The International Trademark Association (INTA) will welcome Mei-lan Stark as the 2014 president of the association and chair of its board of directors. As senior vice president, intellectual property at Fox Entertainment Group, Stark heads the intellectual property legal group, which is responsible for all trademark, copyright, domain name and patent work for all of the Fox Entertainment Group entities worldwide.

“I am honored to lead INTA in 2014, this is going to be an exciting year for the global trademark community,” said Stark. “Trademarks play such an important role in our lives. As shown in the 2013 Brand Report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, consumers rely on trademarks to shop with confidence. Globalization and the internet are enabling brands to reach more consumers in more places, and the need for legal protection of trademarks—for both brand owners and consumers—has never been greater. This year we will endeavor to enhance and expand our relationships with all stakeholders in IP, especially among governments and government agencies, trade associations, bar associations, and other external constituencies, so that the societal value of trademarks is understood far and wide.”

“In May we will host our first annual meeting in Asia, a strategically significant event for the association and what will surely be one of our most memorable meetings yet. Along with initiatives such as dedicated programming, new micro-sites and policy tours, this Annual Meeting will help us to strengthen relationships with governments, IP offices, organizations and trademark owners in this fast-developing region.”

“2014 will also be eventful year for the internet community. INTA will remain an active and thoughtful participant in ICANN, and continue to represent the interests of the trademark community as the rollout of the new gTLD program continues and expands.”

Stark joined Fox after spending several years with the Walt Disney Company where she was responsible for intellectual property matters for several Disney divisions, including Feature Animation, Buena Vista Pictures Marketing and Distribution, and Disney Consumer Products. She began her career as an intellectual property attorney at Kilpatrick Stockton following her graduation from Yale Law School.

Since 1997, Stark has served on a number of INTA committees, and first served on the board of directors in 2007. In 2011, she was the treasurer and chair of the finance committee of the board. She also chaired the 2008 INTA Advanced Trademark Symposium and was appointed by Anne Gundelfinger to serve on the INTA Task Force on Anti-IP Sentiment during Gundelfinger’s presidency. Last year, Stark served as vice president and as chair of the planning committee.

Also taking office as of January 12, 2014: J. Scott Evans, Adobe Systems (president elect); Gabrielle Olsson Skalin, Inter IKEA Holding Services (vice president); Russell Pangborn, Microsoft (vice president); Joseph Ferretti, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay (treasurer); Ronald Van Tuijl, JT International (secretary) and David Fleming, Brinks Gilson & Lione (counsel).