The Philippines has joined a network of countries that facilitates multiple trademark registration by requiring only one application, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said in a statement yesterday.
IPOPHL said the country on April 25 became the 85th contracting party to the Madrid Protocol upon submission of the instrument of accession to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). President Benigno S.C. Aquino III signed the instrument of accession on March 27.
Under this system, a trademark owner may seek recognition among parties to the treaty by applying with the concerned agency of his country. “It simplifies the protection of marks outside the Philippines and reduces the cost of registration,” IPOPHL explained.
WIPO said on its Web site that if the trademark office of a foreign country does not reject such application within a given period, “protection of the mark is the same as if it had been registered by that office.”
IPOPHL said it will begin accepting applications filed via the Madrid Protocol on July 25.
John D. Forbes, legislative committee chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc., in an e-mail yesterday pointed to a statement by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines which said accession to the pact will “give foreign brands the incentive to invest in the Philippines by providing them with an efficient and transparent infrastructure to register their marks in the country.”
Guy Ledoux, head of the European Union’s delegation to the Philippines, said by phone accession will support “the local creative industry to expand globally.”
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Source: BusinessWorld, May 24, 2012
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