Madrid System on the Rise!
April 14, 2016,
marked the quasquicentennial anniversary of the Madrid System of International Trademark
Registration, 125 years since its first governing treaty (the Madrid Agreement)
was adopted in Madrid on this day in 1891[1].
And for the first time in its history, International Trademark applications
crossed 50,000 in a single calendar year. An estimated 52,550 international
trademark applications were filed under the WIPO-administered Madrid System in
2016- a growth of 7.2% since 2015, and the fastest since 2010! The system has
continued to expand its geographical scope, with Brunei Darussalam being the
latest country to have been granted membership, bringing the total number of
members to 98. The Madrid System now encompasses an area covering 114 countries
in which a member may obtain protection for its trademark.
Asia - the Place to do Business
The most
dominant Asian country, which has seen a prominent spike in international
applications is China. Filing a total of 3200 international trademark
applications, China has jumped from ninth largest origin country in 2015 to
fourth in 2016, with an increase of 1300 international applications filed.
The total number of designations in International Trademark applications showed an increase of 6.2% from the previous year. On average, applicants designated around 7 Madrid members per international application filed in 2016, and almost two-thirds of all international applications filed designated up to 5. More Madrid applicants sought to obtain protection for their trademarks in Asia with China being 2016’s leading country designated in Madrid applications (a total of 22,444). India placed at No. 9, with a total of 11,263 international applications designating India as a territory for protection .
China was the
third largest designator in its international applications, and it is
interesting to note that after the US, the maximum number of designations for
India came from Chinese applications!
India also
received 644 subsequent designations from Madrid applicants seeking to expand
the range of protection for their marks. As an origin country also, India saw
growth, filing 171 international application in 2016, up from 152 in 2015.
Another popular
Asian country ranking among the top 10 designated countries was the Republic of
Korea (South Korea), with 11,271 designations, only slightly more than India. It
also featured as No. 15 on the list of the top 20 countries of origin for international
applications, thanks to its two major global companies - Samsung Electronics
and Hyundai Motor Company. The Republic of Korea obtained 1451 subsequent
designations from holders of international registrations, making it the fourth
largest recipient of subsequent designations.
Trademark Protection in a Digital World
The total number
of classes specified in international applications has grown steadily since
2000, corresponding to growth in number of applications. In 2016, over three-quarters
of all applications filed included up to 3 goods or service classes.
As has been the
trend for more than a decade, the majority of Madrid applications continued to
be in the research and technology sector, with Class 9 goods, which includes
computer hardware and software and other electrical or electronic apparatus of
a scientific nature, being the ones most specified. This is reflective of a
growth of 11.6% from 2015, and 9.4% of the total number of applications filed
in 2016. Class 9 was followed by Classes 35, 42 and 41 in popularity. Three out
of the six most specified classes are classes for services, and in fact, nearly
one-third of all classes specified in international applications filed in 2016
were for services, in keeping with the trend from 2000-2016 where between
26%-34% of all International Trademark applications have been in service
classes
Electronic
transmission to communicate with the International Bureau was introduced for
the first time in 1998, and up till 2014, only a little over half of all
applications were received via the electronic medium. In 2016, this has spiked
to a whopping 74.5%! A result of WIPO and the IB streamlining its online
application procedure to make it easier and more accessible for applicants to apply
through this method. To highlight its international accessibility and impact,
the bulk of international applications (81.6%) filed at the International
Bureau were in English, as compared with a meagre 15.8% in French, the original
working language of the Madrid System!
A promising step
towards widening the scope and accessibility of the Madrid System outside the
First World is the drop in average registration fees, recorded in 2016- 2.968
Swiss francs, as compared to 3.734 Swiss francs in 2008. And while the EU (via
the EUIPO) received the largest share of the total fees distributed to Madrid
members in 2016, developing nations such as Uzbekistan and Mexico are climbing
steadily, with India also receiving 0.8% (1,406,664 Swiss francs) of the total
registration fees collected in 2016
On average, holders
paid 2,968 Swiss francs per registration recorded in 2016, down from the peak
of 3,734 Swiss francs in 2008.
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Provisional Refusals to Trademark Protection by Member States
On the whole, issuance of provisional refusals fell by 1.7% in 2016, indicating greater facilitation to applicants looking to enter international markets, as well as increased familiarity and streamlining of Madrid System classification and procedure among both applicants and Member States. The US and the Republic of Korea led the pack in issuing provisional refusals, but India was not far behind, at No. 5, issuing a cumulative of 7,702 provisional refusals to international registrations
Conclusion
The statistics coming out of WIPO regarding Madrid System International filings are reflective of larger changes in global business and communication practices. The world is shrinking as the digital sphere expands, connecting everyone, no matter how far away through just a few clicks. The rise of goods and services catering to the needs of an ever more connected populace, and a marketplace transcending territorial boundaries poses its own set of challenges.
The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks serves as a solution to traders and businesses looking for a single, over-arching system of trademark protection, without having to painstakingly go through the individual registration procedures of each country. And for an inter-connected digital modern world, the Madrid System has achieved its purpose of being the most convenient as well as cost effective “one-stop shop” for garnering trademark protection. Towards this, the Madrid System itself is evolving to improve and enhance its utility by facilitating access to new and emerging markets. The WIPO website provides access to a host of Madrid System related electronic tools, portals and databases. Starting with electronic access to the International Register through the ROMARIN CD-ROM first released in 1992, E-Services – such as E-Renewal (since 2006), Madrid Real-Time Status (since 2010), Madrid Portfolio Manager (since 2012), and E-Subsequent Designation (since 2014) – have made it increasingly easy for users to track and manage their international trademark registrations.[2] These services have laid the groundwork for a new digital initiative, E-Madrid, focused on the delivery of an enhanced online experience for customers throughout the lifecycle of their mark.[3]
[2] Supra.
[3] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/madrid/en/mm_ld_wg_14_rt/mm_ld_wg_14_rt_ppt1_wipo.pdf , http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/services/, both accessed on July 6, 2017.
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