Officers & Committees

ITMA Officers

Catherine Wolfe,
First Vice-President
Wolfe.ITMA@Boult.com

020 7430 7500

Catherine entered the profession in 1995 and qualified in 1997 as a Registered Trade Mark Attorney and European Trade Mark Attorney.  She is now a Partner with Boult Wade Tennant. 

Chris McLeod,
Second Vice-President
chris.mcleod@ssd.com

0870 839 0000

Chris entered the profession in 1990 and is a Registered UK and European Trade Mark Attorney. He is Director of Trade Marks at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (UK) LLP and became Second Vice-President of ITMA in 2010. He is also a committee member of INTA, a member of PTMG, a regular contributor to trade mark publications and has made occasional TV and radio appearances discussing intellectual property.

Kate O’Rourke,
Treasurer
Kate.O'Rourke@charlesrussell.co.uk

020 7203 5011

Kate is a solicitor and trade mark attorney, with over 20 years experience in relation to trade mark and related copyright, design and internet matters. She leads the Trade Mark Registration and Protection team at Charles Russell and her work includes advising on the adoption, registration and enforcement of trade marks internationally. Many of Kate's clients are in the leisure and retail industries with interests across the globe.

The ITMA Council

The business of the Institute is managed by the ITMA Council, whose members are elected for a two-year term at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Council members may seek re-election at the AGM at the end of the two years if they wish. The President, the two Vice Presidents and the Treasurer are elected from within members of the Council and the Council itself is responsible for keeping true accounts. The Council formally elects new members to the Institute and makes the final decision on policy and strategic matters. The ITMA Council meets regularly to receive reports from committees and to discuss the fulfilling of its responsibilities.

ITMA Committees

Book Committee
The objects of the Book Committee are to review and assist with the publication of various works on behalf of ITMA.  Traditionally this has centred upon the publication of the UK Trade Mark Handbook, including commissioning contributors for this work.  The Committee also discusses ideas for publications which can be produced by the Institute in the future. 

Chair: Mark Hiddleston, m.hiddleston@elkfife.co.uk

PR & Communications Committee
The aims of the PR & Communications Committee are to increase awareness of trade marks and to promote the profession of trade mark attorneys.  Specifically, the objectives are to increase awareness of the importance of trade marks and designs and the expertise of members; to increase awareness amongst UK businesses of the importance of trade marks and designs and the expertise of members; to promote the expertise of members to IP professionals especially those outside Europe; and to ensure that the voice of ITMA is heard and its aims are promoted through good communications.  Many of the aims and objectives are achieved through the writing of press releases and articles, attendance at exhibitions and conferences and the development of relations with other bodies, both in the UK and overseas.

Chair: James Setchell, james@ramage.co.uk

Designs
In essence, the Designs Committee exists to monitor and laws and practice surrounding the issue of designs and to increase awareness of these issues. The Committee monitors developments in the law and is also involved in consultation processes with the UK-IPO, OHIM and WIPO on proposed changes to law and practice. It aims to increase awareness of designs-related issues by means of printed material and seminars, available to ITMA members, the design community and members of the general public alike.

Chair: Chris McLeod, Chris.McLeod@ssd.com

Education & Training
The Education & Training Committee is primarily set up to help members of ITMA who are seeking to qualify as a Registered Trade Mark Attorney. The committee provide general advice and guidance material to assist those who are along the route to qualification and those who are thinking about entering the profession. It considers and arranges ITMA training courses to help with the training of Student members of ITMA, and it also liaises with external providers such as Universities in the provision of their specifically adapted course for trade mark attorney qualification. The committee also considers and responds to proposed changes to rules, regulation and policy set down by IPReg and lobbies IPReg,, where appropriate, for example in areas where it is felt that change may be required. The committee is made up of fully qualified Registered Trade Mark Attorneys who are members of ITMA and it has a number of Student members co-opted onto the committee to specifically represent those seeking to qualify.

Chair: Sanjay Kapur, sanjay.kapur@potterclarkson.com

General Purposes and Finance
GP&F is the work-horse committee of the Institute, in that it makes important policy recommendations upon which Council then decide. GP&F considers reports from other committees which may involve the Institute introducing new policies or amending existing policies especially where there are financial implications. As the name suggests, the Treasurer plays an important role and presents accounts and budgets to GP&F for approval before submitting them to Council for final approval. GP&F is responsible for the management of the Institute staff and the office.

Chair: Catherine Wolfe, Wolfe.ITMA@Boult.com

Laws and Practice
L&P considers implications for the profession of practice and procedure proposals. This involves commenting on proposals and lobbying the regulatory authorities. In the case of the UK this means liaising closely with the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) and other government departments involved in IP protection and enforcement. L&P work with the Office for the Harmonisation of the Internal Market (OHIM) on European matters. L&P also work with WIPO on international registration practices and with other organisations such as those involved with domain name registers.

Chair: Imogen Wiseman, imogen.wiseman@fjcleveland.co.uk

Programme
The responsibility of the Programme Committee is to organise an educational and promotional programme for the Institute.  The Committee arranges evening meetings, afternoon seminars in London and in the provinces and conferences annually, with the aim of the continuing professional development of members.  In addition, the Committee organises functions such as the Summer reception to promote the Institute and its members to others, and social events such as the ITMA Christmas Lunch and annual Quiz night.

Chair: Katie Cameron kcameron@jenkins.eu

Review
The job of the Review Committee is to oversee the production of the ITMA Review, the in-house publication of the Institute. The print edition is mailed to members approximately 8 times a year and an online version is posted in the members area of the ITMA website. The Committee meets regularly to discuss the previous issue, proposed content of the next issue, and future commissioning. There is now a large number of potential contributors of case reports and other articles from the UK and overseas, for which members can earn CPD.

Chair: Tania Clark, tclark@withersrogers.com

Trade Mark Administrators' Course
ITMA has an ongoing commitment to effective education and training and this includes the education and training of administrative staff – traditionally known as ‘formalities’ staff. The Trade Mark Administrators' Course Committee is responsible for organising and delivering the Trade Mark Administrators' course for formalities staff. The course consists of a series of lectures to a structured curriculum followed by an examination. Successful students receive a certificate at the end of the course and are then eligible to apply to become an Administrator member of ITMA .

Chair: Richard Goddard, Richard.Goddard2@uk.bp.com