New countries to join the Madrid Protocol
The Madrid Protocol system provides for the international registration of trade marks by way of one application that can cover more than one country. The opportunity of having a single registration to cover a wide range of countries gives advantages in terms of both portfolio management and cost savings as opposed to a portfolio of independent national registrations.
At present, there are 86 countries which are party to the Madrid Protocol. However, New Zealand has now adopted new legislation to join the Madrid Protocol and it is anticipated that as of December 2012 it will be possible to designate New Zealand as part of a Madrid Protocol application.
Other countries soon to join the Madrid Protocol are India, in 2013, and possibly also Mexico. In 2015, Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand are all set to join the Madrid Protocol.
The joining of the above ten countries to the Madrid Protocol will mean that it will be possible to file a single trade mark application which designates 96 countries.
