International trademark registration in Russia

Why is an international trademark registration necessary? If an entrepreneur aims to bring products to the world market, he usually expects to have commercial success. Also the brand has to become recognizable - it is a matter of reputation and image.
To achieve these results, a lot of money, effort, and other means are invested. It will be especially frustrating if the brand, which has acquired or begins to acquire fame, loyal customers, will be registered by a different entity. If the actual creator of the trademark missed the time to register this designation, a competitor can be found encroaching on the developed name or another trademark. He registers the advertised brand of the business, is able to make legal claims to the actual owner, to use the popularity gained, to take over his customers.

It is preferable to check the uniqueness in advance. There is a danger that the trademark of the Russian owner will be similar to another international trademark, and then, it will be impossible to register it. In the process of going abroad, the products may be recognized as counterfeit.

This is definitely not a pleasant picture. It can become a serious problem for the actual creator of a verbal or other trademark, especially if success is achieved. Avoiding an undesirable situation allows a single trademark registration in a number of foreign countries.

Options for international trademark registration

The advantages of international registration are clear. To guarantee the legal protection of one's intellectual property rights in service marks, two ways are available to the business owner:

• Madrid system;
• Registration in each country independently.

Madrid International Registration System

The agreement on this unified type of registration was concluded in Madrid in 1891. Since then, it has been the basis for the registration of service mark rights. The Madrid system includes more than a hundred countries, and their number is growing.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Madrid system

The advantages of the Madrid option include:

• The application for an international trademark and other documents shall be submitted to a single patent organization;
• the proceedings can be conducted in English, French or Spanish (optionally);
• the costs are lower - there is no need to contact the foreign patent representatives of each state;
• Single filing fee for the selected countries;
• States are indicated selectively, the list can be expanded;
• transfer of rights can be made in all countries and individually;
• the international examination of the application is limited to 12 months in the member states of the Madrid Agreement, the limit for the member states of the Madrid Protocol is 18 months.

It must be remembered that the term of protection of a registered designation is 10 years, and this period can be extended in a simple way: by paying the corresponding fees and filing the corresponding application.

The Madrid version has its disadvantages:

• To apply, the client must have a registration or application in their country;
• Not all states participate in this system.

Trademark Registration Abroad Individually

Certain cases of legal protection of a logo or other applied-for designation abroad require a private approach. Sometimes it is more convenient to register service marks separately in each country.

The disadvantages of this approach include the following points:

• Since certificates are obtained in each country, there is a need to contact many foreign patent attorneys;
• the cost of the procedure increases;
• Correspondence, filing, execution of the contract, certificate and other documents are done in the language of the state where the brand is being registered;
• dependence on national/local currency;
• some countries have established longer terms for registration of this type of intellectual property.

Prices and services of our company

So, we see that trademark registration is not an easy procedure with many subtleties and nuances. Professional patent law company "Prof-patent" has extensive experience in this area and will register the trademark of your goods or services in the shortest possible time at reasonable prices.

Under the Madrid System:

• Initial processing and filing of the registration application;
• All the paperwork up to the completion of the registration process;
• payment of all fees and charges;
• Interaction on notifications and requests with national Offices and WIPO;
• obtaining the certificate;

In selected countries:

• Performing a verification of the uniqueness of the service mark;
• effecting and filing an international trademark registration application ;
• Payment of required fees;
• filing in each country;
• receipt of the document confirming the registration of the international trademark in the territory of Russia and abroad.