Now is the time to recognise in-house trademark excellence

Each year, the WTR Industry Awards and the WTR 300 offer a chance to recognise the top corporate leaders and departments across the trademark industry. 

Nominations are open for corporate trademark professionals who are:

• performing trademark-related duties to the highest standard;
• adding genuine value to their organisation’s commercial goals; and
• demonstrating qualities that set the benchmark for the wider profession.

WTR is also seeking submissions for trademark departments that are:

• protecting their companies’ brands with notable effectiveness;
• employing innovative or forward-thinking brand enforcement strategies; and/or
• navigating internal change with success, including rebrands or restructuring.

Access the nomination form here.

Multiple submissions can be made at once.

Nominations close on 19 December 2025. 

The shortlist for the Industry Awards will be released in Spring 2026, ahead of an awards ceremony in London later in the year.

Why it matters

Our nomination process comes at a time when pressures on corporate legal functions continue to mount. So taking a moment to recognise excellence is more than a formality – it can boost morale, provide internal visibility, and put a well-deserved spotlight on the industry’s very best. 

In-house trademark departments are operating in an increasingly challenging environment. Budget reductions, headcount constraints and increased scrutiny of legal spend are now common features across many industries. Teams are being asked to demonstrate strategic value in new ways, often while managing portfolios that grow in both scale and complexity.

On top of that, the remit of the trademark function is expanding, too. Practitioners who previously focused on prosecution or enforcement now collaborate more closely with colleagues in different areas, as the ‘trademark’ role becomes broader, faster-moving and, in some organisations, an essential part of corporate resilience.

Against this backdrop, industry recognition has taken on renewed importance.

In-house legal departments often struggle for internal visibility compared with customer-facing or revenue-generating teams. Therefore, external acknowledgement can support morale, retention and long-term career development – especially when daily successes are not always visible inside the organisation.

The WTR Industry Awards and the WTR 300 provide that platform. 

For many departments, our annual nominations process provides more than industry recognition, it can also showcase emerging skills, reward adaptive thinking, and highlight the increasingly strategic role that brand protection teams play in modern organisations. 

Indeed, in a landscape shaped by AI-driven challenges, global enforcement pressures and shifting corporate priorities, celebrating excellence can help signal what the profession values most.

Taking part requires only a few minutes, but the impact can be long lasting.

The nomination process is confidential. 

Nominations are restricted to in-house corporate teams and individuals. Any nominations for private practice or law firm professionals will not be considered.