The Madrid Protocols is essentially an international system of Trade mark Registration in various jurisdictions around the world. It provides a centralized administrative system for acquiring the registration of trademark in different jurisdictions. It is generally a more effective means and mechanism of trademark protection than any other resources in individual countries. The United Kingdom is a member of the Madrid Protocol. Apart from registration, it also permits the filing and maintenance of the trademarks and so is multipurpose in that sense. It is governed by the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.
Through the Madrid Protocols, a trademark owner can apply for international registration of the trademark provided that he/she holds an existing registration in a member jurisdiction. The protection can be extended to multiple jurisdictions at any time and the trademark owner can obtain trademark protection in all the member states from just one application. Moreover, renewals of the registration all come under one single administrative process.
But since everything has its pros and cons, Madrid Protocols has its dark side as well. If the basic registration is refused within five years of the registration date, then the international registration is subsequently cancelled too. Similarly, if any basic application is withdrawn or cancelled, whatever the reason may be, the international registration bears the same effects. A phenomenon known as central attack' may follow in which the basic application or basic registration is attacked. Although the effects of central attack can be neutralized to some extent by a process known as transformation' in which the international registration is converted into a series of applications in each jurisdiction, it is only used as a last resort.
The Madrid Protocol needs to be differentiated from a Community Trade Mark. In CTM, a unified right is created throughout the European Union by the application, whereas in MP, the registration of the application can be refused by any of the respective countries based on their national laws. A CTM is issued by the Office for Harmonization whereas a MP is issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Generally, the filing of a CTM takes longer than that of a MP. Under a CTM, an applicant can file for any goods and services he/she wishes whereas under a MP, the description of goods and services is restricted to those in the home application. Whereas a CTM does not require the existence of a home application, a MP requires so. The countries covered in a CTM are much less than those covered under the MP. United Kingdom is covered in both the categories.
So the Madrid Protocol effectively allows any Company to attain trademark protection in any of the member countries of the Madrid Protocol by filing just one application in any language. It may designate as many member states as it chooses. However, international registration of Trade mark Registration is susceptible to cancellation after a period of five years, as mentioned before, in each and every country where the mark has not been used. One can only apply for international registration if he/she is a citizen of one of the member countries of the Protocol.
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