Madrid Agreement Concerning The International Registration Of Marks

Summary of Madrid Agreement Concerning The International Registration Of Marks

An international agreement under which the owner of a trademark or service mark can secure protection for his mark in all the states adhering to the convention by means of a single application. To enjoy protection under the convention, the applicant must be a national or resident of, or have a place of business in, one of the contracting states. After registering the mark in the national trademark office of that state, the applicant will apply through that office to the World Intellectual Property Organization (read this and related legal terms for further details) (WIPO) for an international registration. The applicant must submit all materials in French. WIPO will transmit the international application to the trademark offices of the various contracting states. Each state may reject the application, citing the reasons for such rejection, within one year of submission. In the event an application is rejected, the applicant is entitled to access to the courts, or to any remedies which would have been available had application been submitted for a national registration. In the absence of a formal rejection within one year, the mark is afforded protection by each state on the same basis as a local registration.

The registration must be renewed every twenty years. In addition, the cancellation of registration in the country where the mark was initially filed, within five years of such original filing, may serve to cancel the international filing as well.

The agreement was concluded at Madrid in 1891, and has been revised at Brussels (1900), Washington (1911), The Hague (1925), London (1934), Nice (1957), and Stockholm (1967). Participation is open to all states party to the Paris Convention For The Protection Of Industrial Property (read this and related legal terms for further details). In 1984, the following states were party to the agreement:

Algeria Italy

Austria – Hungary

Belgium Korea (North)

Czechoslovakia Liechtenstein

Egypt Luxembourg

France Monaco

German Democratic Morocco

Republic Netherlands

German Federal Republic Portugal

Romania San Marino Spain

T unisia U.S.S.R. Vietnam Yugoslavia. See also Trademark Registration Treaty.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)