Washington, DC – The hot-button issue of protecting exhibitors from the increased number of fake, copied and unlicensed products being displayed at trade shows is a headline topic at the June 19 Exhibition & Convention Executives Forum (ECEF).
Joachim Schafer, managing director/executive vice president, Messe Dusseldorf GmbH, will give a presentation on how German show managers are taking steps to prevent a repeat of the high-profile police raids on more than 50 booths at this Spring’s CeBIT show in Hannover.
Patent protection has always been a concern for U.S. organizers. Photography is often restricted in the exhibit hall to prevent piracy of the latest designs. At the same time, the stakes for U.S. organizers don’t include the prospect of uniformed police entering the show floor, closing down booths and seizing the products of exhibitors suspected of patent infringement, as is the case under German law.
Schafer’s presentation, “Cops and Robbers: How German Trade Show Organizers Are Dealing with IPR and Copyright Issues,” will look at the steps German organizers have taken to prevent a repeat of the CeBIT drama while at the same time remaining strictly neutral in their treatment of their exhibitors.
Schafer is one of several high-level speakers who will address the ECEF audience. Other speakers include:
Greg Reid, chief marketing officer of YRC Worldwide, who is the keynote speaker. He will discuss the value of stand-alone corporate events and how “deviant leadership” principles can help exhibition producers keep their shows competitive with corporate events.
Glenn Hansen, president of BPA Worldwide, who will moderate a session on the effectiveness of marketing media. Speakers include: Gordon Hughes, president of American Business Media (ABM); Bob Liodice, president of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA); and Dr. Raymond Pettit, senior research consultant at the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF).
Galen Poss, president, Hanley-Wood Exhibitions, who will explain how he strengthened The Surfaces Show after eight of his ten largest exhibitors pulled out of the show within a ten-day period.
The invitation-only forum at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC is aimed at senior executives from show organizing companies or associations that produce one or more conventions or exhibitions annually. Sam Lippman, president and founder of Integrated Show Management & Marketing (ISM), the organizers of the conference, said 146 executives had pre-registered as of mid-April. Registration information is available at www.eceforum.com.
Reach Sam Lippman at (703) 979-4904 or slippman@comcast.net; Joachim Schafer at +49 (0) 2114 56001 or shaferj@messedusseldorf.de
