INTA, Networking, and Baseball
May 19, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
A ticket to the Mariners vs. Angels game last night. $58.75.
A cab ride from the Washington State Convention and Trade Center (WSCTC) area to Safeco Field. $10.
Teaching the rules of baseball to British INTA attendees, continuing a tradition of going to baseball games during the INTA Annual Meeting, and catching up with old friends...priceless.
When I decided to come to the INTA Annual Meeting as a blogger and member of the media, I checked the Mariners schedule. Yesterday, I wrote about the background of my baseball and INTA tradition at my media blog -- Television Archives: Our Television Heritage.
Luckily, the Mariners have a homestand coinciding with the conference. So, I bought a block of eight tickets. I took four and a friend took four. Between us, we invited four British attendees new to the game. What a pleasure it was for me to tell them about the beautiful, deep, and rich history of the game and see it through their eyes.
My passion for baseball history inspired me to tell them anecdotes, benchmarks, and turning points concerning the national pastime.
Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in 1947. The heartbreak felt in Brooklyn fifty years after the Dodgers bolted for Los Angeles. The fairly recent trend of corporations paying for naming rights of stadiums.
A quick explanation of the rules over dinner and brief reminders at the game were also in order.
My anticipation heightened during the week before INTA. I read a collection of Damon Runyon's articles from his sports writing days entitled Guys, Dolls, and Curveballs. I recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about the rich lineage of baseball.
One of my fellow Mets fans joined us at the game -- Jonathan Moskin of White & Case. This is the second time I've had the opportunity to see a baseball game with Jonathan with a legal conference as a backdrop. Jonathan co-chaired a USPTO Boot Camp conference I produced in Alexandria in September. The night before the conference, a group of the speakers and I enjoyed a Washington Nationals game.
Jonathan and I talked about The Trademark Reporter where he is a Senior Editor. Jonathan is looking for someone to write a law review type of article about trademarks and virtual worlds. Earlier in the morning, I attended the Trademarks in Virtual Worlds panel discussion, though the panel devoted precious little time to the subject and more time to revenue growth, copyright infringement cases, and companies using the virtual world technology to promote goods and services.
One trademark issue that arose from the panel and appears to be a central focus is the definition of 'use' in the concept of a virtual world. Jonathan emphasized this point as we watched Torii Hunter club a bases-loaded double to clear the bases in a five-run Angels fifth.
Instinctively, I volunteered to write the article. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith talks about an 'invisible hand' guiding the markets. Is there an 'invisible hand' guiding my INTA 2009 Annual Meeting experience? Read on.
At yesterday afternoon's INTA Press Reception, I met a lovely woman who is a reporter for Intellectual Asset Management. I learned about her experiences in sifting through the numerous press releases and marketing materials of law firms that pitch stories to her. I soon realized that she would be a terrific intellectual asset in her own right to a writing workshop that I am moderating at the 2010 INTA Annual Meeting. Pending approval from her boss, she will be on the panel.
In this new age where law firms have marketing plans, logos, and slogans, a media expert in the trenches who decides what stories get coverage will be a great complement to the lawyers in the trenches of courtroom battles, negotiating settlement agreements, and drafting briefs.
I didn't have to wait long to brief the person responsible for managing the 2010 workshops -- Brian Daniel of CRA. Brian was one of my invitees. I also had the pleasure of catching up with Brian and learning more about the intricacies, traditions, and unwritten rules of the home of his beloved Cubs -- Wrigley Field.
I briefed him on my potential new addition to the writing workshop panel that already features people I know, trust, and respect -- Kelly Slavitt, Trademark Counsel at General Electric and Bob Latham, Partner at Jackson Walker.
Bob and the Jackson Walker business development team brought me to the firm's Texas offices last year during this same pre-Memorial Day week to conduct my CLE writing workshop for the firm's associates. That wonderful experience inspired me to further develop Write This Way 2.0 as a CLE class to teach attorneys how to refine their written communications skills across the board -- briefs, contracts, memoranda, client communications.
Oh yeah, the Mariners lost to the Angels of Anaheim 10-6. Well, technically, they are the Angels of Los Angeles. It's all about the branding, isn't it?
david@davidkrell.com
A ticket to the Mariners vs. Angels game last night. $58.75.
A cab ride from the Washington State Convention and Trade Center (WSCTC) area to Safeco Field. $10.
Teaching the rules of baseball to British INTA attendees, continuing a tradition of going to baseball games during the INTA Annual Meeting, and catching up with old friends...priceless.
When I decided to come to the INTA Annual Meeting as a blogger and member of the media, I checked the Mariners schedule. Yesterday, I wrote about the background of my baseball and INTA tradition at my media blog -- Television Archives: Our Television Heritage.
Luckily, the Mariners have a homestand coinciding with the conference. So, I bought a block of eight tickets. I took four and a friend took four. Between us, we invited four British attendees new to the game. What a pleasure it was for me to tell them about the beautiful, deep, and rich history of the game and see it through their eyes.
My passion for baseball history inspired me to tell them anecdotes, benchmarks, and turning points concerning the national pastime.
Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in 1947. The heartbreak felt in Brooklyn fifty years after the Dodgers bolted for Los Angeles. The fairly recent trend of corporations paying for naming rights of stadiums.
A quick explanation of the rules over dinner and brief reminders at the game were also in order.
My anticipation heightened during the week before INTA. I read a collection of Damon Runyon's articles from his sports writing days entitled Guys, Dolls, and Curveballs. I recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about the rich lineage of baseball.
One of my fellow Mets fans joined us at the game -- Jonathan Moskin of White & Case. This is the second time I've had the opportunity to see a baseball game with Jonathan with a legal conference as a backdrop. Jonathan co-chaired a USPTO Boot Camp conference I produced in Alexandria in September. The night before the conference, a group of the speakers and I enjoyed a Washington Nationals game.
Jonathan and I talked about The Trademark Reporter where he is a Senior Editor. Jonathan is looking for someone to write a law review type of article about trademarks and virtual worlds. Earlier in the morning, I attended the Trademarks in Virtual Worlds panel discussion, though the panel devoted precious little time to the subject and more time to revenue growth, copyright infringement cases, and companies using the virtual world technology to promote goods and services.
One trademark issue that arose from the panel and appears to be a central focus is the definition of 'use' in the concept of a virtual world. Jonathan emphasized this point as we watched Torii Hunter club a bases-loaded double to clear the bases in a five-run Angels fifth.
Instinctively, I volunteered to write the article. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith talks about an 'invisible hand' guiding the markets. Is there an 'invisible hand' guiding my INTA 2009 Annual Meeting experience? Read on.
At yesterday afternoon's INTA Press Reception, I met a lovely woman who is a reporter for Intellectual Asset Management. I learned about her experiences in sifting through the numerous press releases and marketing materials of law firms that pitch stories to her. I soon realized that she would be a terrific intellectual asset in her own right to a writing workshop that I am moderating at the 2010 INTA Annual Meeting. Pending approval from her boss, she will be on the panel.
In this new age where law firms have marketing plans, logos, and slogans, a media expert in the trenches who decides what stories get coverage will be a great complement to the lawyers in the trenches of courtroom battles, negotiating settlement agreements, and drafting briefs.
I didn't have to wait long to brief the person responsible for managing the 2010 workshops -- Brian Daniel of CRA. Brian was one of my invitees. I also had the pleasure of catching up with Brian and learning more about the intricacies, traditions, and unwritten rules of the home of his beloved Cubs -- Wrigley Field.
I briefed him on my potential new addition to the writing workshop panel that already features people I know, trust, and respect -- Kelly Slavitt, Trademark Counsel at General Electric and Bob Latham, Partner at Jackson Walker.
Bob and the Jackson Walker business development team brought me to the firm's Texas offices last year during this same pre-Memorial Day week to conduct my CLE writing workshop for the firm's associates. That wonderful experience inspired me to further develop Write This Way 2.0 as a CLE class to teach attorneys how to refine their written communications skills across the board -- briefs, contracts, memoranda, client communications.
Oh yeah, the Mariners lost to the Angels of Anaheim 10-6. Well, technically, they are the Angels of Los Angeles. It's all about the branding, isn't it?