Madrid system


The Madrid system is the primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world. Its legal basis is the multilateral treaty Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks of 1891, as well as the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement.
The Madrid system provides a centrally administered system of obtaining a bundle of trademark registrations in separate jurisdictions. Registration through the Madrid system does not create a unified registration, as in the case of the European Union trade mark system; rather, it creates a bundle of national rights through an international registration able to be administered centrally. Madrid provides a mechanism for obtaining trademark protection in many countries around the world which is more effective than seeking protection separately in each individual country or jurisdiction of interest.
The Madrid Protocol system provides for the international registration of trade marks by way of one application that can cover more than one country. The opportunity of having a single registration to cover a wide range of countries gives advantages, both in terms of portfolio management and cost savings, as opposed to a portfolio of independent national registrations.
Madrid now permits the filing, registration and maintenance of trade mark rights in more than one jurisdiction, provided that the target jurisdiction is a party to the system. The Madrid system is administered by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. There are 90 countries part of the Madrid System.

History and development

The Madrid system comprises two treaties; the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, which was concluded in 1891, and entered into force in 1892, and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement, which came into operation on 1 April 1996. The Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol were adopted at diplomatic conferences held in Madrid, Spain.
The Madrid Agreement was originally intended to provide for an international registration system, but did not achieve this for two significant reasons:
Some of the large trading nations like the United States, Japan, and Canada, which have a large number of filings at the national level, did not join the Madrid Agreement due to another perceived flaw in the system: if the home registration upon which an international registration was based came under 'central attack', the international registration would be cancelled or limited to the same extent that the home registration was cancelled or limited.
During 1966 and 1967, attempts were made to address this issue by establishing a new treaty that would reflect the need of the times rather than the world of the 1890s when the agreement was adopted. This led to the drafting of the Trademark Registration Treaty which was adopted in Vienna in 1973, and entered into effect in 1980, with five contracting states, namely, Burkina Faso, Congo, Gabon, Soviet Union and Togo. In the absence of more accessions to the TRT and the low number of registrations since its inception, it was clear that the TRT was unlikely to supplant the Madrid Agreement.
As the realization of the introduction of a multi-jurisdictional European Community Trade Mark approached, the relevancy of the Madrid system came under scrutiny. Pressure increased on WIPO to maintain its relevance and strengthen the agreement by increasing membership, possibly through amendments. This culminated in the introduction of the Madrid Protocol, pursuant to which a CTM registration could be a 'foundation' or 'home' registration upon which an international registration could then be established. This mechanism is referred to as a "linking provision." The Protocol, after considerable lobbying efforts by WIPO, was signed by many countries, including most of the present members of the Madrid Agreement, and some countries that are members of the European Union, but were not members of the Madrid Agreement. The Protocol entered into force on December 1, 1995 and became operative on April 1, 1996.
Many countries have needed to modify or consider modifying their trademark laws in order to adhere to the Protocol, in addition to the modifications required by GATT-TRIPS/WTO.
In Europe, resistance to the Protocol was brought by trademark attorneys who were afraid of losing business because a Community Trade Mark application could be filed directly through the Madrid Protocol process.
In the United States, the proposal bogged down due to a trademark dispute between two businesses who were heavy campaign contributors to certain Congressmen, followed by a repeated reshuffling of the Senate due to elections and a subsequent defection of a Republican senator. The treaty was eventually ratified during the Presidency of George W. Bush.
Japan revised its trademark law with the official acceptance of the Nice Classification, as well as applications covering service using service marks. The members of the European Community have amended their laws to conform to the European Community Harmonization Directive. In recent years trademark laws in several other countries such as Malaysia, New Zealand and South Africa have also been amended to accommodate the changes.

Members

Adherence to the convention or the protocol includes membership of the "Madrid Union." As of June 2019 there are 104 members made out of 120 countries. The original treaty has 55 members, all of which are also party to the protocol. The term 'Madrid Union' can be used to describe those jurisdictions party to either the Agreement or the Protocol.
The primary reason the protocol—which has been in operation since 1996 and has 100 members — is more popular than the agreement — which has been in operation for more than 110 years and has 55 members—is that the protocol introduced a number of changes to the Madrid system which significantly enhanced its usefulness to trademark owners.
For example, under the protocol it is possible to obtain an international registration based on a pending trade mark application, so that a trade mark owner can effectively apply for international registration concurrently, or immediately after, filing an application in a member jurisdiction. By comparison, the agreement requires that the trade mark owner already holds an existing registration in a member jurisdiction, which may often take many months and sometimes years to obtain in the first place. In addition, the agreement does not provide the option to 'convert' international registrations which have been 'centrally attacked.'
Contracting PartyAgreementProtocol
Afghanistan2018
African Intellectual Property Organization 2015
Albania19952003
Algeria19722015
Antigua and Barbuda2000
Armenia19912000
Australia2001
Austria19091999
Azerbaijan19952007
Bahrain2005
Belarus19912002
Belgium 18921998
Bhutan20002000
Bosnia and Herzegovina19922009
Botswana2006
Brazil2019
Brunei Darussalam2017
Bulgaria19852001
Cambodia2015
Canada2019
China 19891995
Colombia2012
Croatia19912004
Cuba19891995
Cyprus20032003
Czech Republic19931996
Democratic People's Republic of Korea19801996
Denmark 1996
Egypt19522009
Estonia1998
Eswatini19981998
European Union 2004
Finland1996
France18921997
Gambia 2015
Georgia1998
Germany19221996
Ghana2008
Greece2000
Hungary19091997
Iceland1997
India2013
Indonesia2018
Iran 20032003
Ireland2001
Israel2010
Italy18942000
Japan2000
Kazakhstan19912010
Kenya19981998
Kyrgyzstan19912004
Lao People's Democratic Republic2016
Latvia19952000
Lesotho19991999
Liberia19952009
Liechtenstein19331998
Lithuania1997
Luxembourg 19241998
Madagascar2008
Malawi2018
Malaysia2019
Mexico2013
Monaco19561996
Mongolia19852001
Montenegro20062006
Morocco19171999
Mozambique19981998
Namibia20042004
Netherlands
18931998
New Zealand 2012
North Macedonia19912002
Norway1996
Oman2007
Philippines2012
Poland19911997
Portugal18931997
Republic of Korea2003
Republic of Moldova19911997
Romania19201998
Russian Federation19761997
Rwanda2013
Samoa2019
San Marino19602007
Sao Tome and Principe2008
Serbia19921998
Sierra Leone19971999
Singapore2000
Slovakia19931997
Slovenia19911998
Spain18921995
Sudan19842010
Sweden1995
Switzerland18921997
Syrian Arab Republic2004
Tajikistan19912011
Thailand2017
Tunisia2013
Turkey1999
Turkmenistan1999
Ukraine19912000
United Kingdom 1995
United States of America2003
Uzbekistan2006
Viet Nam19492006
Zambia2001
Zimbabwe2015

Advantages

The Madrid system provides a mechanism whereby a trademark owner who has an existing trademark application or registration in a member jurisdiction may obtain an 'international registration' for their trademark from the WIPO. The trademark owner may then extend the protection afforded to the international registration to one or more member jurisdictions, a process known as 'designation'. A useful feature of the Madrid system is that this protection may generally be extended to additional jurisdictions at any time, such that international trade mark protection can be extended to new jurisdictions which subsequently join Madrid, or to such other jurisdictions as the trade mark owner may choose.
In basic terms, the primary advantage of the Madrid system is that it allows a trademark owner to obtain trademark protection in any or all member states by filing one application in one jurisdiction with one set of fees, and make any changes and renew registration across all applicable jurisdictions through a single administrative process.

Disadvantages

One disadvantage of the Madrid system is that any refusal, withdrawal or cancellation of the basic application or basic registration within five years of the registration date of the international registration will lead to the refusal, withdrawal or cancellation of the international registration to the same extent. For example, if a basic application covers 'clothing, headgear and footwear,' and 'headgear' is then deleted from the basic application, 'headgear' will also be deleted from the international application. Therefore, the protection afforded by the international registration in each designated member jurisdiction will extend only to 'clothing and footwear.' If the basic application is rejected as a whole, the international registration would also be totally refused.
The process of attacking the basic application or basic registration for this purpose is generally known as 'central attack.' Under the Madrid Protocol, the effects of a successful central attack can be mitigated by transforming the international registration into a series of applications in each jurisdiction designated by the international registration, a process known as 'transformation.' Although transformation is an expensive option of last resort, the resulting applications will receive the registration date of the international registration as their filing date.
In 1997, less than half of a percent of international registrations were canceled as a result of central attack.
The cost savings which usually result from using the Madrid system may be negated by the requirement to use local agents in the applicable jurisdiction if any problems arise.

Developments since 2000

Two significant recent developments in international trademark law were the accession of the United States and the European Union to the Madrid Protocol on November 2, 2003, and October 1, 2004, respectively. With the addition of these jurisdictions to the protocol, most major trading jurisdictions have joined the Madrid system.
On 31 July 2015, Algeria deposited its instrument of accession and will accede to the Madrid Protocol on 31 October 2015. As Algeria was the last member of the Madrid system to adhere to the protocol, the protocol is now effective across the entire Madrid system.