International Intellectual Property Treaties | Part – 6

Madrid Agreement (Marks):

 

The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is governed by the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891, and the Protocol relating to that Agreement, concluded in 1989. The system makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that has effect in each of the designated Contracting Parties.

 

The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is governed by two treaties:

 

the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891 and revised at Brussels (1900), Washington (1911), The Hague (1925), London (1934), Nice (1957) and Stockholm (1967), and amended in 1979, and the Protocol relating to that Agreement, concluded in 1989, which aims to make the Madrid system more flexible and more compatible with the domestic legislation of certain countries or intergovernmental organizations that had not been able to accede to the Agreement.

States and organizations party to the Madrid system are collectively referred to as Contracting Parties.

 

The system makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that has effect in each of the designated Contracting Parties.

 

Who May Use the System?

 

An application for international registration (international application) may be filed only by a natural person or legal entity having a connection – through establishment, domicile or nationality – with a Contracting Party to the Agreement or the Protocol.

 

A mark may be the subject of an international application only if it has already been registered with the trademark office of the Contracting Party with which the applicant has the necessary connections (referred to as the office of origin). However, where all the designations are effected under the Protocol (see below), the international application may be based simply on an application for registration filed with the office of origin. An international application must be presented to the International Bureau of WIPO through the intermediary of the office of origin.

 

 The International Application

An application for international registration must designate one or more Contracting Parties in which protection is sought. Further designations can be effected subsequently. A Contracting Party may be designated only if it is party to the same treaty as the Contracting Party whose office is the office of origin. The latter cannot itself be designated in the international application.

 

The designation of a given Contracting Party is made either under the Agreement or the Protocol, depending on which treaty is common to the Contracting Parties concerned. If both Contracting Parties are party to the Agreement and the Protocol, the designation will be governed by the Protocol.

 

International applications can be filed in English, French or Spanish, irrespective of which treaty or treaties govern the application, unless the office of origin restricts that choice to one or two of these languages.

 

The filing of an international application is subject to the payment of a basic fee (which is reduced to 10 per cent of the prescribed amount for international applications filed by applicants whose country of origin is an LDC, in accordance with the list established by the United Nations), a supplementary fee for each class of goods and/or services beyond the first three classes, and a complementary fee for each Contracting Party designated. However, a Contracting Party to the Protocol may declare that, when it is designated under the Protocol, the complementary fee is replaced by an individual fee, whose amount is determined by the Contracting Party concerned but may not be higher than the amount that would be payable for the registration of a mark, at the national level, with its office.

 

International Registration

Once the International Bureau receives an international application, it carries out an examination for compliance with the requirements of the Agreement, the Protocol and their Common Regulations. This examination is restricted to formalities, including the classification and comprehensibility of the list of goods and/or services. If there are no irregularities in the application, the International Bureau records the mark in the International Register, publishes the international registration in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks (hereinafter referred to as “the Gazette”), and notifies it to each designated Contracting Party. Any matter of substance, such as whether the mark qualifies for protection or whether it is in conflict with a mark registered previously in a particular Contracting Party, is determined by that Contracting Party’s trademark office under the applicable domestic legislation. The Gazette is available in electronic form (e-Gazette) on the Madrid system website.

 

Statement of Grant of Protection or Refusal of Protection

The office of each designated Contracting Party shall issue a statement of grant of protection under Rule 18ter of the Common Regulations.

 

However, when designated Contracting Parties examine the international registration for compliance with their domestic legislation, and if some substantive provisions are not complied with, they have the right to refuse protection in their territory. Any such refusal, including an indication of the grounds on which it is based, must be communicated to the International Bureau, normally within 12 months from the date of notification. However, a Contracting Party to the Protocol may declare that, when it is designated under the Protocol, this time limit is extended to 18 months. That Contracting Party may also declare that a refusal based on an opposition may be communicated to the International Bureau even after the 18-month time limit.

 

The refusal is communicated to the holder of the registration or the holder’s representative before the International Bureau, recorded in the International Register and published in the Gazette. The procedure subsequent to a refusal (such as an appeal or a review) is carried out directly by the competent administration and/or court of the Contracting Party concerned and the holder, without the involvement of the International Bureau. The final decision concerning the refusal must, however, be communicated to the International Bureau, which records and publishes it.

 

Effects of an International Registration

The effects of an international registration in each designated Contracting Party are, from the date of the international registration, the same as if the mark had been deposited directly with the office of that Contracting Party. If no refusal is issued within the applicable time limit, or if a refusal originally notified by a Contracting Party is subsequently withdrawn, the protection of the mark is, from the date of the international registration, the same as if it had been registered by the office of that Contracting Party.

 

An international registration is effective for 10 years. It may be renewed for further periods of 10 years on payment of the prescribed fees.

 

Protection may be limited with regard to some or all of the goods or services or may be renounced with regard to some only of the designated Contracting Parties. An international registration may be transferred in relation to all or some of the designated Contracting Parties and all or some of the goods or services indicated.

 

Advantages of the Madrid System

The Madrid system offers several advantages for trademark owners. Instead of filing a separate national application in each country of interest, in several different languages, in accordance with different national or regional procedural rules and regulations and paying several different (and often higher) fees, an international registration may be obtained by simply filing one application with the International Bureau (through the office of the home country), in one language (English, French or Spanish) and paying one set of fees.

 

Similar advantages exist for maintaining and renewing a registration. Likewise, if the international registration is assigned to a third party, or is otherwise changed, such as a change in name and/or address, this may be recorded with effect for all designated Contracting Parties by means of a single procedural step.

 

To facilitate the work of the users of the Madrid system, the International Bureau publishes a Guide to the International Registration of Marks under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.

 

The Madrid Agreement and Protocol are open to any State party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). The two treaties are parallel and independent, and States may adhere to either or both of them. In addition, an intergovernmental organization that maintains its own office for the registration of marks may become party to the Protocol. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.

 

 

 

Madrid Protocol:

 

The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is governed by the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891, and the Protocol relating to that Agreement, concluded in 1989. The system makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that has effect in each of the designated Contracting Parties.

 

 

PCT:

 

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an “international” patent application. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. It may generally be filed with the national patent office of the Contracting State of which the applicant is a national or resident or, at the applicant’s option, with the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva.

 

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an “international” patent application. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. It may generally be filed with the national patent office of the Contracting State of which the applicant is a national or resident or, at the applicant’s option, with the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva.

 

If the applicant is a national or resident of a Contracting State party to the European Patent Convention, the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (Harare Protocol), the Bangui Agreement, or the Eurasian Patent Convention, the international application may also be filed with the European Patent Office (EPO), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) or the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO), respectively.

 

The Treaty regulates in detail the formal requirements with which international applications must comply.

 

Filing a PCT application has the effect of automatically designating all Contracting States bound by the PCT on the international filing date. The effect of the international application is the same in each designated State as if a national patent application had been filed with the national patent office of that State.

 

The international application is subjected to an international search. That search is carried out by one of the competent International Searching Authorities (ISA) under the PCT and results in an international search report, that is, a listing of the citations of published documents that might affect the patentability of the invention claimed in the international application. In addition, a preliminary and non-binding written opinion on whether the invention appears to meet patentability criteria in light of the search report results is also issued.

 

The international search report and written opinion are communicated to the applicant who, after evaluating their content, may decide to withdraw the application, in particular where the content of the report and opinion suggests that the granting of patents is unlikely, or the applicant may decide to amend the claims in the application.

 

If the international application is not withdrawn, it is published by the International Bureau, together with the international search report. The written opinion is not published at that time.

 

Before the expiration of 19 months from the priority date, the applicant has the option to request a Supplementary International Searching Authority (SISA) (an ISA willing to offer this service) to carry out an additional search of relevant documentation, specifically focusing on documents in the particular language in which that authority specializes. The goal of this additional search is to reduce the likelihood of further documents coming to light in the national phase that would make granting the patent unlikely.

 

An applicant that decides to continue with the international application with a view to obtaining national (or regional) patents can, in relation to most Contracting States, wait until the end of the thirtieth month from the priority date to commence the national procedure before each designated office by furnishing a translation (where necessary) of the application into the official language of that office, paying to it the necessary fees and acquiring the services of local patent agents.

 

If the applicant wishes to make amendments to the application – for example, in order to address documents identified in the search report and conclusions made in the written opinion – and to have the potential patentability of the “as-amended” application reviewed – an optional international preliminary examination may be requested. The result of the preliminary examination is an international preliminary report on patentability (IPRP Chapter II) which is prepared by one of the competent International Preliminary Examining Authorities (IPEA) under the PCT and which contains a preliminary and non-binding opinion on the patentability of the claimed invention. It provides the applicant with an even stronger basis on which to evaluate the chances of obtaining a patent and, if the report is favorable, a stronger basis on which to continue with the application before national and regional patent offices. If no international preliminary examination has been requested, the International Bureau establishes an international preliminary report on patentability (IPRP Chapter I) on the basis of the written opinion of the ISA and communicates this report to the designated offices.

 

The procedure under the PCT has great advantages for applicants, patent offices and the general public:

 

(i) applicants have up to 18 months more than if they had not used the PCT to reflect on the desirability of seeking protection in foreign countries, appoint local patent agents in each foreign country, prepare the necessary translations and pay national fees;

 

(ii) applicants can rest assured that, if their international application is in the form prescribed by the PCT, it cannot be rejected on formal grounds by any designated office during the national phase;

 

(iii) on the basis of the international search report and the written opinion, applicants can evaluate with reasonable probability the chances of their invention being patented;

 

(iv) applicants have the possibility, during the optional international preliminary examination, to amend the international application and thus put it in order before processing by the various patent offices;

 

(v) the search and examination work of patent offices can be considerably reduced or eliminated thanks to the international search report, the written opinion and, where applicable, the international preliminary report on patentability which are communicated to designated offices together with the international application;

 

(vi) since each international application is published with an international search report, third parties are in a better position to formulate a well-founded opinion about the potential patentability of the claimed invention; and

 

(vii) for applicants, international publication puts the world on notice of their applications, which can be an effective means of advertising and looking for potential licensees.

 

Ultimately, the PCT:

 

brings the world within reach;

postpones the major costs associated with international patent protection;

provides a strong basis for patenting decisions; and is used by the world’s major corporations, research institutions and universities in seeking international patent protection.

The PCT created a Union which has an Assembly. Every State party to the PCT is a member of the Assembly. Among the most important tasks of the Assembly are the amendment of the Regulations issued under the Treaty, the adoption of the biennial program and budget of the Union and the fixing of certain fees connected with the use of the PCT system.

 

The Assembly of the PCT Union has established a special measure to benefit (1) natural persons who are nationals of and reside in States with a per capita national income below US$3,000, or who are nationals of and reside in one of the States listed in the Schedule of Fees under the PCT Regulations, and (2) applicants, whether natural persons or not, who are nationals of and reside in States classified as LDCs by the United Nations. That benefit consists of a reduction of 90 per cent of certain fees under the Treaty.

 

Details concerning the PCT can be obtained by consulting the PCT website, the PCT Applicant’s Guide, published by WIPO in English and French (Chinese, German and Japanese editions, not published by WIPO, also exist) and the PCT Newsletter, published by WIPO in English.

 

The PCT was concluded in 1970, amended in 1979 and modified in 1984 and in 2001.

 

It is open to States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.

 

[1] The patent offices of Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, the United States of America, the European Patent Office and the Nordic Patent Institute act as International Searching Authorities under the PCT (status on January 1, 2013). Agreements enabling the offices of Chile, Egypt and India to act as ISAs have been signed; however, these offices have not yet commenced operations.

 

[2] The patent offices of Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, the United States of America, the European Patent Office and the Nordic Patent Institute act as International Preliminary Examining Authorities under the PCT (status on January 1, 2013). Agreements enabling the offices of Chile, Egypt and India to act as IPEAs have been signed; however, these offices have not yet commenced operations.

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