Government relations and lobbying were the themes of the INTA Pre-Annual Meeting Roundtable and Reception, held on the morning of Thursday, February 28 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Moderated by Di Blasi, Parente & Associates’ managing partner Paulo Parente Marques Mendes, the event began with a presentation of the lobbying concept by the firm’s Institutional and Government Relations strategist, Raquel Araújo. Former INPI President Luiz Otávio Pimentel shared some examples of how lobbying positions have been played in recent years. And the regional director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), José Graça Aranha, another former INPI president, gave an account of the evolution of the sector at the international level and condemned the excessive time that Brazil still takes compared to other countries to examine an application and grant a patent.

Paulo Parente pointed out that the INTA Pre-Annual Meeting Reception has been organized for the last five years in Rio by Di Blasi, Parente & Associados. The event is a warm-up meeting for INTA Annual Meeting, the world’s largest trademark congress. This year, it will be held in Boston, MA, USA, between May 18 and 22. Di Blasi, Parente & Associates will participate with the managing partners Gabriel Di Blasi and Paulo Parente, along with the associate attorneys Ana Leticia Allevato, Bárbara Leitão, Cecília Visconti, Eriça Tomimaru, Érica de Souza and José Roberto Almeida.