New York-based, International Trademark Association (INTA) has announced Lara Kayode, an Intellectual Property (IP) attorney based in Lagos, Nigeria, as the recipient of the Association’s 2019 President’s Award.
Founded in 1878, INTA is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation.
“Lara Kayode is an exceptional leader, mentor, and team player, and is a truly exemplary INTA volunteer,” INTA President David Lossignol said. “Her passion and influence have proven instrumental in raising the profile of INTA and advancing trademark law in Africa and elsewhere.”
The President’s Award acknowledges the profound appreciation of the global trademark community to INTA members who, over the course of their career, have made a lasting impact on the Association and its mission.
In receiving the award, Lara Kayode said, “I believe my involvement at INTA is one of the reasons I describe myself as a citizen of the world. Winning the President’s Award is a real honour which my colleagues and I do not take for granted. It is absolutely humbling to think that out of so many member volunteers at INTA we made the mark.”
Lara Kayode, Founder and Managing Partner at O. Kayode and Co. has been practicing law since 1992. Volunteering at INTA for nearly 20 years, she has participated in various committees, contributing to advocacy and policy work, educational programs, and legal resources. She served on the Board of Directors from 2012 to 2015.
The award recipient has contributed to INTA’s anticounterfeiting efforts. For example, in 2010, while volunteering on the Anticounterfeiting Committee, Lara Kayode, together with fellow Committee member Uche Nwokocha, took the lead in organizing and hosting INTA’s first official anticounterfeiting program in Nigeria.
This successful roundtable policy dialogue was organized in cooperation with the Anti-Counterfeiting Collaboration of Nigeria and has led to ongoing collaboration between the two organizations.
Currently, Lara Kayode chairs INTA’s Unreal Campaign Committee, Asia and Africa Subcommittee. Under her leadership in the region, INTA’s consumer awareness initiative to educate young consumers about the importance of trademarks and brands, and the dangers of counterfeit products has seen exceptional growth—including a 172 percent increase in the number of students reached and a 67 percent increase in the number of events held.
In addition, she currently participates in an INTA Think Tank looking at the “Law Practice of the Future,” and last year she served on the Association’s Presidential Task Force on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurs.
Lara Kayode earned an LLB, Law from the University of Buckingham, a BL Law from Nigerian Law School, Lagos, and an LLM, Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary University of London.
This year, IP attorney Marion Heathcote, Principal, Davies Collison Cave, Sydney, Australia, also received the President’s Award.
INTA is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, and Washington, D.C., and representatives in Geneva and New Delhi. Members include more than 7,200 trademark owners, professionals, and academics from 187 countries, which benefit from the Association’s global trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network.
