Vox Populi Registry is just back from INTA16, the annual meeting of the International Trademark Association. Held in Orlando, Florida, it is the pre-eminent destination for anyone interested in intellectual property.
As the company that has brought .Sucks domain names to the internet, it is easy to see why that community would have an interest is us. Less obvious – and the reason we participated – is the ability our platform gives companies to enhance their brands.
The conference gave us the chance to meet as many IP lawyers in one place, at one time as is humanly (or should that be humanely?) possible. It also gave us time over the course of the four-day event, to make the case in detail. It didn’t hurt that .Sucks tee-shirts were a most significant draw!
Our trip to Florida marked our return to the event. It was last year, at INTA15 in San Diego that we had our coming out party. Scheduled right in the middle of the registry’s Sunrise period, where only those with registered trademarks could register .Sucks domain names, we were able to answer the list of questions made longer by a lack of information. We thought it a good idea to confront that. And, of course, be confronted.
It was not unusual last year for us to hear both the quiet criticism of people we had just met or suffer the charges loudly made by others as they passed by without stopping. Some of it was colorful. Some of it was alliterative. Still more of it was as much a call to action as a .Sucks domain name.
Our presence there then, the clarity and consistency of our business model, the performance of the registry in the year since and the willingness to return to INTA to mark our first anniversary all led to quite a bit different reaction.
No one leveled criminal charges (that happened last year), no one began a speech of condemnation hoping for a crowd to gather to join in and no one rushed by our booth shouting opprobrium.
All in, I’d have to say it was a great Spring Break trip.
