Grüne Erde in Scharnstein was granted the registration for its house mark (pictured). It consists of the words Grüne Erde in green letters, with a picture of a tree, and covers a range of goods in a total of 26 classes. The company sells some 5,000 products made from natural wood, textiles and cosmetics. 
Its founder and managing director Rienhard Kepplinger told the INTA Daily News the company valued the simplicity of the Madrid System: “Compared with national applications in some countries, the costs for an international registration are relatively low regarding the number of different countries you can reach.”
He said the company had filed five applications for international trademarks, dating back to 1994, and was pleased with the System. But he added that it could be improved: “It would be nice if the cost reports could also include the charges in Euros and not only in Swiss Francs.”
INTA Madrid System Subcommittee chair, Nadine Jacobson of Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, said: “This news shows that the Madrid System is still very attractive after more than 100 years, and WIPO is continuing to make adjustments to make it appealing to more countries to join.” She added: “We have been impressed with the progress made by WIPO’s Working Group so far, and in particular the decision to grant notices of protection. That is enormously helpful both for users and for third parties.”
The Madrid System now covers 84 member states. The first international trademark was registered in 1893 by Swiss chocolate-maker Russ-Suchard & Company. The number of registrations under the System continues to grow, with a record 42,075 applications last year. German company Henkel owns the most international trademark registrations, with 2,731.
WIPO has worked to simplify the System recently, and improve online databases, but Jacobson, who is speaking at Wednesday’s session WW20 “Madrid Protocol Workshop—Update, Questions and Answers” said more can still be done: “The complexity is a little daunting for new users. It would be helpful if applicants could have a contact person at WIPO that they could reach out to in cases where there are questions or obvious mistakes in the documents.”
WIPO is holding a forum for users of the Madrid System in Room 611 of the Convention Center at 11am today. More information about the session, and recent developments, is on page 7.
