Starting from November 7th, 2017, the Madrid Protocol will formally welcome its 99th member, Thailand, thereby underlining the importance of this international trademark registration system in the business world.
In force since April 1996, the Madrid Protocol is a treaty administered by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). It was ratified by many countries and allows for trademark protection in 99 Member States.
The emergence of a need to centralize international registration is part of the evolution of trade and globalization. In order to acquire a certain attractiveness, the Madrid Union has been constantly evolving in order to conform to the specificities which emerged during the last century before founding the Madrid Protocol, and on which the international registration system for trademarks is largely based. Simplicity and economy are the decisive factors that have convinced 99 states to join.
Its expansion and success are due in particular to the simplicity of the registration application. It is sufficient to file a single international application with a member of the Madrid system’s national or regional intellectual property office and to pay only one set of fees for filing in the designated countries.
Now, companies and owners of trademark rights will easily be able to file their trademarks in Thailand, a market that is in full swing, especially since the adoption of a favorable and welcomed amendment in the field of intellectual property.
This is an opportunity to rethink protection strategies, especially in Asia, in high potential countries such as Thailand, China, Cambodia, Vietnam and recently Brunei.