International Protection

Madrid Protocol

The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks is more commonly known as the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol is an international treaty that provides a centralised filing procedure for international applications that can be used to generate subsequent filings in any member state.

To be eligible to file an international application via the Madrid Protocol, you are required to have an existing Australian trade mark application or registration. The goods and/or services claimed in the international application must be identical to, or narrower than, the list of goods or services in the Australian application or registration and it is necessary to satisfy certain formality requirements.

It is important to know that while international applications via the Madrid Protocol avoid the need for filing separate trade mark applications in each country/member state, the International Registration is completely dependent on the Australian application or registration.

Community Trade Mark

A Community Trade Mark (CTM) enables an applicant to file a single application that covers the 28 Member States of the European Union, including Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latria, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK.

A CTM application is recommended when an owner is/will be using the trade mark in more than one of the member states of the European Union. Unlike an international registration via the Madrid Protocol, a corresponding Australian application or registration is not a requirement to file a CTM.

National Applications

A national trade mark application may be filed in any each country of interest, at any time. Wallington-Dummer partners with an extensive network of associates all around the world, to provide expert advice to suit your requirements.