我对中国知识产权的进步印象深刻——专访 INTA主席Tish Berard女士（双语版）

Ms. Berard：“如今，中国正经历着日新月异的变化，不得不说，我对中国在知识产权方面的进展印象深刻。如果你不在中国，你经常会听到一些知识产权在中国不受重视的言论，这远非实情。事实上，知识产权在中国有着非常重要的地位，单就品牌保护而言，中国政府便已经取得了重大进展。”

国际商标协会（INTA）第140届年会于2018年5月19日至23日在美国西雅图成功举行。在随后的采访中，Berard女士以折纸蝴蝶为喻，说明品牌专业人员可以选择从不同的角度看待事物，以创造积极的“蝴蝶效应”。

（The International Trademark Association (INTA) 140th Annual Meeting was successfully held in Seattle from May 19 to 23, 2018.  INTA’s 2018 President Tish Berard used vivid pictures and an origami butterfly as an analogy to explain that brand professionals can benefit from choosing to see things differently and by doing so, they can create a positive butterfly effect.）

Berard女士曾担任珠宝公司Hearts On Fire的副总裁兼总法律顾问，目前是Hearts On Fire的INTA指定人员。之前，她曾负责Hearts On Fire的所有法律事务，工作包括维护公司的大量国际商标组合以及负责知识产权执法。在2006年加入Hearts On Fire之前，Berard女士曾与位于美国马萨诸塞州波士顿市的Bodoff＆Slavitt LLP律师事务所合作，执行复杂的民事与破产法诉讼。更早之前，她还曾与总部设在美国亚利桑那州凤凰城的国际律师事务所Squire，Sanders＆Dempsey LLP共同从事知识产权法及诉讼业务。

（Ms. Berard was previously the vice president and general counsel for Hearts On Fire Company, LLC. and is currently serving as Hearts On Fire’s INTA designee. She was responsible for all legal matters of Hearts On Fire,including maintaining Hearts On Fire’s extensive international trademark portfolio and enforcing Hearts On Fire’s intellectual property rights.Prior to joining Hearts On Fire in 2006, Ms. Berard practiced complex civil litigation and bankruptcy law with Bod off & Slavitt LLP. in Boston,Massachusetts, before which she engaged in intellectual property law and litigation with international law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, LLP.based in Phoenix, Arizona.）

作为INTA官方中国媒体指定合作伙伴，《中国知识产权》杂志有幸在2018年年会期间采访了Tish Berard女士。她感谢《中国知识产权》杂志对她进行专访，让更多来自中国的IP专业人士了解INTA。她也表示，自己有很多精彩的故事等待与大家分享。

As one of INTA's Chinese media partners, China IP Magazine had the privilege of interviewing Ms. Tish Berard during the 2018 Annual Meeting. She had a lot of exciting stories to share with us.

中国知识产权杂志展位

China IP:从您的传记中，我们注意到您多年来一直是珠宝公司Hearts On Fire的副总裁兼总法律顾问。能跟我们分享一下您的工作经验吗？

（China IP: From your biography, we noticed that you have been the general counsel for Hearts On Fire Company for many years. Can you share with us your working experiences so far?）

Ms. Berard：我非常幸运能拥有各种不同的工作经历。在校期间，我在法学院学习过知识产权课程，也对它很感兴趣，但当时我并没有把知识产权作为未来的职业发展方向。起初，作为联邦法官，我曾多年负责刑事和民事事务。之后，我去了一家知识产权公司，这家公司的另一位合伙人主要负责专利事务，他希望我能够接管公司在商标领域的工作，这正符合我的兴趣。在那里，我第一次有机会参加了INTA年会。在年会上，我参加了所有的教育研讨会，并尽可能多地学习商标方面的专业知识。可以说，自1999年起，我便成为了INTA的忠实粉丝。此后我也做过其他一些与知识产权相关的职位，直至后来成为Hearts On Fire的品牌顾问及总法律顾问。幸运的是，在这个过程中，我能够始终专注于知识产权业务。”

Ms. Berard: I am very fortunate to have a wide variety of experiences. Istarted working for federal judges for criminal and civil matters for several years.Then I went on to a boutique intellectual property firm where one partner who mostly did patent works wanted me to take over the trademark area of practice. I thought that might be interesting. That was my first opportunity to come to INTA’s Annual Meeting. I was set to go to all the education seminars and to learn as much as possible about trademarks. I have been a very big fan of INTA ever since 1999. And then I moved on to some other IP positions, and later on became a brand counsel of Hearts On Fire. That eventually led me tobe the general counsel. But fortunately, I was still able to focus on intellectual property. I did actually take IP courses in law school, and thought it was very interesting, but did not think about IP as a career at that time.

China IP:此前您是Hearts On Fire的副总裁兼总法律顾问，目前您又担任Hearts On Fire的INTA指定人员。这两种职位的工作有什么区别？

China IP: Previously you were the vice president and general counsel for Hearts On Fire Company.Currently you serve as Hearts On Fire’s INTA designee. What are the differences?

Ms. Berard: 担任副总裁兼总法律顾问时，我负责处理公司的所有法律工作，包括知识产权、合同和破产问题。现在担任了INTA指定人员，我便成了一名独立的承包商，主要负责 INTA和Hearts On Fire之间的联络工作。如今，我非常荣幸能有机会成为INTA主席。INTA是一个非常棒的组织，我很想为它奉献最好的工作。今年我的工作重点就在我的主席职责上。

Ms. Berard: When I was the vice president and general counsel, I hand led all the legal work for the company, including IP but also the contract work, and bankruptcy issues. The opportunity arose to become INTA president, and I really wanted to do the best job I can for the organization because it is such an amazing organization. Fortunately now I can be an independent contractorand act as the INTA designee by serving as a liaison between INTA and Hearts On Fire. I am really focusing in on my presidential duties this year.

China IP:您是怎样成为INTA主席的？您在自己的主席年有哪些主要目标？

China IP: What makes you become the president of INTA? What is the key aim in your year of presidency?

Ms. Berard: 当我最初进入INTA时，我从未想过有一天自己会成为INTA主席。INTA会从所有的会员中选出主席，选拔标准包括领导技能、奉献精神、自主性等。幸运的是，一直以来，我都尽力参与INTA的各类活动，并自愿承担了很多工作，比如担任主持人和活动演讲者等，这是因为我想要尽力帮助INTA。显然，我的努力引起了协会的注意，随后就有人提名让我担任主席职位。我非常荣幸能被最终选中担任INTA主席，这是一个了不起的机会。直到坐上了主席的位置，我仍然感到这一切简直不可思议——这就像一个自我实现的预言：你为你的协会做得越多，你就越能发展你的个人技能、提升你的个人能力，这是一个双赢的过程。我也希望INTA选择我就是选择了一位优秀的主席——多年来，我已经学到了很多东西，也大大提升了我的个人技能。

Ms. Berard: When I entered INTA, I never thought that I would be the president one day. But I did really want to become involved in the organization.INTA selects its presidents among all its members. But it is a process by which individuals are selected based on the leadership skills they possess,dedication to the organization, their voluntarism, etc. I was fortunately able to volunteer for numerous opportunities, including serving as a moderator and speaker at events, because I wanted to help. Apparently that caught theattention of the Association, and someone nominated me to be the president.I was very fortunate to be selected. It has been an amazing opportunity. I still can’t believe it even when I am doing it right now. It was like a self-fulfilling prophecy because the more you do for your organization, the more you are able to develop your personal skills and build your own skillset. It was awin-win. INTA hopefully got a good president, and I learned so much and developed my personal skills.

中小企业是我今年重点关注的主题之一，这也与我的工作背景有关。我自己便来自一家中小企业，能够代表中小企业的利益和关切。我认为，在知识产权问题上，中小企业往往会因信息差距而受到损失。当企业家们创建中小企业时，他们虽有创意，但往往不会想到知识产权问题，而是忙于思考如何获得资本投资来开展业务。不幸的是，这给了一些行为不端者盗用其品牌或产品的机会。这些行为不端者通过制造假冒产品，或在自己的产品上使用他人的品牌名称，不劳而获地赚取不正当利益。等中小企业发现问题时，往往为时已晚，因为它们通常未能及早采取必要的措施来保护其知识产权。为了深入研究中小企业并保护他们的知识产权，今年，我任命了一个中小企业主席年任务小组，这个小组将审视中小企业现有的可用资源，探讨中小企业和企业家应采取哪些措施以保护其知识产权，填补INTA目前工作中的空白。基于这一小组的研究，今年11月，我们将向INTA董事会提交一份最终建议，供其审议、通过和实施。

SMEs are one of the key topics I am focusing on this year, largely because of my background. I was part of an SME, and we did actually represent SMEs.I wanted to take a deeper look at SMEs and protect their intellectual propert rights. So I appointed a Presidential Task Force on SMEs this year. The Task Force explores what steps SMEs and entrepreneurs should be taking to protecttheir IPR, because I think there is an informational gap. When a SME is created,it means somebody has a creative idea. They often don’t think of IP because they are so busy thinking about how to get started and how to attract capital investments to run the business. You know the things you need to focus on. Unfortunately, that leads to bad actors who might wrongfully take somebody else’s brandsor products. They want to take the advantage of the SME’s good will and may even make counterfeit products. Counterfeiters can do this by using the brand’s name on their own products, and they don'teven need to do the hard work on their own. By then it is too late because the SME did not take the necessary steps to protect its IP from the onset. The Task Force will look at the current resources and opportunities available for tomorrow’s SME to help protect their IPR, and help INTA to fill in the gaps that still exist. With the information and research from the Task Force, in November 2018,we will present the final recommendations to INTA’s Board of Directors for their consideration, adoption and implementation.

China IP:INTA在多年的发展过程中，是否遇到过什么挑战？您又将如何面对这些挑战？

China IP: Are there any challenges during INTA’s development and how will you face these challenges?

Ms. Berard: 挑战可以让我们有机会做更多事情，特别是在知识产权方面。举例而言，INTA一直希望确保世界各国家及地区间在商标保护和执法上的协调一致，这可以在全球贸易中给予品牌所有者更多的确定性，显然，这对所有人都有好处。世界正变得越来越小，每个人都有机会参与到全球贸易中，有鉴于此，促进全球商标保护和执法的协调一致，一直是INTA工作的重中之重，也是INTA所面临的一大挑战。品牌限制是INTA所面临的另一大挑战。品牌限制最初是政府为保护公共健康而制定的一种政策，它始于烟草行业，现在正在逐渐扩展到其他行业（如婴儿配方奶粉）中。 INTA认为，在品牌限制的问题上，政府需要采取明智的做法。假冒是与品牌限制有关的一个巨大问题。普通的商品包装很容易被伪造，伪造出的假冒产品则很可能含有损害人体的化学成分。据估计，到2022年，全球假冒和盗版商品的总价值可能达到2.8万亿美元，这显然是整个知识产权行业亟待解决的一个巨大问题，且超出了品牌所有者和政府官员的能力范畴。为了应对假冒和盗版问题，INTA将所有利益相关者联系起来进行集体对话。我认为这是一种非常好的做法，但是，INTA的工作还需要政府部门的更多了解与配合。截至目前，我们已经向世界各地的政府部门提交了共23份关于商品包装问题的意见书。

Ms. Berard: There are always opportunities to do more, especially in IP. INTA always wants to ensure harmonization, because increasing harmonization of laws can provide a kind of certainty for brand owners from one location to the next, e.g., from China, the United States, and Europe,etc. Harmonization provides a consistency for trademark protection and enforcement. As the world is getting smaller, that can be beneficial to everyone.Increasingly, everyone has a growing opportunity to do business all over the world. Harmonization is always a big priority. Brand restriction is another topic that INTA focuses on. Brand restriction starts out as an opportunity for a government to do something for public health. It began with tobacco. Now it is expanding to other products across industries like baby formula. INTA believes governments need to take an informed approach. Counterfeiting is obviously a huge problem related to brand restriction. A plain package is easy to counterfeit. Counterfeit products might have chemical elements that can harmthe consumer. It is estimated that the total value of counterfeit and pirated goods worldwide can reach to $2.8 trillion by 2022. It is obviously a huge problem for the IP industry. So it is really important that INTA connects and brings all the stakeholders together to solve these problems. Brand owners and government officials can’t do that by themselves. That requires bringing all the stakeholders together to be equally involved. I think INTA does a great job serving as the kind of organization that can bring all the stakeholders together to have a collective conversation. Hopefully we can do more to solve the counterfeiting problem. But I think governments need to hear more about what INTA is focusing on. Indeed, we have made 23 submissions to governments around the world on the issue of plain packaging.

China IP:请您介绍一下，INTA的2018-2021年战略计划有哪些重点？

China IP: In terms of INTA’s 2018–2021 strategic plan, could you please tell us about its priorities?

Ms. Berard: 我非常有幸能在我担任主席的这一年执行INTA的新战略计划，这是一个卓越而周密的战略计划。首先，新战略计划的主要目的之一是提升商标和品牌的价值。我认为这非常重要，因为每个人都需要知道品牌的内在价值。举例来说，人们每天都会去杂货店购物，在购物时，品牌显然将有助于消费者做出购买决定。如今，商标密集型产业为GDP、就业、贸易和全球经济都做出了巨大贡献，每个人都能从中受益。因此，提升品牌价值并帮助所有人理解这种价值，是INTA新战略计划中的重点之一。其次，我们也希望能借助品牌加强消费者的信任。品牌是公司与消费者就其产品质量进行沟通的媒介，能够确保消费者获得安全、优质的产品。当产品出现问题时，消费者也可以借助品牌找到公司方以解决问题，而假冒产品显然就无质量控制可言了。因此，借助品牌以加强消费者信任，能在日常生活中为消费者提供更多的安全信息，给予其知情选择的机会，这也是INTA新战略计划所乐见其成的。最后，拥抱创新和变革也是INTA新战略计划的一个重点事项。如今的世界变化很快，每天都有新的东西诞生，我们需要接受新事物、尝试找出使它们发挥作用的方法。创新是世界变革的方式，INTA将继续与会员们进行讨论，并帮助他们从知识产权的角度有效应对与利用创新技术（包括AI、VR、区块链等）做好准备。总的来说，站在创新面前，我们永远不应感到害怕，而要积极地将创新作为继续发展的良机。

Ms. Berard: I am very fortunate that INTA’s new strategic plan is being implemented this year during my year of presidency. It is a very good and thoughtful strategic plan. One of its main purposes is to promote the value oftrademarks and brands. I think that is very important because everyone needs to know the inherent value of brands. If they go to the grocery store everyday, they pick a brand. It helps consumers to make their purchasing decisions. Trademark-intensive industries contribute to the GDP, to jobs, to trade, and to the overall global economy. They are very valuable foreveryone. Thus, promoting the value of a brand and helping everyone understand that value are the priorities included in INTA’s strategic plan. We also want to reinforce consumer trust. Obviously brands are the vehicle through which companies communicate with consumers about the quality of their products. And consumers need to understand that the function of a brand is to protect them by ensuring that they get high quality and safe products. If something is wrong with the products, they can go back to the company and say, “Hi, I need yourhelp to remedy this.” If it is a counterfeit product, there is no opportunity to doso. There is no quality control on counterfeit products. So reinforcing consumer trust provides consumers with the opportunity to make safe and informed choices in their everyday life. Finally, embracing innovation and change is a key priority for INTA. The world is changing quickly, and there is always something new coming every day. We need to embrace these changes and try to figure out ways to make them work. Change is not going to stop. Innovation is just the way of the world. We have to continue the discussion with our members and help them prepare for these changes from an IP perspective. These include AI, VR, and even block chain. When new technologies arrive and companies and clients are prepared for innovation, they are not overwhelmed by them and can effectively face these challenges and changes. We need to be in front of innovation, not be afraid of it, and rather to embrace it as a great opportunity.

China IP:作为一名高级商标从业者，您能否给现在或将来要进入商标行业的人士提供一些建议？

China IP: As a senior trademark practitioner, could you give some advice to the people who are now in or will go into the trademark industry?

Ms. Berard: 我认为我能给出的最好的建议，就是为即将到来的令人兴奋的职业生涯做好准备。前面我曾提到，起初，我并没有打算从事商标工作，但一旦我进入这一行业，我便为之深深着迷了。品牌在日常生活中非常重要，品牌专业人员所要真正负责的，便是兑现品牌提供产品、保障质量的承诺。参与这个过程令人非常兴奋，因为它对于整个社会意义匪浅。此外我也认为，扩展社交网络和人脉是每个商标从业者都需要发展的技能。与你已经认识的朋友相处虽然容易，但离开自己的舒适区，接触更多的陌生人，你将会遇到很多有意思的人，这对一个人的职业生涯至关重要。当你在世界的某个角落遇到问题时，社交网络能帮助你快速联系那些能够为你提供帮助之人。在INTA，你能够认识很多宝贵的朋友。就我个人而言，我便在INTA结识了许多终生的朋友，即使有一天我退休了，这些友谊仍会延续。

Ms. Berard: I think the best advice I can give is to be ready for the exciting career that lies a head of them. Again as I mentioned, I wasn't planning for this career. Once I got in, I was hooked. There was no going back. Brands are so important in our everyday life, and brand professionals are really responsible for ensuring the promise to deliver the quality of products and process. They are protecting their trademarks. We are brand professionals. So it is very exciting to be part of the process, because it is very important in our society as a whole.Additionally, networking and expanding your network is a skill I think everyone needs to develop. The ability to reach out to people whom you don’t know and to move out of your comfort zones a little bit is critical. The relationships thatyou develop at INTA are invaluable. I have made life-long friends here at INTA,and those friendships will be there long after I retire from my profession. When you have an issue in another part of the world, the network you have cultivated allows you to contact someone you know there who can actually help you. You can call some of your friends and state simply, “I have this specific issue, howcan I handle it?” By starting with your friends, it is much easier. By networking and getting out of your comfort zone, you will meet a lot of amazing people.And it is so worthwhile.

China IP:您如何平衡忙碌的职业生涯和家庭生活？

China IP: How can you balance your busy career life and family life?

Ms. Berard: 在工作中，我会制作大量的工作表格，以实时追踪我所需要做的一切，这对我的高效工作起到了非常重要的作用。当然，我也得到了很多来自INTA员工的帮助，他们协助我完成INTA主席的角色和职责。家庭生活也需要花费很多的精力，对于经常出差的我来说，有一个善解人意的丈夫是很重要的。对于担任领导职位的女性而言，找到平衡职业生涯与家庭生活的办法是非常重要的。 幸运的是，我找到了这样的方法，我善于处理自己的工作，并能妥善应对工作与家庭生活中的种种挑战。

Ms. Berard: You just have to find a way to make it work. I found it. Making a lot of lists is very helpful. Keeping track of everything that I need to do is important. But I certainly have a lot of help from the INTA staff. The INTA staff help to navigate the roles and responsibilities of being the INTA President. You are not doing everything on your own. Of course, your family does need to help as well because you are gone quite a bit. Having a very understanding husband is very helpful. It is so important that women take on leadership positions and find ways to do it. Fortunately, we are good at what we do, and we can handle the challenges.

原标题：品牌是改变的驱动力——专访 INTA2018主席Tish Berard女士

来源：《中国知识产权》杂志总第137期