1.25 Million Trade Mark Registrations

The WIPO Wire reports that the Madrid System has surpassed 1.25 million international trade mark registrations. The milestone was celebrated on 20 July 2015 in New Delhi. The Madrid System is a centralised filing and management procedure and provides trade mark applicants a convenient and cost-effective way to manage an international trade mark portfolio. Applicants file one application, in one language and pay one set of fees to protect their mark in up to 95 different countries worldwide. With India and Mexico joining the system recently (see our post here), potential trade mark applicants with an evolving international business should consider filing for a mark with the Madrid System. However, there is a skill in the filing of international applications and further considerations such as timescales and the vulnerability of ‘central attack’ (having the base mark in a home territory cancelled) should be considered, and Stobbs can provide detailed filing strategies to suit every client’s requirements. Stobbs can also advise on a brand owner’s international design portfolio, with the equivalent international system for designs (the Hague System) having recently been bolstered by the USA and Japan joining the system (see our post here). With brands of all sizes now capable of reaching a global audience, the ease at which any brand can obtain centralised international protection is indeed something to be celebrated.

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