The Philippines Accedes to The Madrid Protocol

The Philippines recently became the 85^th country to join the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, better known as the Madrid Protocol. Local companies looking to enter into the global market can now look forward to reduced cost and time spent on their international trademark filing activities as they need only to file a single trademark application in one language using one currency to obtain protection in several member countries.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) expects a higher number of trademark applications from local business owners when the Madrid Protocol enters into force and international applications under the Protocol are accepted on 25 July 2012.

Director General of the Intellectual Property Office, Ricardo Blancaflor, said “Registration of trademarks by Philippine residents continues to be high at over 6,000 last year. Joining the regime can be seen as opening the door to Filipino trademark owners registering abroad.”

This move will be advantageous for Filipino business owners seeking to increase their competitive edge by not only obtaining trademark protection locally but also in the country’s major trading partners, such as USA, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Germany, which are already members of the Madrid Protocol.