Brazilian Senate approves adhesion to the Madrid Protocol
By Marta Garcia, Patent Technical Advisor
On May 22, 2019, the Brazilian Senate approved the Draft Legislative Decree No. 98/2019, which allows Brazil adhesion to the Madrid Protocol, the International Trademark System. The system is expected to start operating in October 2019 at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI).
Created in 1989 and in force since 1996, the Madrid Protocol is an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) established to create a centralized system of trademark protection for all the signatory states.
Through the Madrid Protocol, applicants can protect their trademarks in all member countries by filing a single application in one of the member countries. Procedures are uniform and the application can be filed in one of the three official languages – English, French or Spanish. However, the examination of the application follows the national legislation of each country.
The main advantages of the system are: the reduction of filing and management costs, the higher predictability in response time, the simplification of the whole procedure and the permanent monitoring for trademark management in all the countries where the trademark is registered.
Currently, 104 contracting parties are signatory to the Madrid Protocol. In Latin …
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Brazil Progresses Toward Joining the Madrid Protocol
by Moeller IP Advisors
The Madrid Protocol is an international treaty established to create a centralized system of trademark protection for all the signatory states.
Through the rules of the Madrid Protocol, applicants can protect their trademarks in all member countries: they just need to file a single application in one of the countries’ that are part of the treaty. Procedures are uniformed and the application can be filed in one of the three official languages – English, French or Spanish.
The Madrid Protocol is certainly the most time and cost-effective means of seeking trademark protection internationally. Currently, 100 countries are signatory to the Protocol: Colombia was the first South American country to join in 2012, followed suit by Mexico in the same year.
Some issues have been partially overcome
In November 2016, Brazilian Minister of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, Marcos Pereira, announced the intention to join the Madrid Protocol, during an official meeting with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. It was clear, however, that accession to the uniformed Madrid system, although certainly excellent news for all companies operating in Brazil, could prove to be challenging.
For this reason, it was anticipated that the accession would happen not before …
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