International protection

A trademark can be registered through the national procedure of registration by filing an application with the national patent office as well as through the international procedure by filing an application in accordance with the Madrid agreement and/or Madrid protocol on international registration of trademarks (the Madrid system).

The Madrid system allows trademark owners to obtain legal protection of trademarks under the simplified registration procedure in more than 80 countries around the world.
The application for international registration of a trademark under the Madrid system may be filed on the basis of the trademark that has been already registered in the Republic of Belarus, as well as on the basis of the application which has undergone the preliminary examination.

The advantages of the Madrid system

• There is no need to pay for the services of foreign patent attorneys and translators of all languages of other countries.
• There is no need to comply with the requirements for applications set by each member state.
• The average term of pendency of an application is 12-18 months. In case a national patent office of a given country does not issue a refusal to grant the protection during specified term, the international registration becomes valid in the territory of this country.
• The extension of the registration in all countries may be claimed on the basis of one application.
• After the application is filed, the applicant can specify other countries where the protection of trademark will be sought, submit any changes, conclude agreements on the transfer of rights to the international registration, either in all the specified countries or in the selected countries only.
• There is no need to pay the fees for filing of a trademark application in each country by contacting patent offices or patent attorneys of each state.

However, applicants should pay attention to one of the requirements to applications filed under the Madrid system. The international trademark registration becomes independent from the national registration after the expiration of five years from the date of filing of the international application.

This means that, prior to the expiration of the term of protection, the international protection of a trademark will be terminated or limited in the event of withdrawal of the national application, adoption of the final decision on full or partial refusal of registration, termination of national registration, invalidation of national registration in full or in part.

The selection of procedure for registration of a trademark abroad is not always as obvious as it might seem at a first glance, even taking into account all the advantages of the Madrid system
The registration of a trademark abroad requires an integrated approach and consideration of various factors. First of all, it is important to take into account special aspects of national legislation of the country where the protection of trademark will be sought.

Patent attorneys of our company will help you to choose the right strategy for obtaining legal protection of rights to trademarks abroad.