New Chief Executive of ITMA is Appointed

He joins ITMA having been head of the Trade Mark Law Section in the Patent Office, now known as the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) until he left in 2005 to work in the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) now known as BERR (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform).

Keven said: “I am joining ITMA at an exciting time when the Institute is preparing to take on the role of Approved Regulator of the trade mark attorney profession under the Legal Services Act next year. The new Regulatory regime will have major implications for the Institute. One of my key aims is to ensure the handover of regulatory responsibilities to the Intellectual Property Regulation Board will go smoothly whilst at the same time ensuring that the representational aspects of the Institute’s work and the interests of its members flourish.”

“ITMA is the pre-eminent body in trade marks in the UK. Part of my role is to develop and enhance the relationships we already have with the UK Government; not just the UK-IPO, but also the Department of Innovation and Skills, and its new Minister David Lammy, the Ministry of Justice as well as the regulators themselves.”

“I will also be looking to expand our relationships within Europe through the Community Trade Mark Office (OHIM) based in Alicante, and other national organisations as well as on the global stage, through WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Office based in Geneva, and international trade mark bodies throughout the world.”

“On the home front, I am looking forward to working with the strong team that I inherit and with the members who I know, from my days in the Patent Office, are a knowledgeable and professional body of people. After what I imagine will be a steep learning curve, I aim to develop strategies that will benefit the members as well as safeguarding the interests of trade mark holders and widening the level of consciousness in the subject of trade marks.”

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Keven was born in Newport, South Wales in 1975 and graduated from Staffordshire University with a 2:1 BSc degree in Sports Studies. He worked in the Patent Office (now the UK-IPO) from 1998 – 2005 when he joined the DTI and leaves there as Deputy Director working on the UK Dispute Resolution Review Programme. His main interests centre on sport, with football a priority. He also enjoys extreme challenges such as bungee jumping and sky-diving and has taken part in the UK 3 Peaks Challenge which he completed in less than 24 hours. He also enjoys playing and listening to music.

FURTHER NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) was established in 1934 as the professional body representing those persons qualified to act for the owners of trade mark and allied intellectual property rights (in particular, registered designs) both nationally and internationally. It now represents the vast majority of UK registered trade mark agents and all UK Trade Mark & Design Litigators.

2. Currently ITMA has approximately 550 practising members; it also extends associate membership to professionals in related fields of law and overseas membership to foreign trade mark attorneys. Its total membership (all classes) is about 1600 members, primarily located in the United Kingdom and Europe, but also in more than 50 other countries.

3. ITMA is regularly consulted by UK government and by international bodies when questions affecting trade mark and allied intellectual property rights arise. It has regular meetings with the UK-IPO, the Community Trade Marks Office (OHIM), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and other sister organisations in Europe and beyond. For more information visit www.itma.org.uk

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