Co-organized by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Circuit Seminar on Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks was recently held in Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province
At the seminar, experts and participants discussed four areas including but not limited to the Madrid System for Trademark Holders, international registration and its use and the experience on using the Madrid System. The Madrid system for the international registration of marks (the Madrid system) established in 1891. It is administered by the International Bureau of WIPO located in Geneva, Switzerland.
Thanks to the international procedural mechanism, the Madrid system offers trademark owners the possibility to have his trademark protected in several countries by simply filing one application directly with his own national or regional trademark office. An international mark so registered is equivalent to an application or a registration of the same mark effected directly in each of the countries designated by the applicant. If the trademark office of a designated country does not refuse protection within a specified period, the protection of the mark is the same as if it had been registered by that Office. The Madrid system also simplifies greatly the subsequent management of the mark, since it is possible to record subsequent changes or to renew the registration through a single procedural step.
