Scams targeting trademark applicants, IP office innovation, dispatches from the INTA Annual Meeting and community fundraising efforts all feature prominently on the list of WTR’s list most read content in 2023.

Scrutinising the list of our most popular content, a number of free-to-view pieces – specifically those revealing the WTR Industry Awards 2023 shortlist, announcing the release of the 2023 WTR 1000, unveiling the Global IP Awards 2023 winners and detailing the launch of Docket Navigator’s TTAB data library – appear high up. Excluding these, though, the 20 most-read pieces of content produced by the WTR team in 2023 are as follows:

1. Manchester United crowned trademark world champions, as Erling Haaland obtains first marks
2. Demystifying IP valuation; influencer tips from Pepsico; fakes on Bugis Street – INTA 2023 day one report           
3. Tesla faces trademark obstacles for Cybertruck in Australia, Brazil and UK
4. Alarm as imitation USPTO website emerges, linked to suspicious filing platforms
5. INTA Annual Meeting 2023: WTR’s unofficial guide to Singapore
6. USPTO director urges “extreme caution” over buying trademarks online as new platforms rise in prominence
7. Innovation at the EUIPO: spotlight on digital tools and services
8. Innovation at the EUIPO: spotlight on public outreach and knowledge sharing
9. ‘The Banksy of trademarks is back’: controversial millionaire to exhibit at Vegas licensing expo
10. Brand market crash: industry giants suffer major declines as Amazon ranked world’s most valuable brand      
11. Award-winning in-housers answer four simple questions
12. WTR’s INTA highlights: remembering the 2023 Annual Meeting through 17 unofficial awards
13. Brand Action 2023: inside a trademark community effort to support people in times of crisis
14. In-house lawyers lend their support to Brand Action event in Singapore
15. “Artists stand no chance”: viral painter speaks out after takedowns from Hasbulla, Post Malone and Warner Bros
16. Innovation at the Singapore IP Office: spotlight on non-core tools and services
17. Spoofed: USPTO warns of fraudulent phone calls that impersonate agency staff
18. Brand protection at the Canadian border: insights and strategies from the front line
19. Anatomy of a solicitation scheme: victim speaks out on dubious tactics of low-cost filing platform
20. “We want to get more people involved”: Brand Action team unveils fundraising plans

Also featuring in the top 50 were a number of pieces based on insights from brand experts featured in WTR Global Leaders. That project draws on our market-leading research projects – the WTR 1000 and the WTR 300 – to bring together the world’s foremost law firm and corporate trademark experts, allowing the wider community to benefit from their insight, experience and perspectives. The five most-read Global Leaders insight pieces were:

1. Why tried and tested tactics will still protect brands in the metaverse – for now
2. Technology poses biggest threat to brands yet best hope against counterfeits
3. The growing need for an internationally harmonised approach to GIs
4. How to turn unprecedented USPTO pendency times into a win
5. The platform liability battle rages on: perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic

Over 392,300 unique users visited the WTR platform in 2023. Throughout the year, WTR subscribers had access to 837 pieces of news and analysis authored by our in-house team of specialist market experts, as well as 488 Legal Updates written by a panel of industry experts and 39 deep-dive Long Reads.

In addition, the WTR platform offered 84 Market Insight updates, an array of guides, global prosecution and litigation reviews, the latest WTR 1000 and WTR 300 rankings, a range of industry data, insight from our Panels Report series and four Special Reports.

In our data hub, we created three new resource centres, focused on IP office tools and services, and the physical and online marketplaces that need to be on enforcement radars (with guidance on how to combat counterfeits in these specific environments).

For the coming year, we have a number of exciting platform enhancements and new content offerings planned. As we head into 2024, though, I would like to send a heartfelt thanks to all our users for their continued support and trust. Throughout the coming year we will do all that we can to continue to deliver the analysis, data and insight that truly matters to brand professionals around the world.