“We Are Here Today To Be Optimistic”: Stories And Advice From Women In IP

Under the banner of “inclusive trade,” last week’s World Trade Organization Public Forum hosted an array of sessions to discuss how a wider range of individuals and businesses can participate in the trading system. One prominent subject of discussion therein is how women can overcome the constraints and obstacles preventing them from accessing and obtaining the benefits of trade, and participate more fully in the field of intellectual property.

On the first day of the 27-29 September Public Forum, the International Trademark Association (INTA) held a panel on Empowering Women in the World of Intellectual Property and Beyond. Details of the panel can be found here and a recording of the session can be found here.

INTA is the global association of trademark owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property.

Moderator Julia Matheson, partner at the international law firm Finnegan LLP and the panel composed of accomplished women lawyers, business leaders, entrepreneurs and professors, shared their experiences on how they developed their businesses and careers and offered their insights on how to advance in the intellectual property field or generally overall in one’s career. In order to empower others to achieve the same, advice and tips on personal branding, networking, confident communication, self-awareness and managing and mentoring were given.

Despite, the fact that women continue to be under-represented in the IP field, due to lack of women in science and engineering and the historic structure of law firms and the legal community, Matheson announced that “we are here today to be optimistic.

Dale Cendali, partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in New York, heads the copyright, trademark and internet practice and is an adjunct law professor at Harvard. Cendali began with the importance of personal branding as a first step to make oneself known, how to do it and what it means to the women who have created their own. Cendali also underscored that she was most proud of the fact that she has built her team at Kirkland to be inclusive, as six women were recently made partners and that people are judged on the quality of lawyering.

Mona Lee, head of the international trademark practice group at Hanol Law Offices in South Korea, spent the first 35 years of her life in the US as her parents had immigrated from South Korea. Lee then moved to South Korea as a ‘foreigner’.

Lee advised that one should be proactive in managing one’s reputation. This should be: in the visual sense, i.e., be recognisable, in the philosophical sense, posing the question “what’s your tagline or slogan?”, and one should be true to one’s own ‘brand’.

Angela Quintero, associate director of the Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America program at Columbia Business School in New York, grew up in Colombia and has moved around the world in the last 20 years. Quintero has worked as a management consultant, an entrepreneur and in market intelligence and now works at the university and coaches entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises to bring awareness on IP.

Quintero emphasised that networking is crucial, no matter at what age. Networking is an opportunity to learn and seek neutral advice, upwards with seniors and downwards with younger people and freelancers said Quintero. Likewise, it acts as an “oil check to see how you’re doing and gives you a support group.”

Lee also offered additional advice on multicultural networking, following in particular her experiences in East Asia and outlined the differences between East and West. The panel recommended the book “Kiss, Bow or Shake” by Terri Morrison, a guide on what to do and what to avoid in cross-cultural business situations.

On mentoring and managing Fatima Amehri, founder of the Association Marocaine de l’Indication Géographique de l’Huile d’Argan (AMIGHA) in Morocco and president of the Union of Women’s Cooperatives, which works on the production and marketing of argan oil, advised that it is important to understand your audience; use their language and understand their cultural background.

Amehri gave examples of her work, which led to the first geographical indication in the argan sector, with now a dozen territorial products with the argan label. The inion is comprised of 12 cooperatives in the countryside and more than 1200 women, and has brought change to the area, as women are also producers with an organised business model.

Amehri further advised on how to give criticism, how to say “no” powerfully and without hostility or negativity, and how to not to apologize, by overall embracing positions of control.

Cendali further added that one should seek to create a team.

With regards to self-awareness and defining one’s own success, as well as not being afraid of mistakes or taking new opportunities, Cendali outlined that women were often torn between showing loyalty to a company and having the willingness to take risks. Women do not move jobs as frequently or negotiate as well on their own behalf, according to Cendali.

The panel encouraged women to take on “power reading” on business, management and communications. Quintero specifically suggested that you should define your own success by knowing yourself, revisiting your ideals, keeping perspective and to take a flexible, gentle and honest approach.

Alexandra Nightingale is a researcher at Intellectual Property Watch. She completed her Bachelors in Law at the University of Sussex and holds an LLM degree in International Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. During her Masters, she developed a strong interest in Intellectual Property, particularly patents and the aspects relating to global health. Her research interests now also include geographical indications and trademarks.

 

 

Image Credits: Alexandra Nightingale