madrid agreement concerning the international registration of marks

Effective timeliness

Place of signature Stockholm

Date of signing: 196707 14

Effective date 19890525

Content classification intellectual property rights

madrid agreement concerning the international registration of marks

Inscription [189 1 signed on April 4th, 19001month14th, revised in Brussels,19/kloc. 19251/revised in The Hague on June 6th,1revised in London on June 2nd, 934,1revised in Nice on June 5th, 957,1July, 967.

Chapter name agreement [establishment of special alliance; Apply to the International Bureau for trademark registration; Definition of country]

(1) The countries to which this Agreement applies shall form a special alliance for the international registration of trademarks.

(2) Nationals of any contracting state may apply for trademark registration to the International Bureau of Intellectual Property Rights (hereinafter referred to as the International Bureau) in the Convention for the Establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter referred to as the Organization) through the registration authority of the country of origin, so as to obtain the protection of trademarks used for goods or services in all other countries participating in this Agreement.

(3) The country of origin is a special union country, and the applicant has a real and effective business office in that country; If he does not have such a business office in a special ally, it is a special ally where he has a residence; If he has no domicile in the territory of the special union, but is a national of the country of the special union, he is his country of nationality. [According to Article 3 of the Paris Convention (granting certain categories of people the same treatment as nationals of the allied countries)]

Nationals of countries that do not participate in this Agreement may be treated equally with nationals of contracting States if they meet the conditions stipulated in Article 3 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in the Territory of the Special Alliance formed under this Agreement. [Contents of International Registration Application]

(1) Every application for international registration must be submitted in the format specified in the detailed rules; The registration authority of the country of origin of a trademark shall prove that the specific items in this application are consistent with those in the national registration book, and explain the date and number of the trademark applied for registration in the country of origin and the date of applying for international registration.

(2) The applicant shall state the goods or services that use the trademark requested for protection, and if possible, the corresponding categories according to the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services Registered with Trademarks. If the applicant does not specify, the international bureau shall classify the goods or services into the appropriate category of the classification. The description of the category made by the applicant shall be inspected by the International Bureau, which shall jointly conduct such inspection with the domestic registration authority. If the opinions of the domestic registration bureau and the international bureau are inconsistent, the opinions of the international bureau shall prevail.

(3) If the applicant requires that color be regarded as a distinctive feature of his trademark, he must:

(1) explain the actual situation, and submit a notice explaining the required color or color combination with the application;

(2) submit the color pattern of the trademark together with the application and attach it to the notice of the International Bureau. The number of copies of this design is specified in the detailed rules.

(4) The International Bureau shall immediately register the trademark filed in accordance with the provisions of Article 1. If the International Bureau receives the application within two months after applying for international registration in its own country, it shall indicate the date of applying for international registration in its own country. If no application is received within this time limit, the International Bureau shall register it according to the date of receipt of the application. The International Bureau shall immediately notify the relevant registration authorities of such registration. According to the specific items included in the registration application, the registered trademark shall be published in the periodicals published by the International Bureau. If the trademark contains graphic parts or special fonts, the detailed rules can determine whether it is necessary for the applicant to provide a printed version.

(5) Considering that the registered trademark is to be announced in each contracting state, each registration authority can receive some of the above publications and some books with reduced prices from the International Bureau free of charge according to the proportion of units specified in Article 16 (4) of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1). In all Contracting States, only such a declaration is required, and there is no need to require the applicant to make other declarations. ["geographical restrictions"]

(1) Any contracting state may notify the Director-General of the Organization (hereinafter referred to as "the Director-General") in writing at any time, and the protection obtained through international registration can only be extended to that country if the trademark owner explicitly requests it.

(2) Such notification shall take effect six months after the Director-General notifies other States Parties. [Require "territorial extension"]

(1) When requesting to extend the protection obtained through international registration to a country that uses the rights stipulated in Article 3 bis, it must be specifically mentioned in the application mentioned in Article 3 (1).

(2) Any territorial extension request made after international registration must be made through the registration authority of the country of origin in the format specified in the detailed rules. The International Bureau shall immediately register this request, notify the relevant registration authority immediately, and publish it in the periodicals published by the International Bureau. Such territorial extension shall take effect from the date of registration in the international register, and shall cease to take effect when the validity of the international registration of the relevant trademark expires. [Effectiveness of International Registration]

(1) As of the date of effective registration in the International Bureau according to Article 3 ter, a trademark shall be protected in each contracting state concerned as if it had been directly registered in that country. The description of the categories of goods and services stipulated in Article 3 shall not bind the Contracting States to determine the scope of trademark protection.

(2) Every internationally registered trademark shall enjoy the priority stipulated in Article 4 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property without going through all the formalities stipulated in Paragraph (4) of this Article. [Replace the original national registration with international registration]

(1) If a trademark has been registered in one or more contracting countries and then registered by the International Bureau in the name of the same owner or his successor, the international registration shall be regarded as replacing the original national registration, but the acquired rights based on such original registration shall not be damaged.

(2) The National Registration Office shall, upon request, register international registration in its register. [Refutation by the national registration authority]

(1) After the International Bureau notifies the national registration authority of the registration of a trademark or the request for extending protection according to Article 3, the registration authority authorized by the national law has the right to declare that the trademark cannot be protected within its territory. According to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, this refusal can only be based on the same reasons that apply to trademarks registered in China. However, it is not allowed to refuse protection on the grounds of registration, even if it is partially refused, only because it is not used in some limited categories or limited goods or services.

(2) The registration authorities of all countries wishing to exercise this right shall, within the time stipulated by their own laws, and not later than one year after the international registration of trademarks or the request for extension of protection according to Article 3 ter, send a notice of rejection to the International Bureau, together with an explanation of all the reasons.

(3) The International Bureau will forward a copy of the rebuttal statement of this notice to the registration authority and the trademark owner of the country of origin without delay, or, if the registration authority has indicated the agent of the trademark owner to the International Bureau, forward it to his agent. The parties concerned can get the same relief as if the trademark directly applied for registration in a country that refused to protect the trademark.

(4) At the request of any interested party, the International Bureau shall inform them of the reasons for rejecting the trademark.

(5) If the National Registration Office fails to notify the International Bureau of any temporary or final decision to reject the request for trademark registration or extension of protection within the above-mentioned maximum period of one year, it will lose the rights stipulated in paragraph (1) of this article as far as the trademark concerned is concerned.

(6) If the trademark owner is not given the opportunity to defend his rights in time, the competent authority shall not announce the revocation of the international trademark. The cancellation shall be notified to the International Bureau. [Documents proving the legality of using certain parts of a trademark]

The registration authority of each contracting state may stipulate that certification documents must be provided to prove the legality of the use of certain components of a trademark, such as arms, shields with arms, portraits, honorary titles, titles, trade names or other similar signs. These documents are exempt except those certified or certified by their countries. [Copies of items registered in the international register, advance inquiries and extracts from the international register]

(1) The International Bureau may issue a copy of the registered items of a specific trademark in the register to anyone who makes a request, but it shall charge a fee as stipulated in the detailed rules.

(2) The International Bureau can also handle the pre-inquiry of international trademarks for a fee.

(3) extracts from the international register required to be provided to a contracting state shall be exempted from all authentication. [Validity of international registration. Independence of international registration. Termination of protection in the country of origin]

(1) The trademark registration of the International Bureau is valid for 20 years and can be renewed according to the conditions stipulated in Article 7.

(2) After five years from the date of international registration, the registration has nothing to do with the national trademark originally registered in the country of origin, provided that the following provisions are met.

(3) If, within five years from the date of international registration, the national trademark originally registered in the country of origin according to Article 1 no longer enjoys legal protection in whole or in part, the protection obtained through international registration, whether it has been transferred or not, will no longer generate rights in whole or in part. This provision also applies to cases where legal protection is suspended due to litigation before the expiration of the five-year period.

(4) Where the trademark is revoked automatically or ex officio, the registration authority of the country of origin shall request the International Bureau to revoke the trademark, and the International Bureau shall revoke it. When a legal action occurs, the above-mentioned registration authority shall, according to its functions and powers or at the request of the plaintiff, send a copy of the complaint or other supporting documents that the action has started and the final judgment of the court to the International Bureau for registration in the international register. [Renewal of registration of the International Bureau]

(1) Any registration can be renewed for 20 years from the expiration of the previous period, and only the basic fee is required for renewal. If necessary, supplementary fees shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 (2).

(2) The renewal does not include any changes to the final pattern previously registered.

(3) According to the provisions of the Nice Protocol of1June 957 15 or this Protocol, the first renewal may include a description of the registered international classification.

(4) Six months before the expiration of the protection period, the International Bureau shall issue an informal notice to remind the trademark owner or his agent of the exact expiration date.

(5) A grace period of six months may be granted for the renewal of international registration, but a fine shall be imposed in accordance with the detailed rules. [Domestic expenses, international expenses, residual income distribution, surcharges and additional expenses]

(1) The registration authority of the country of origin may, for its own benefit, take the initiative to collect state fees from the trademark owners who apply for international registration or renewal.

(2) prepaid international fees for trademark registration in the International Bureau, including:

(1) basic fee;

(2) A surcharge will be charged for goods or services exceeding the third category of the applied trademark in the international classification;

(3) Additional fees shall be charged for the protection extension requirements specified in Article 3 ter.

(3) However, if the International Bureau has determined or disputed the number of categories of goods or services, the surcharge specified in Item (2) of Paragraph (2) may be delivered within the time limit specified in the Detailed Rules without affecting the registration date. If the applicant fails to pay the surcharge at the expiration of the above period, or the list of goods or services is not reduced to the required extent, the application for international registration is deemed to have been abandoned.

(4) In addition to the income specified in Item (2), Item (2) and Item (3), all kinds of internationally registered income, after deducting the funds required for the implementation of this Protocol, shall be equally distributed among the participating countries of this Protocol by the International Bureau. If a country does not ratify or accede to this Protocol when it comes into force, it will not have the right to share the extra income calculated according to the original Protocol applicable to it until it ratifies or accedes.

(5) The amount obtained from the surcharge specified in Item (2) of Paragraph (2) shall be distributed to the participating countries of this Protocol or the participating countries of Nice Protocol at the end of each year in proportion to the number of trademarks applied for protection by each country; For pre-screened countries, this figure should be multiplied by the coefficient determined by the detailed rules. If a country has not ratified or acceded to this Protocol when it comes into force, it shall not be entitled to the share calculated according to the Nice Protocol until such time.

(6) The amount of supplementary expenses stipulated in item (3) of paragraph (2) shall be distributed among countries exercising the rights stipulated in Article 3 bis according to the conditions in item (5). If a country has not ratified or acceded to this Protocol before its entry into force, it is not entitled to the share calculated according to the Nice Protocol before it does so. Waiver of rights in one or more countries

A person who has obtained international registration in his own name may, at any time, request to notify the International Bureau by submitting a declaration to the national registration authority to give up protection in one or more contracting States; Accordingly, the international bureau informs the countries that have given up protection. There is no charge for giving up. Changes in national registration will also affect international registration. On reducing the list of goods and services in international registration. This single item is increased. Substitution of this single item]

(1) The national registration office of a person who has obtained international registration in his own name shall also notify the International Bureau of all cancellations, revocations, waivers, transfers and other changes made in the national registration book, if these changes also affect international registration.

(2) The International Bureau shall register these changes in the international register, notify the registration authorities of the contracting States, and publish them in its publications.

(3) When a person who has obtained international registration in his own name requests to reduce the list of goods or services to which the registration applies, he shall go through similar procedures.

(4) Fees shall be paid for handling the above matters, and the fees shall be stipulated in the detailed rules.

(5) To add new commodities or services to the above-mentioned list of commodities or services in the future, a new application must be made in accordance with the provisions of Article 3.

(6) Replacing another commodity or service with one commodity or service shall be regarded as an addition. [International trademark transfer caused by the change of owner's country]

(1) When a trademark registered in the international register is transferred to a person of a contracting state, the contracting state is not the country where the person obtained the international registration in his own name, and the registration authority of that country may notify the International Bureau of the transfer. The International Bureau shall register the transfer, notify other registration authorities and publish it in magazines. If the transfer is made within five years after the international registration, the International Bureau shall obtain the consent of the registration authority of the country where the new owner belongs, and if possible, publish the registration date and registration number of the trademark in the country where the new owner belongs.

(2) If a trademark registered in the international registration book is transferred to a person who has no right to apply for an international trademark, it shall not be registered.

(3) When the assignment cannot be registered in the international register because the country of the new owner refuses to agree, or it cannot be registered because it has been transferred to a person who has no right to apply for international registration, the registration authority of the country of the original owner has the right to request the International Bureau to cancel the trademark in its register. [The transfer of international trademarks is only for certain registrations or goods and services, or only for certain contracting States. With regard to Article 6 quater of the Paris Convention (Assignment of Trademarks)]

(1) If the International Bureau has been notified to transfer only the international trademarks of some registered goods or services, the International Bureau shall register them in the register. Each contracting state has the right to refuse to recognize the validity of the transfer if the part of the goods or services transferred is similar to the part of the goods or services reserved for registration by the transferor.

(2) International trademarks are only transferred between one country and several contracting States, and the International Bureau should also register them.

(3) Under the above circumstances, if the owner's country changes and the international trademark is transferred within five years from the time of international registration, the registration authority of the country to which the new owner belongs shall recognize it according to the provisions of Article 9 bis.

(4) The implementation of the above provisions shall be bound by Article 6 quater of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. [Unified registration authorities in several Contracting States; Several States parties requested to be treated as one country]

(1) If several countries of this special alliance agree to unify their domestic trademark legislation, they may notify the Secretary:

(1) Replace the registered institutions in these countries with unified ones.

(2) All the previous provisions of this article shall be deemed to be applicable to a country if they are applicable to the whole territory of that country.

(2) This notification shall take effect six months after the Director-General notifies other States Parties. [Plenary meeting of this special alliance]

(1) (1) The Special Union shall establish a general assembly composed of countries that have ratified or acceded to this Protocol.

(2) Each government may have one representative, who may be assisted by a number of deputy representatives, advisers and experts.

(3) The expenses of the delegation shall be borne by the sending government, except for the travel expenses and subsistence allowance of one representative of each member state.

(2) (1) The functions of the General Assembly are:

1. Handle all matters related to the maintenance and development of the alliance and the implementation of this agreement;

2. Issue instructions to the International Bureau on preparing for the revision meeting, and in this regard, give due consideration to the opinions of the members of this Special Union who have not ratified or acceded to this Protocol;

3. Amend the detailed rules, including determining the fees mentioned in Article 8 (2) and other fees related to international registration;

4. To examine and approve the reports and activities of the Director-General on the Special Union, and give him necessary instructions on matters within the competence of the Union;

5. Decide on the plan of this special alliance, adopt the three-year budget and approve its final accounts;

6. Adopt the financial rules of this Special Union;

7. Establish necessary experts and working subcommittees to realize the purpose of this special alliance;

8. Decide which non-members of the Special Union and which intergovernmental and non-governmental international organizations may participate in the meeting as observers;

9. Adopt amendments to articles 10 to 13;

10. Take other appropriate actions to further realize the purpose of this special union;

1 1. Perform other appropriate duties according to this agreement.

(2) On matters related to other alliances managed by the Organization, the General Assembly will make a decision after hearing the suggestions of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(3) (1) Every member of the general assembly has the right to vote.

(2) Half of the members of the General Assembly shall constitute a quorum.

(3) Regardless of the provisions of item (2), at any meeting, if the number of countries present at the meeting is less than half of the members of the General Assembly, but reaches or exceeds one third, the General Assembly may make a resolution, but all such resolutions will take effect only if the following conditions are met, except the decision on its own procedures. The International Bureau shall notify the members of the General Assembly who are not present of the above-mentioned resolution, and invite them to vote or abstain in writing within three months from the date of notification. If, after the end of this period, the number of countries voting or abstaining in this way reaches the quorum lacking in the conference itself, the resolution will take effect as long as it still obtains the required majority.

(4) Except as provided in Article 13 (2), the resolution of the General Assembly requires two-thirds of the votes.

(5) Abstention shall not be regarded as voting.

(6) A delegate can only represent one country and vote in the name of one country.

(7) Non-members of this Special Alliance may be allowed to attend the meetings of the General Assembly as observers.

(4) (1) If there are no special circumstances, the regular meeting of the General Assembly will be held every three calendar years and convened by the Director-General. The time and place coincide with the time and place of the SCO General Assembly.

(2) At the request of a quarter of the members of the General Assembly, the Director-General shall convene a special meeting.

(3) The agenda of each meeting shall be prepared by the Director-General.

(5) The General Assembly shall formulate its own rules of procedure. [International Bureau]

(1) (1) The International Bureau handles international registration, performs relevant duties, and handles other administrative work related to this special union.

(2) In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare for the meetings of the General Assembly and provide the secretariat for the General Assembly and the expert subcommittees and working subcommittees that may be established by the General Assembly.

(3) The Director-General is the chief executive of the Special Alliance and represents the Special Alliance.

(2) The Director-General and any staff designated by him shall participate in all meetings of experts or working subcommittees established by the General Assembly without the right to vote. The Director-General or a staff member designated by him is the ex officio secretary of these institutions.

(3) (1) The International Bureau may, according to the instructions of the General Assembly, make preparations for the meeting to amend articles other than Articles 10 to 13 of this Agreement.

(2) The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental international organizations on the preparations for the revision meeting.

(3) The Director-General and his designated personnel may participate in the discussions of these meetings without the right to vote.

(4) The International Bureau shall perform other tasks assigned to it. [finance]

(1) (1) This special alliance needs a budget.

(2) The budget of the Special Union includes the income and expenditure of the Special Union itself, the contributions to the expenditure budgets of the various unions, and, where appropriate, the funds used for the budgets of the meetings of the member States of the Organization. (3) The funds used not exclusively for this special alliance but for one or more other alliances managed by this organization shall be regarded as the same expenses of all alliances. The share of this special alliance in this expenditure shall be calculated in proportion to the rights and interests of this special alliance.

(2) When formulating the budget of this special alliance, due consideration should be given to coordinating with the budgets of other alliances managed by this organization.

(3) The budget of the Special Union is financed by the following sources:

(1) international registration fees and other fees for other services related to this special alliance provided by the International Bureau;

(2) The selling price or royalty of the publications of the International Bureau related to this Special Union;

(3) Donations, bequests and subsidies;

(4) Rent, interest and other miscellaneous income.

(4) (1) The amount of fees mentioned in Article 8 (2) and other fees related to international registration shall be proposed by the Director-General and determined by the General Assembly.

(2) The provisions of these fees, together with the surcharges and supplementary fees mentioned in Article 8 (2) (2) and (3), shall enable the fees of this Special Union and the total income from other sources to at least cover the expenses of the International Bureau related to this Special Union.

(3) If the budget is not adopted before the start of the new financial year, the budget level of the previous year shall be maintained according to the provisions of the Financial Rules.

(5) The cost of other services provided by the International Bureau related to this Special Union shall be determined by the Director-General and reported to the General Assembly, except as stipulated in paragraph (4) (1).

(6) (1) This special alliance has working funds, which are made up of one-time contributions from all countries of this special alliance. If the fund is insufficient, the General Assembly may decide to increase it.

(2) The first payment made by each country to the above-mentioned fund or its share in the increase of the fund shall be calculated according to its share in the budget of the Paris Union for the protection of industrial property in the year when the fund was established or decided to increase the fund.

(3) The proportion and terms of payment shall be decided by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Director-General and after listening to the opinions of the Coordinating Committee of the Organization.

(4) As long as the General Assembly authorizes the use of the reserve fund of this special alliance as the working fund, the General Assembly may suspend the implementation of items (1), (2) and (3).

(7) (1) In the headquarters agreement reached with the country where the headquarters of the institution is located, it should be stipulated that when the working funds are insufficient, the host country will make advance payment. The amount and conditions of advance payment shall be separately agreed by the state and the organization according to the specific circumstances.

(2) The countries mentioned in the preceding paragraph (1) and the Organization have the right to cancel the agreement of giving advance payment by written notice. The notice of revocation shall take effect three years after the end of the notification year.

(8) The accounts shall be audited by one or more national or external auditors of the Special Union in accordance with the financial rules. Auditors shall be appointed by the General Assembly with its consent. [Amendments to Articles 10 to 13]

(1) A proposal to amend Articles 10, 11, 12 and this Article may be initiated by any member of the General Assembly or the Director-General. Such proposals shall be notified by the Director-General to the Member States of the General Conference at least six months before their consideration by the General Conference.

(2) Amendments to the provisions mentioned in paragraph (1) shall be adopted by the General Assembly. By requiring three-fourths of the votes, it requires four-fifths of the votes to amend Article 10 or this Article.

(3) Any amendment to the provisions stipulated in paragraph (1) shall take effect one month after it is adopted by the General Assembly and the Director-General receives the written acceptance notice sent by three-quarters of the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures. Amendments to the above articles are binding on all countries that were members of the General Assembly at the time of its entry into force or later became members of the General Assembly. [Ratification, accession and entry into force. Participation in early protocols; With regard to article 24 (Territorial) of the Paris Convention]

(1) Any member of this Special Union may ratify this Protocol after signing it; If you haven't signed up yet, you can join.

(2) (1) Any country that is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, except this Special Alliance, may join this Protocol and thus become a member of this Special Alliance.

(2) Once the International Bureau is informed that the country has joined this Protocol, it shall send a brief notice to the registration authority of that country on the basis of Article 3 of this Protocol.

(3) The notice itself shall ensure that these trademarks enjoy the above-mentioned benefits within the territory of the country, and indicate the start date of one year, during which the relevant registration authority may make the declaration specified in Article 5.

(4) However, when any such country joins this Agreement, it may declare that this Protocol is only applicable to trademarks registered after the entry into force of that country's accession, except for international trademarks that have been registered in the same country of that country and are still valid and recognized at the request of all parties concerned.

(5) After receiving such a statement, the International Bureau need not make the above summary notice. The International Bureau will only notify those trademarks that have received a detailed request to make use of the exception specified in Item (4) within one year from the date of the new country's accession.

(6) The International Bureau will not send a summary notice to countries that declare that they will make use of the rights stipulated in Article 3 bis when they join this Agreement. The country may also declare at the same time that this Protocol is only used for trademarks registered since the effective date of its accession; However, such restrictions shall not affect international trademarks registered in the same country in these countries, and may lead to the filing and notification of territorial extension requirements in accordance with Article 3 ter and Article 8 (2) (3).

(7) A trademark registered in the notice specified in this paragraph shall be deemed to have replaced the registration made directly to a new Contracting State before its accession takes effect.

(3) Instruments of ratification and accession shall be submitted to the Director-General.

(4) (1) For the first five countries that have deposited their instruments of ratification and accession, this Protocol shall enter into force three months after the deposit of the fifth document.

(2) For any other country, this Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date when the Director-General notifies that country of its instrument of ratification or accession, unless a later date is specified in the instrument of ratification or accession. In the latter case, this Protocol shall enter into force for that country on the date specified by it.

(5) Ratifying or acceding to this Protocol certainly means accepting all the provisions of this Protocol and enjoying all the benefits of this Protocol.

(6) After the entry into force of this Protocol, a country can only participate in the Nice Protocol of1June 957 15 at the same time when it ratifies or joins this Protocol. Joining the Nice Protocol before it, even if it is ratified or joined at the same time, is not allowed.

(7) The provisions of Article 24 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property shall apply to this Agreement. [Withdraw]

(1) This agreement is valid indefinitely.

(2) Any country may denounce this Protocol by notifying the Director-General. This withdrawal also constitutes withdrawal from all the original protocols, but only affects the country that notified it, and the agreement continues to be fully effective for other countries in this special alliance.

(3) Denunciation shall take effect one year after the Director General receives the notification.

(4) A country that has been a member of this Special Alliance for less than five years shall not exercise the right to withdraw from this Agreement as stipulated in this Article.

(5) If an international trademark registered on the effective date of denunciation is not rejected within the one-year period stipulated in Article 5, it shall continue to enjoy the same protection as that directly proposed in the denunciation country during the international protection period. [Application of previous protocols]

(1) (1) From the date when this Protocol comes into force for the member countries of this Special Union that have ratified or joined this Protocol, this Protocol replaces other texts of the Madrid Agreement of 189 1 year before this Protocol.

(2) However, any member of this Special Union that has ratified or acceded to this Protocol shall continue to be bound by the previous text in its relations with countries that have not ratified or acceded to this Protocol if it has not previously withdrawn from the previous text in accordance with Article 12 (4) of the Nice Protocol1June 957 15.

(2) Non-members of the Special Alliance who have participated in this Protocol shall apply this Protocol to the international registration with the International Bureau through the national competent authorities of any members of the Special Alliance who have not participated in this Protocol, and only say that such registration meets the requirements of this Protocol for these countries. For international registration with the International Bureau through the national competent authorities of non-members of this Special Union who have participated in this Protocol, these countries recognize that the above-mentioned members of this Special Union may require compliance with the provisions of the latest Protocol to which they are members. [Signature, language, security responsibility]

(1) (1) This Protocol is signed in French and kept by the Swiss government.

(2) The original texts in other languages designated by the General Assembly shall be determined by the Director-General after consultation with the governments concerned.

(2) This Protocol shall be open for signature in Stockholm until 1968 1 month 13.

(3) The Director-General shall send two copies of the original signature of this Protocol certified by the Swiss government to the governments of all countries of the Special Union and any other countries that request it.

(4) The Director-General shall register this Protocol with the United Nations Secretariat.

(5) The Director-General shall notify all countries of the Special Union of the deposit of signatures, instruments of ratification or accession, and any statements included in these documents, the entry into force of any provision of this Protocol, the notification of denunciation, and the notifications issued in accordance with Article 3 bis, Article 9 quater, Article 14, paragraph 7 and Article 15, paragraph 2. [Transitional clause]

(1) Before the first Director-General takes office, the International Bureau of the Organization or the Director-General mentioned in this Protocol shall be understood as the Union Bureau or its officials established for the protection of industrial property in Paris Convention, respectively.

(2) Within five years after the entry into force of the Convention establishing the Organization, members of this Special Alliance who have not ratified or acceded to this Protocol may, if they wish, exercise the rights stipulated in Articles 10 to 13 as if they were bound by these articles. Any country wishing to exercise this right may notify the Director-General in writing. This notice shall take effect as of the date of receipt. Before the expiration of the above-mentioned period, these countries will be regarded as members of the General Assembly.