One-third of the world’s applicants seeking trademark protection abroad use the Madrid trademark system, many of whom are small and medium-sized enterprises. So how to apply for international trademark registration in Madrid and what should you pay attention to?

How to apply for international trademark registration in Madrid?

As of August 2017, the Madrid Alliance*** has 99 parties, covering 115 countries. , the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, Switzerland and other major economies in the world are members of the Madrid Alliance. The application process for Madrid trademark international registration is as follows:

1. Applicant qualifications: Applicant qualifications: Applicants must have certain subject qualifications. Applicants should have a real and effective industrial and commercial business place in my country; or have a residence in my country; or have Chinese nationality. In addition, legal persons or natural persons in Taiwan Province can apply for international registration through the Trademark Office. However, legal persons or natural persons in the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions cannot currently apply for international registration through the Trademark Office.

2. Application conditions: The trademark applying for international registration can be a trademark that has been registered in my country, or a trademark that has applied for registration in my country and been accepted.

3. Processing methods: There are two ways to apply for Madrid trademark international registration through the Trademark Office:

(1) Entrust a nationally recognized trademark agency to handle the application.

(2) The applicant shall submit the application to the Trademark Office on his own.

4. Processing steps

Prepare the application documents → Submit the application documents to the International Registration Office of the Trademark Office → Pay the registration fee according to the provisions of the "Charge Notice" → Receive the international registration certificate

5. Acceptance agency

International Registration Office of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce

Address: No. 1, Chama South Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

6. Application materials

(1) Madrid trademark international registration application;

(2) Foreign language application (MM2 form) ;

(3) Documents proving the applicant’s qualifications, such as a copy of the business license, a copy of the residence certificate, a copy of the identity document, etc.;

(4) If an agent is entrusted, the applicant should Attached is a power of attorney;

(5) If the United States is designated, submit the MM18 form together.

Things to note when applying for international trademark registration in Madrid:

(1) Applications for international registration that specify the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other countries often receive examination opinions or opinions from these countries. The provisional rejection notice has caused certain losses in time and cost to Chinese applicants for international registration. The reason for the above problems is that when these countries joined the Madrid Union, they made reservations or declarations on certain provisions of the Madrid Agreement or the Protocol. When reviewing certain requirements for Madrid international registration applications, they mainly based on their own national regulations. Laws and Regulations.

Therefore, we specifically remind applicants to pay attention to the following when filling out the foreign language application form:

(1) Enterprise nature column: U.S. requirements must be filled in, CORPORATION, UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATION is acceptable, JOINTVENTURE or PATERNERSHIP, etc.

(2) Trademark translation column: Singapore requires that Chinese trademarks must translate Chinese characters one by one, and the entire trademark must also indicate whether it has meaning; the United States requires that the trademark have meaning and whether it represents a geographical name. Does it have special meaning in the product or service industry?

(3) Product column: The United States requires that the declaration of goods must comply with the requirements of its domestic "Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual," and the "Nice International Classification" commonly used in Madrid international registration. Just for reference. Japan and South Korea also have similar requirements. We recommend that applicants from countries designated the United States, Japan, and South Korea fill out 10(a) and 10(b) together when filling out the foreign language form (MM2 or MM3). Column 10(b) is for product restrictions in designated countries, that is, to delete or refine the product without exceeding the scope of the product.

For example: The United States does not accept "clothing", but does accept "clothing, namely shirts, sweaters, windbreakers, pants and sports coats."

(4) When specifying the United States, the MM18 form must be filled out. The Signature column in the MM18 form must be a personal signature, the Signatory'sName (Printed) column must print the pinyin of the signatory's name, and the Signatory'sTitle column must print the signatory's position. The date in the Dateofexecution(dd/mm/yyyy) column is filled in as day/month/year. For example, April 18, 2012 should be filled in as 18/04/2012. INFORMATIONREQUIREDBYTHEINTERNATIONALBUREAU must also be filled in together.

(2) The validity period of international registration is ten years, calculated from the date of international registration. After the validity period expires, if you want to continue to use it, you should renew the registration.

The above is what Biaomei has compiled for you on how to apply for Madrid trademark international registration and what to note. For more information about international trademark registration, international trademark transfer and other related knowledge, you are welcome to consult the intellectual property online customer service. Madrid Trademark International Trademark Registration Madrid Trademark Registration