Madrid trademark International registration

The Madrid Agreement for International Registration of Trade Marks, signed in Madrid on April 14, 1891 and effective in July 1892, An international agreement to simplify the registration of trademarks in other countries. The Madrid Agreement has been amended many times since it came into force. It is called the Madrid System of International Registration of Trademarks together with the Relevant Protocol of Madrid Agreement on International Registration of Trademarks signed in 1989 (referred to as Madrid Protocol).

China became a member of the Agreement on October 4, 1989. When China acceded to the Madrid Agreement on The International Registration of Trademarks (the Stockholm text amended in 1967 and amended in 1979), it made the following statement: "1. With regard to Article 3 bis, the protection obtained through international registration can only be extended to China if the trademark owner specifically applies for it; 2. Regarding Paragraph 4, Paragraph 2, Article 14: This Protocol shall apply only to marks registered after the entry into force of China. However, it shall not be in this case if the trademark has previously obtained the same domestic registration as the aforementioned trademark and is still valid, and can be recognized as an international trademark upon the request of the party concerned."

The Madrid Agreement protects trademarks and service marks. The main contents include the application, validity, renewal and fees of international trademark registration. The agreement provides that: International registration of trademarks program is a member of the accord national, or in the home or have a real and effective or member state of the national non members, first has place of business in their country or residence, or a member of the trademark registration, and then through the trademark agencies, to the world intellectual property organization in Geneva international bureau to apply for international registration of trademarks. If the application is approved, it will be published by the International Bureau and the member State concerned for which the applicant has requested protection will be notified. The member states may declare that the trademark is not protected within one year, but must explain why; The applicant may appeal to the competent authority or the courts of the country. Any person who does not file a declaration of rejection with the International Bureau within one year shall be deemed to have approved the registration of the trademark. Trademarks registered by the International Bureau are valid for 20 years and may be renewed as many times as possible. The agreement facilitates the acquisition by nationals of its member states of trademark registration in other member States of the Agreement.

List of Madrid members:

The advantage of Madrid trademark international registration: ● procedures more simple -- save trouble

At present, more than 83 countries and regions have joined the Madrid Agreement on The International Registration of Trademarks and its Protocol, including all western industrial powers except Canada. through

All of these countries can be designated in a single application form, which is much more convenient than country-by-country (each country has to fill out a different application form). In the application

The convenience is also reflected in the payment of fees. The applicant can pay the fees in RMB to the competent authority of the original bureau or directly to the International Bureau in Swiss francs, eliminating the need for country-by-country payment

The hassle of having to make separate foreign currency payments to different countries.

● Better cost -- Save money

The cost of trademark Madrid international registration includes three parts: one is the basic registration fee, the second is the cost of the designated country, the third is the cost of the national trademark authority. Applicants for international registration are available at

If one or more member states are designated in an application for trademark protection, no matter one member state is designated or all member states are designated, the applicant for international trademark registration only needs to pay

A basic registration fee, so the more countries specified the better. Based on the current exchange rate of the Swiss franc (1 Franc equals 6.6 yuan), category 1 designates all 83 countries

The cost is less than 100,000 RMB, which is lower than the domestic registration fee. The overall cost is 11 to 12 times less than the estimated cost of applying for registration through national channels.

● Save time -- Save time

From the date of submitting the application for international trademark registration to the Trademark Office, the applicant can obtain the certificate of international trademark registration issued by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in about 6 months

The international registration number and international registration date of the trademark shall be indicated. Of course, the international registration certificate of the trademark merely indicates that the International registration application has been received by the International Bureau and has been examined to meet the requirements of the International Bureau

Or the application may soon be submitted to the designated States for review.

The registration of the trademark in the designated countries shall be subject to the examination of the designated countries, starting from the date of international registration, if no agreement has been received within 12 months or no agreement has been received within 18 months

A notice of rejection from the ratifying State indicating that the trademark is automatically protected in the agreed or agreed State, and for countries where the actual review period is very long,

Such a provision greatly reduces the waiting time for applicants to obtain trademark registration protection in that country. For example, Italy, if the country to separate trademark registration application, under normal circumstances to obtain business

Mark the time of registration is about 3 ~ 4 years, and through the Madrid international registration system, from the application to obtain the trademark international registration certificate, and then to Italy according to the provisions can spend the examination period, all the time

The total time is not more than 20 months, which is much shorter than the time required for individual registration.

Deficiencies in international registration of Trademarks in Madrid:

● Limitations of the state

So far, the Madrid union has 83 members. That is to say, international trademark registration can only be protected in the 83 contracting states, and not in countries outside the contracting states

This means goes to those countries to apply for trademark registration. For example, Hong Kong, Macau, India, Indonesia, Thailand and others are not members of the Madrid Union.

● Preconditions are required

Through the "Madrid" trademark international registration for trademark international registration, basic registration or basic application is a prerequisite, that is to say, to carry out international registration of trademarks through Madrid, must

Must have been registered or applied for in their home country.

● Priority under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property cannot be enjoyed if the target country is an agreement state

The Madrid Agreement requires basic registration, which generally takes more than a year to complete, let alone six months. If we wait until the basic registration is complete,

We're way past the six-month priority period.

●" Central strike "principle

According to the provisions of the Madrid Agreement, the protection of the international registration is complete if the trademark has been completely or partially protected by law in the country of origin for five years from the date of the international registration

Or part no longer gives rise to rights, regardless of whether the international registration of the mark has been transferred, a provision known as "central strike".

Instructions for international Registration of Madrid Trademarks:

1, description,

There are two ways for the applicant to apply for trademark registration abroad: one is to register one country by country, that is, to apply for registration to the trademark authority of each country respectively; One is the International registration of Trademarks in Madrid, namely, according to the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Trademarks (hereinafter referred to as the "Madrid Agreement") or the relevant protocol of the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Trademarks (hereinafter referred to as the "Madrid Protocol"), the trademark registration between the member states of the Madrid Union. We usually say the trademark international registration, refers to the Madrid trademark international registration.

"Madrid Union" means the special union for the international registration of trademarks formed by the states or intergovernmental organizations to which the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol apply. The Madrid union has 83 members, or parties.

2. Documents to be prepared for the application for international registration of Madrid trademark

Where a trademark agency is entrusted to handle the application for international registration of Madrid trademarks, the following documents shall be submitted to the trademark agency:

(1) the trademark agency power of attorney signed or sealed by the applicant;

(2) Copy of domestic Trademark Registration Certificate, or copy of Acceptance Notice;

③ Two trademark drawings. If it is a color trademark, two color trademark drawings shall be attached;

④ List of Countries of Contracting Parties designated for protection.

3. Relevant requirements:

① The applicant must have certain subject qualifications. The applicant should have a real and effective business office in China; If not, they shall have domicile in our country; If there is no domicile, the applicant should be of Chinese nationality. The nationals of non-madrid union member countries, if they have their joint ventures or wholly owned enterprises in China, can apply for international registration through the Trademark Office. In addition, legal persons or natural persons in Taiwan Province can apply for international registration through the Trademark Office;

② To apply for international registration of a trademark, certain trademark registration application procedures must have been started in China. If the country designated by the applicant for protection is a member of the Madrid Agreement, the trademark applying for international registration must have been registered in China. If the country designated by the applicant for protection is a pure member of the Madrid Protocol, the trademark applying for international registration can be a trademark that has been applied for registration in China, or a trademark that has been registered or applied for registration.

③ The application for international registration shall be consistent with the content of national basic registration or basic application. The name of the international registration applicant should be exactly the same as that of the domestic applicant or registrant; The trademark shall be identical with that registered in China; The goods and services reported should be the same as those registered in China or not exceed the scope of goods and services applied for or registered in China. If the domestic application or registration is for the same trademark in different classes of goods or services, an application for international registration can be submitted when applying for international registration, and the different classes of goods or services reported in the domestic application can be filled in the international registration application according to the class order;

④ Meet certain conditions can claim priority. When applying for international registration, if the interval between the applicant and the domestic trademark registration application is less than six months, the applicant may claim priority when applying for international registration, but the copy of the Domestic Notice of Acceptance shall be provided.