Workshop: Fashion’s Role In Politics, Diplomacy and Social Change – Leading Change or Mere Reflection?

Hosted by K&L Gates

This session will look at what role if any should fashion play in politics and how fashion has shaped political issues. The panel will consider:

• Fashion’s influence on diplomacy and bridging differences
• Queen Elizabeth’s inspiration and influence on fashion and sartorial diplomacy
• Jackie Kennedy’s fashion impact on diplomacy
• Vegan Leather and other non-animal options
• When and Why to Speak (BLM, Climate change, ESG, workers’ rights, etc.)?
• How Fit the Brand and Brand Values?

Susan Kayser, Partner, K&L Gates

Howard Feller, Founder, H Feller Enterprises LLC

Maura Kent, Vice President, New Business, Merchant Financial Group

Ryan Parley, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Neiman Marcus Group

Kristin Wells, Associate, K&L Gates LLP

Workshop: Protecting The Brand: People, Product, Partnerships, And Privacy 

Hosted by Greenberg Traurig 

In the competitive industry of luxury fashion and retail, brands must take a multi-faceted approach to protecting their business from the inside out, from trade secret matters amongst employees, to trademark protection and partnerships that drive revenue and enhance brands, to ensuring consumer information is protected at every level. All of these key business issues have critical legal considerations that are unique, but interconnected. This workshop will focus on key considerations for protecting and promoting your brand in today’s legal environment with your people, product, partnerships, and privacy. 

Candice Kim, Vice Chair, Global Trademark & Brand Management Practice, Greenberg Traurig

Courtney Noce, Co-Chair, Immigration & Compliance Practice, Greenberg Traurig 

Lily McNulty, Labor & Employment Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig

Workshop: Pervasive Design & Ownership Issues Within the Fashion Industry

Hosted by Epstein Drangel

This panel will touch upon some recent, trending issues facing fashion brands and designers, including: 1) the protection and enforcement of fabric designs, including best practices for creating and sourcing textile designs; and 2) IP ownership issues between designers, employers, manufacturers, and/or licensees.

Kerry Brownlee, Partner, Epstein Drangel LLP (moderator)

Sue Timney, Designer, Sue Timney Design

Cheval, Creator, Illustrator, and Chief Inspiration Officer

Jeni Sheaffer, General Counsel, Chantecaille Beaute Inc.,

Simon Bock,  Associate General Counsel, IP, Tommy Hilfiger 

Workshop: Luxury in the Metaverse: How to protect your brand’s experience

Hosted by Corsearch

The way we experience luxury retail and lifestyle is shifting from physical places and interactions to digital environments, driven by the emergence of new technologies and changing consumer behavior. Digital trends such as social gaming and NFTs are allowing the luxury sector to appeal to new demographics, and experts agree that the industry will benefit from the adoption of Metaverse technologies.

However, many luxury brands choose to enter these new platforms only to find out that infringers have already infiltrated them, undermining businesses’ strategies, exclusivity, and IP. In 2021, a luxury brand observed that one of their exclusive digital purses available as a collectible item on Roblox, a popular Metaverse-like social gaming platform, was re-sold for 350,000 Robux, or roughly 4,115 USD, by a platform user. This was 700x the original price (475 Robux). The brand then discovered that the most expensive item offered on the Roblox marketplace under their name was not genuine.

In this session, we’ll discuss the examples of successful Metaverse experiences, walk through the emerging trends and brand protection challenges posed, and share what brands can do to safeguard both their IP and customers.

Svetlana Ilnitskaya, Director of US Customer Strategy, Corsearch 

Workshop: It’s Not Always Golden in the Golden State – Navigating California Consumer Laws

Hosted by Steptoe

Home to the strictest consumer protection laws in the country, many first-of-their-kind laws, a zealous Plaintiff’s bar, and several task forces of public enforcers, California sets the “Golden State” standard for retail law compliance.  This session will discuss important California laws that every retailer should know about, regardless of where they do business.  Topics will include the ongoing wave of “deceptive pricing” litigation, which has targeted several luxury outlets, and the related new threat of mass arbitrations; the state’s suite of ESG laws that could provide fodder for litigation; and privacy class action trends under the CCPA and CIPA.

Stephanie Sheridan, Partner, Steptoe 

Meegan Brooks, Associate, Steptoe 

Workshop: Automotive Distribution & Retail in the Age of Electric Vehicles (EVs) 

Hosted by BFKN

This workshop discusses the rapidly evolving market for EVs and its effects on luxury vehicle distribution and retailing, including the ways in which legacy manufacturers and their independent dealer networks are meeting the rising competition from new market entrants, such as Tesla, who sell mostly online and directly to consumers. 

Owen Smith, Partner & Co-Chair, BFKN Motor Vehicle Group 

Andrew D. Koblenz, Executive Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, National Automobile Dealers Association 

Workshop: Artificial Intelligence: A legal update

Hosted by McCarthy Tétrault

Whether used to personalize luxury product recommendations and offerings, to enhance in-store experience, or to protect high-end brands against counterfeiting, AI-enhanced solutions are becoming evermore integrated into the luxury market sector. In parallel with the maturation of this deployment of AI, the regulatory framework for the responsible deployment of AI is also taking shape.  John Buyers and Charles Morgan, two leading AI regulatory experts who have collaborated on several AI-related publications, will provide insights not only on cutting edge use cases for AI solutions, but also on the concrete business implications of AI regulatory frameworks that are starting to take shape in both Europe and North America.

Charles Morgan, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault

John Buyers, Partner, Osborne Clarke

Workshop: Fashion’s Distinguishing Digital Assets: More Technologies Being Woven into the Fashion Scene through M&A 

Hosted by Linklaters

With competition in a crowded luxury market, how a brand personalizes with technological features and processes is paramount. What should acquisitive and barrier-breaking brands look for in digital tools to increase customer interaction, improve operations, payments and sustainability? Increasingly, the industry is embracing new technologies, such as Blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrencies, for supply chain security and payments, ESG purposes, exchange-good transactions, marketing and branding, transparency and to guarantee authentication of product origins and ownership. Because these technologies are outside of the core functions of many fashion houses, we will discuss considerations for developing these technologies in-house or acquiring tech specializations through M&A endeavors. 

Pierre-Emmanuel Perais, Partner in Linklaters’ Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions Group 

Joshua Ashley Klayman,  Co-Head of Global Tech Sector, U.S. Head of Fintech, and Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets, Linklaters