Madrid Protocol

The Madrid Protocol is part of the “Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks”. The Madrid System enables persons to register an international trademark. Before the Madrid Protocol came into effect on the 1st of April 1996, it was not possible to register an international trademark. The Madrid System makes registering a trademark or issuing a trademark application much more effective than it was before, when you had to register your trademark in literally every country you wanted it to be effective in.

The Madrid Protocol is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization that is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Madrid System, that included the Madrid Agreement, existed long before the Madrid Protocol came into effect in 1996. However, its attempt to make international trade-marking possible was not very successful for a very long time. This was mainly due to the lack of participation of important countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and many South American and Central American countries, as well as some Asian countries, notably Japan.

Writing 2007, however, the Madrid Protocol has 80 members. The United States became a member as well as Japan. In the United States, the resistance towards the Protocol has been firm. Partisan US Congress felt that the U.S. was being “pushed around” by Europe (Geneva) regarding the Madrid Protocol and its agreements. It took quite some time therefore before the US government was willing to accept Europe’s “trademark hegemony”. The Madrid Protocol was ratified during George W. Bush’s presidency. Read more about the Madrid Protocol at this very informative Madrid Protocol site.

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Trademark @ September 11, 2007