving PRC assets or entities across a wide spectrum of sectors. In addition, Sun has in-depth insight into the legal system of China and the regulatory and compliance risks encountered by multinationals doing business in China. She is particularly experienced in dealing with China's financial regulations and has advised clients on both transactions and specific regulatory issues. Sun qualified in China in 1999. She spent four years in the legal affairs office of a local government and five years with a PRC local law firm before joining the firm in June 2006. In 2003 and 2004 Sun received training in the UK and HK under the Lord Chancellor's Training Scheme for Young Chinese Lawyers. She is recognized for capabilities and experience by Acritas and The Legal 500.

Farmida Bi CBE has been our EMEA chair since May 2018. Her priorities are supporting Norton Rose Fulbright's vision of providing exceptional client service and fostering a culture of inclusivity and connectivity across the firm's 50+ offices worldwide. Farmida has continued to work in her own practice of debt capital markets and Islamic finance, and she has a particular interest in the role Islamic finance, as a form of ethical finance, can play in unlocking funding for ESG initiatives designed to promote the UN Social Development Goals. Recognized in the 'Hall of Fame' for both debt capital markets and Islamic finance in The Legal 500 UK 2022, Farmida's leadership and practice have also been acknowledged with awards such as the Financial News 'Fifty Most Influential Lawyers 2022', 'Top 20 Most Influential in Legal Services 2021' and '100 Most Influential Women in European Finance' from 2019-2021; the HERoes Top 100 Role Model List 2022, 2020 and 2019; The Lawyer's 'Hot 100 Leaders 2019'; the 'Outstanding Practitioner Award 2019' at the Euromoney: Europe Women in Business Law Awards; 'Finance Team of the Year 2018' at the Legal Business Awards; and the Financial Times '100 Innovative Lawyers Europe 2018'. In addition to her work at Norton Rose Fulbright, Farmida is also Chair of Trustees for the Barbican Centre Trust (which raises funding for the Barbican, the largest performing arts center in Europe) and for the Patchwork Foundation (a charity that promotes engagement in politics and civil society for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds). Farmida was recognized for her services to the law and to charity by the UK's HM The Queen in the 2020 Birthday Honors by being made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). She is a graduate of Downing College, Cambridge and qualified as a solicitor in 1992, and as a New York attorney in 1999.

Kevin S. Blum is Senior Counsel, Brands and Content Intellectual Property at NBCUniversal. He advises the Universal Parks & Resorts, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships, Vudu, and DreamWorks Animation business groups on a wide spectrum of intellectual property matters worldwide, including trademark portfolio management, brand protection, enforcement, domain name, and production and marketing issues. He previously provided similar services to other business groups at NBCUniversal, including NBC Sports, Telemundo, and Fandango. Additionally, he works with internal stakeholders to set domain name policies company-wide and manages NBCUniversal’s trademark paralegal team. Before his time at NBCUniversal, Kevin practiced trademark and advertising law at Davis & Gilbert LLP and litigated intellectual property and entertainment matters (among others) at Proskauer Rose LLP.  Kevin is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Case Western Reserve University.

Sabrina Hudson is currently the Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Business at The Kraft Heinz Company.  In this role, Sabrina provides legal support to Kraft Heinz’s U.S. business, Growth, and STAR (Strategic, Transformation and Agile Revolution) teams and The Kraft Heinz Not Company joint venture.  Prior to accepting this role, Sabrina was the Deputy General Counsel, Global Intellectual Property, responsible for the Company’s global intellectual property matters, including prosecution, enforcement, and licensing of and transactions involving copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets.  Sabrina has worked for Kraft Heinz for over sixteen years.  Prior to joining Kraft Heinz, Sabrina worked as an associate at a large law firm where she handled trademark prosecution and enforcement matters and general litigation matters.  

Pam Mallari is Senior Counsel, Marketing Properties at Mars Wrigley Confectionery.  In her role, Pam supports the collaborative development and execution of global business and marketing brand strategies by handling all brand visual identity legal matters (trademark, copyright, and trade dress), including counseling, clearance, prosecution, and enforcement.  Pam leads a team of trademark professionals and together they are directly responsible for trademark and copyright matters for iconic brands like M&M’S and SKITTLES, including trademark licensing; trademark and copyright enforcement and litigation; counseling and support of global, regional, and local marketing initiatives; and portfolio maintenance.  Pam is an active member and former board member of the International Trademark Association.  Prior to joining Mars Wrigley, Pam was Senior Counsel at The Coca-Cola Company and Chief Trademark Counsel at CIBA Vision.  Pam started her legal career as an associate at Kilpatrick Stockton (now Kilpatrick Townsend) and received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, and her law degree from Duke University School of Law.

Lauren Timmons is Lead Trademark Counsel for Chime, a mission-driven fintech company and banking app working to make banking easier and more accessible to all by providing easy credit building and fee-free overdraft.  At Chime, Lauren works closely with the Marketing and Compliance teams to ensure that Chime's marketing campaigns and collateral protect the brand and respect third party rights and to identify and clear new IP.  Chime's marketing focuses significantly on social media, and Chime regularly works with numerous influencers on sponsored campaigns. Before her current position, Lauren was in private practice for eight years, practicing in the field of Trademark and Copyright litigation, enforcement, and prosecution for global brands in a variety of industries. Lauren also serves on the Board of the Women Lawyers of Charlotte as Community Service Co-Chair, in addition to being a member of INTA's In-House Practitioners Committee.

Zeeger Vink is Intellectual Property Director at MF Brands Group, (Geneva, Switzerland), the Swiss group that owns the fashion and lifestyle brands LACOSTE, GANT, AIGLE, TECNIFIBRE and THE KOOPLES. In this role he oversees the brands’ global intellectual property (IP) and brand protection function and leads a team of IP professionals responsible for all prosecution, clearance, and enforcement work. Prior to joining LACOSTE, Mr. Vink was in-house IP counsel at L’OREAL in Paris, France, where he was in charge of global IP protection for several group brands. Mr. Vink started his career as attorney, practicing in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and London (United Kingdom). Mr. Vink holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Amsterdam, with specializations in IP Law and Marketing. He taught IP at the international master’s program of SCIENCES PO University in Paris, France, and speaks and writes regularly on topics of corporate IP management. He actively advocates the creation and protection of IP as a commercial asset, inter alia as the author of The Great Catapult, a business book on IP. In his role as 2022 INTA President, Mr. Vink is Chair of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.