WIPO welcomes Madrid comments

May 24 2016

How should the Madrid System develop? That was the question posed by David Muls, Senior Director of WIPO’s Madrid Registry, Brands and Designs Sector, at Sunday’s Madrid System Users Meeting

On its 125th anniversary, WIPO is considering how the Madrid System will look in the future and the Secretariat will submit a paper to the next session of the Working Group on the Legal Development of the Madrid System, which takes place in June this year.

The Madrid System was founded in 1891 but has continued to develop since then, for example with the introduction of the Madrid Protocol in 1989. “We have to keep thinking about how the System should evolve,” Muls told the INTA Daily News. Asked how the System rated today, he said: “Our clients are pleased but we feel there is always room for improvement.”

Today, changes are partly being driven by the increasing number and range of jurisdictions covered by the system, as more members join including regional systems such as EUIPO and OAPI. The growing use of technology is also playing a part, says Muls, and so are users’ demands: “Users seek simplified processes to navigate the system. We have to consider how we can make it accessible while maintaining the quality of the output.”

During Sunday’s meeting, Muls also provided an update on filing trends and recent accessions to the Madrid System, as well as new electronic tools. Gregoire Bisson, Director of the Hague Registry, provided an update on design developments.

There was also a discussion on better use of the Madrid System, focusing on class headings in International Registrations. This was moderated by Asta Valdimarsdóttir, Director, Operations Division, Madrid Registry, Brands and Designs Sector, and included Yang Guoming, Deputy Director, International Registration Division, Trademark Office, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (SAIC), Jennifer Chicoski, Administrator, Trademark Examination Policy and Procedure USPTO, and Julio Laporta, Deputy Director, Operations Department EUIPO.

WIPO yesterday released the new Madrid Monitor database, which will serve as the primary search tool for international registrations. The new search tool integrates in one application functionalities and information accessible through ROMARIN, the WIPO Gazette of International Marks, Madrid E-Alert and Real-Time Status. WIPO is demonstrating Madrid Monitor at its booth in the Exhibition Hall.