“Bears on the loose” was the slogan of the 43rd annual ECTA conference that was held from 18 to 21 June 2025 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Berlin, located in the immediate vicinity of the huge and famous Zoological Garden.

Our firm was represented at this event by one of its partners and co-founders – Agnieszka Śnieżko – a Polish and European patent attorney specializing in the protection of trademarks and industrial designs.

 

 

The conference program included numerous sessions and workshops on issues such as the protection of trademarks and industrial designs in the EU, taking into account similarities and differences in individual jurisdictions, the latest case law of the EUIPO and the General Court, and issues related to securing claims in EU countries. Among speakers were experts from leading European law firms and representatives of the judiciary and national patent offices.

This was a great opportunity to learn about current trends in the IP industry, and in between sessions make new friends with representatives of the industry, reconnect with acquaintances from previous years and do a bit of sightseeing in Berlin.

Each day of the conference was crowned by a banquet in an unusual location. On the first day of the conference, its participants visited the iconic Kosmos facility, which once housed the largest cinema in the GDR. The next day, they were hosted in the Orangery of the baroque Charlottenburg Palace. Finally, the closing ceremony took place in the terminal of the former Tempelhof Airport, now transformed into a recreational area.