What is the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks? Review of the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks

Madrid International Trademark Registration refers to the trademark registration conducted among the member states of the Madrid Union in accordance with the provisions of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as the "Madrid Agreement") or the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as the "Madrid Protocol"). The international trademark registration usually refers to the Madrid International Trademark Registration. The "Madrid Union" refers to the special union for international trademark registration composed of countries or intergovernmental organizations to which the "Madrid Agreement" and the "Madrid Protocol" apply.

background

The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as the Madrid Agreement) was signed in 1891. It is an international treaty used to regulate and standardize international trademark registration. The Madrid System for International Registration of Marks was born. The Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as the Madrid Protocol), adopted at the Madrid Union Assembly in 1989, supplements and improves the agreement, making the Madrid System more flexible and operational. The Protocol came into force on December 1, 1995. The Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol together constitute the legal framework of the Madrid System, which is currently managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization, with French, English and Spanish as the working languages. The Special Union for the International Registration of Marks composed of countries or intergovernmental organizations to which the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol apply is called the "Madrid Union". As of 2021, the Madrid Union has a total of 108 contracting parties, covering 124 countries. my country joined the Madrid Agreement in 1989 and became a member of the Madrid Union; in 1995, it joined the Madrid Protocol and became one of the first contracting parties. Major economies in the world, including the United States, the European Union, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, and Switzerland, are also members of the Madrid Union.

Before the birth of the Madrid System, if a country wanted to register its trademark in another country, it could only register in a single country. The Madrid System has established a working model of a trademark registration transit station: if an applicant of a contracting party wants to apply for a trademark in another contracting party, he can directly submit an application to the domestic trademark authority based on the domestic registered trademark to extend the rights of the trademark to other contracting parties for protection. The member country where the applicant is located is the country of origin, and the trademark authority of the country of origin is the origin office. The domestic registered trademark is called the basic registration, and the application is called the territorial extension application. After the origin office conducts a written examination and a formal examination of the application, it submits the registration application to the executive body of the Madrid System, that is, the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization. After charging a certain fee (basic registration fee), the International Bureau conducts a formal examination of the application, registers the application in the International Registration Book, and issues the applicant an "International Registration Certificate" at the same time, indicating that the International Bureau has received and registered the application, and then transfers the application to one or more member countries or regions designated by the applicant, that is, the designated contracting parties. Finally, the designated contracting party conducts a substantive examination to decide whether the trademark can be registered in that country or region.

Contents of the Agreement

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References

• 1. Relevant provisions of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks: World Intellectual Property Organization website