NEW YORK - The International Trademark Association (INTA) announced in a press release Larisa Colton, Global Trademark Counsel, YUM! Brands, Inc., Plano, Texas, as a recipient of the Association’s 2019 Service Award for the Advancement of Association Objectives.
This newly established award is given to one or more individuals of an INTA member organization whose participation, efforts, and innovative thinking during the year have advanced substantive trademark and related intellectual property (IP) law and practice; committee or subcommittee objectives; or the strategic objectives of INTA.
Ms. Colton has been a tireless supporter of INTA for years, having been a member of the Board of Directors from 2005 to 2008 and currently serving on the Association’s Foundation Board. Recently, she was co-chair of the 2018 Presidential Task Force on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurs, whose work links to objectives set out in INTA’s strategic plan. “It requires a great deal of thought leadership to define the needs of SMEs globally and carve out the role that INTA can play to further support this important constituency. Ms. Colton embraced the challenge with commitment and quality, exemplifying the type of volunteer that helps propel the field and the Association forward,” said INTA President David Lossignol. In accepting the award, Ms. Colton said, “This award really reflects the hard work of the SME Task Force members and my co-chair Shwetasree Majumder. Advancing INTA’s strategic objective to better understand the unique challenges that SMEs face with respect to access to IP protection resources and beginning to understand how INTA can meet these challenges was an exciting and truly thought-provoking experience for all of us.”
Ms. Colton has a B.A. in Education and English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a J.D., Law from Suffolk University Law School. She previously worked as Senior Counsel for Pirkey Barber PLLC and as a Trademark Consultant for Brown-Forman. INTA presented Ms. Colton with the 2019 Service Award for the Advancement of Association Objectives on November 19 during the Association’s 2019 Leadership Meeting in Austin, Texas. The Association also presented the award to Latha Nair, Partner, K & S Partners, Gurgaon, India; Scott Phillips, Managing Director, Epsilon Economics, Chicago, Illinois; Daniela Rojas, Consultant, Pirkey Barber PLLC, Austin, Texas; and Joe Simone, Founder and Partner, SIPS Ltd., Hong Kong SAR, China.