Madrid Protocol to benefit PHL companies, says EU ambassador

PHILIPPINE accession to the Madrid Protocol will help companies, especially those in creative industries, secure business rights through trademarks in key export markets, the European Union said Wednesday.

"Intellectual property is a key to any modern economy. The Philippines has many promising players in the creative industries, Guy Ledoux, ambassador of the European Union, said during a seminar on the benefits of the Madrid Protocol at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPhil).

IPOPhil expects numerous applications from trademark owners when it starts to accept international applications under Madrid Protocol on July 25.

Making use of the registration of trademarks under the Madrid system can be a boost to this sector to more easily expand abroad," Ledoux told business groups, intellectual property lawyers, and other stakeholders at the seminar.

"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," IPO director general Ricardo Blancaflor said in a statement.

Blancaflor said the Philippine regulations implementing the protocol (also known as the “Philippine Madrid Regulations”) together with the Protocol provision as well as the common regulations pertaining to the Madrid Protocol will govern these international applications.

The Madrid Protocol–or the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks–is a system that facilitates trademark registration in more than one country with a single application.

With the Philippine accession to the protocol, Filipino brand owners gain access to a cost-effective and efficient mechanism on trademark protection not only in the Philippines but also in its major trading partners, IPOPhil earlier said.

The Philippines is the 85th signatory to the Madrid Protocol, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the UN agency responsible for protection of intellectual property rights.

Philippine trading partners Japan, United States, China, Singapore, Korea, and Germany, are all members of the Madrid Protocol. (GMA News)

Category: For Business