The Madrid Protocol, adopted in the U.S. in 2003, is intended to facilitate filing for foreign trademark registration by allowing one application to be extended to 77 member countries, including the major market countries of China, Germany, Japan, U.K. and U.S.
Despite this benefit, it has not been widely used by U.S. companies, for reasons explained in a recent article entitled "Missing the Mark" in the July 2005 issue of IP Law & Business.
The article explains that a key reason many companies favor individual national applications over Madrid filings is the ability to cover a broader scope of goods or services than is typically allowed in the U.S.
Under the Madrid system, the scope of goods or services for the extended applications must match the home application. Thus, U.S. companies may be limited to a narrower scope of protection in the foreign jurisdictions than they might otherwise be able to obtain.
Clearly something worth considering when advising clients on an international filing campaign.
