The US Senate has passed the implementing legislation necessary
for the country to join the Madrid Protocol, according to the Legal
Media Group. The Protocol makes trade mark registration cheaper,
because applicants can have their mark protected in several
countries by simply filing one application with a single Office, in
one language, with one set of fees.
The Madrid Protocol, which was adopted in 1989 and has been in
force since 1st April 1996, introduced a system of international
trade mark registration administered by the International Bureau of
the World Intellectual Property (WIPO).
A single registration under the Madrid system produces the same
effects as an application for registration of the mark made in each
of the countries designated by the applicant.
If protection is not refused by the trade mark Office of a
designated country within a specified period (12 or 18 months), the
protection of the mark is the same as if it had been registered by
that Office.
The Madrid system also simplifies the subsequent management of
the mark by making it possible to record changes in ownership or
changes in the name or address of the owner. Also, registration can
be renewed a simple single procedural step with the International
Bureau of WIPO.
At present, 56 countries are members of the Protocol. It should
take effect in the US one year after the enactment of the
implementing legislation.
