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Contents
1. What is a Madrid trademark?
2. What are the Member States of the Madrid Union?
3. What is the process of applying for a Madrid trademark?
4. How much does it cost to apply for a Madrid trademark?
5. Conclusion
1. What is a Madrid trademark?
Madrid international registration is divided into the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol, both of which are international trademark registrations through the international registration system, and the applicant's qualifications are limited to natural and legal persons who have a place of business or residence in the countries of the Special Union, and are eligible to apply for international trademark registration through the country of origin.
Under the Madrid Agreement, an applicant must obtain a basic trademark registration in the country of origin before applying for an international trademark registration. Under the Madrid Protocol, it is only necessary to have a basic trademark application to apply for the international registration of a trademark, which is the current commonly used international registration system.
2. What are the Member States of the Madrid Union?
Madrid trademark applications are based on the provisions of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol, and the applicant can register trademarks between the member states of the Madrid Union, which currently include:
Afghanistan, African Knowledge World Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Bhutan, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, North Korea, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Eswatini, European Union, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome, Principe, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
3. What is the process of applying for a Madrid trademark?
(1) Application stage
An applicant for the international registration of a trademark in Madrid must submit an application for the international registration of a trademark in Madrid to the trademark office of the country to which he or she belongs based on a domestic trademark application in his or her country of origin.
The contents of the trademark and the trademark owner in the international registration application must be exactly the same as in the domestic basic case, and the designated goods/services must also be the same or reduced.
A person who applies for a Madrid international registration on the basis of a domestic trademark application can only designate a member state of the Protocol and not a member state of the Agreement.
A person applying for a Madrid International Registration on the basis of a registered trademark in the country may designate a Member State of the Protocol and/or the Agreement.
(2) Formal examination stage
The national trademark office of origin shall check whether the application for international registration is the same as the national basic case, and if it is confirmed that the application for international registration is the same as the domestic basic case, the application will be forwarded to the International Bureau.
Upon receipt of the application, the International Bureau will conduct a formality examination and, once approved, the Member States designated for registration will be published and notified by the International Bureau.
If the examination is passed, the International Bureau will issue an international publication and issue an international trademark registration certificate approximately 3-5 months from the date of filing of the international application.
(3) Substantive examination stage
From the date of the notification of the international registration by the International Bureau, each designated Member State shall examine the application for international registration in accordance with its trademark law.
The international registration automatically takes effect in a Member State designated under the Madrid Agreement if it does not notify it of refusal within 12 months, or if a Member State designated under the Madrid Protocol does not do so within 18 months. If the applicant receives a notice of refusal, he or she may lodge an appeal with the competent authority or court of the State from which the notice of refusal was issued.
4. How much does it cost to apply for a Madrid trademark?
There are several types of fees required to apply for a Madrid trademark:
(1) Basic fee. (Non-color drawing: 653 Swiss francs; Color pattern: CHF 903)
(2) Supplementary fee: 100 Swiss francs for each designated Contracting Party designated, unless the designated Contracting Party has an "individual fee".
(3) Surcharge: In the case of a supplementary fee, if there are more than 3 classes of goods or services, an additional 100 Swiss francs for each additional class.
(4) For some Contracting Parties, "individual fees" are used in lieu of supplementary fees.
Applicants should confirm whether and how much individual fees are used in a Contracting Party by consulting the Schedule of Individual Fees for International Registrations under the Madrid System. (e.g. 897 Swiss francs for the first class of goods or services in the EU, 55 Swiss francs for the second class and 164 Swiss francs for each class from the third class onwards; CHF 249 for one class from China, with an additional CHF 125 for each additional class)
5. Conclusion
Taiwan is not a member of the Madrid Union, so Taiwan does not accept applications for international registration of Madrid trademarks designating Taiwan to protect its international trademarks. Therefore, if you want to apply for a Madrid trademark in Taiwan, you need to carefully plan, comprehensively study and use strategies to reach a decision. By understanding the application process and taking advantage of professional guidance when necessary, businesses can effectively protect their brand image and seize development opportunities in the business market.
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