Tuesday, October 13, 2026
8:30 AM-9:30 AM
Registration and networking
9:30 AM-9:40 AM
Welcome address
Gemma Bradley
Senior reporter, WTR
9:40 AM-10:10 AM
Keynote interview: Defending the World Cup brand across North America
Catherine Farrelly
Partner and Co-Chair of the Trademark and Brand Management Group, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
Tiffany Shephard
Director, Senior Counsel, Brand Rights and Protection, FIFA World Cup 2026
10:10 AM-11:00 AM
Panel: AI in brand protection: what’s working, what’s not and what’s next
- Work smarter, not harder: AI tools transforming clearance, monitoring and enforcement
- Lessons learned from the first wave of AI implementation
- ROI in focus: measuring impact and making AI investment count
Monica Riva Talley
Director, Head of the Trademark & Brand Protection Practice, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox
Matteo Amerio
President of Brand and Content Protection, Corsearch
Lizzy Han
Head of IP and Brand Protection, SKIMS
Susan Stearns
Director, Trademark and Brand Enforcement, PayPal
John Ward
Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Trademarks, Moderna
11:00 AM-11:30 AM
Networking break
11:30 AM-12:20 PM
Masterclass: Follow the fakes: smarter enforcement in a shifting counterfeit landscape
- Turn legislation and marketplace policies into powerful takedown tools
- Hotspots, chokepoints and blind spots: tailoring cross-border strategies
- AI and data: where enforcement teams and counterfeiters are raising the stakes
Kristine Young
Partner, Mayer Brown
Andre Oliveiera
Partner, DANIEL
Adam Sulewski
Senior Director, IP Enforcement, US Chamber of Commerce
Evan Williams
Senior Director Global IP Enforcement, Alibaba
12:20 PM-1:15 PM
Lightning talks: The IP enforcement bulletin
Talk 1: Keeping pace with Schedule A litigation: trends and tensions
Talk 2: Same offence, different rules: effective enforcement across borders
Talk 3: Practical lessons from Cox v Sony
Tyler Marandola
Partner, Duane Morris
Jason Jones
Partner, Fross Zelnick
Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme
Partner, Pryor Cashman
1:15 PM-2:30 PM
Lunch and networking
2:30 PM-3:20 PM
Panel: Copyright risk under the microscope
- Helping your creative teams avoid copyright pitfalls
- Influencer deals and viral content: managing social media risk before it escalates
- Fair use, ownership and liability: getting ahead of AI-generated content challenges
Anna Chauvet
Partner, Finnegan
Jordan Romanoff
Senior Director and Senior Managing Counsel, BNY
Jenna Loadman
Director, Associate General Counsel, Intellectual Property, QVC
Emilie Lavirotte
Senior IP Advisor, Sephora
Kaleigh Miller
Head of Customer & Ecosystem and General Manager of MarqLaw, MarqVision
3:20 PM-3:50 PM
Networking break
3:50 PM-4:40 PM
Panel: Shock-proofing IP budgets in unpredictable environments
- How to ringfence "non-negotiable" IP spend when budgets are cut mid-year
- Winning internal budget debates with marketing, compliance, ESG and tech
- Timing budget asks around product cycles, crises and leadership change
Susan Crane
Group Vice President, Legal, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Monica Richman
Partner and Global IP Chair, Dentons
Irina Lyapis
Director, Trademark and Brand Protection, Atlassian
Evan Zimmerman
Chief Executive Officer, Edge
4:40 PM-4:50 PM
Closing remarks
Gemma Bradley
Senior reporter, WTR
4:50 PM-5:50 PM
Networking drinks reception
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
9:00 AM-9:30 AM
Registration and networking
9:30 AM-9:40 AM
Welcome address
Gemma Bradley
Senior reporter, WTR
9:40 AM-10:10 AM
Fireside chat: Policy, pressures and priorities: what brand owners need now
Stefanie Wood
Director of Product, Online Brand and Fraud Protection, Crane Authentication
Dan Vavonese
Acting Commissioner for Trademarks, USPTO
10:10 AM-11:00 AM
Panel: Flattered? Hardly! Winning the fight against dupe culture
- Beyond trademarks: how to get creative with copyright, design rights and trade dress
- Sharpening confusion arguments for an evolving market
- Courtroom strategies: lessons from recent lookalike rulings
Kristen McCallion
Principal, Fish & Richardson
Stephen Lowry
Partner, Head of Trade Marks, Copyright and Designs, Brandsmiths
Marylauren Ilagan
Head of IP and Global Brand Protection, OLAPLEX
Daniel Ackerman
Senior Director Global IP Enforcement, Alibaba
11:00 AM-11:30 AM
Networking break
11:30 AM-12:20 PM
Masterclass: Maintaining face value: protecting name, image and likeness in an AI-powered world
- Deepfakes and digital twins: where the biggest risks are emerging
- The merchandising challenge: tackling AI-generated designs and unauthorised use of names, images and likenesses
- Protecting celebrity rights beyond the grave: navigating digital resurrection and evolving legal frameworks
Sharoni Finkelstein
Partner, Venable
Schuyler Corbin
Corporate Counsel, NFL Players' Association
Jayne Durden
Senior Manager, Global Brand Engagement, Amazon
Chanel Briggins
Senior IP Counsel, Authentic Brands Group
12:20 PM-1:10 PM
Panel: Glow up your trademark portfolio
- Legacy marks and rebrands: what to keep, cut and repurpose
- Making the deal work: IP checks that can drive or derail M&A
- Scale across borders without adding portfolio clutter
Heather Smith-Carra
Senior Shareholder, Banner Witcoff
Sofya Nadgorny
Vice President, Senior Trademark & Domain Name Counsel, Warner Music Group
Sara Blotner
Director, IP Legal, Citi
1:10 PM-2:20 PM
Lunch and networking
2:20 PM-3:10 PM
Masterclass: Trade secrets: an underused weapon in the brand protection arsenal
- How savvy brands gain a competitive edge through trade secrets
- Define, document, defend: what reasonable measures looks like in practice
- AI, employee mobility and data exposure: the escalating trade secret risks
Cindy A Villanueva
Member, Dickinson Wright
Hannah Joseph
Senior Director, Trade Secrets, Regeneron
Mike Turner
Director, IP Strategy, Yokogowa
Diane Fiddle
General Counsel, Qloo
3:10 PM-3:40 PM
Networking break
3:40 PM-4:30 PM
Panel: From IP function to leadership function
- Evolving IP professionals: business partners, strategists and trusted advisers
- Get more from outside counsel: trust, communication and strategic alignment
- Training the next generation: technology, AI and working attitudes
Jomarie Fredericks
Deputy General Counsel, Chief IP and Brand Counsel, Rotary International
Lance Hochhauser
Associate General Counsel, Prove
Michael Carson
Senior Director, Legal Affairs, Contracts and Intellectual Property, YMCA of the USA
4:30 PM-4:35 PM
Closing remarks
Gemma Bradley
Senior reporter, WTR
4:35 PM-5:30 PM
Networking drinks reception
