Workshop on Madrid System Held for Chinese Trademark Agents and Attorneys

September 7, 2015

The WIPO Workshop on International Trademark Registration and Madrid System was successfully held on July 13 and 14 in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. This workshop was co-organized by WIPO and Renmin University of China (RUC), and the specific organization work was undertaken by WIPO Office in China (WOC) and RUC IP Academy.

More than 160 attorneys and lawyers from law firms, trademark agencies, some local enterprises and academic institutions from nearly 20 provinces of China participated in the Workshop. Five reputable experts including Mr. An Qinghu ( Deputy President of China Trademark Association and former Director General of Trademark Office, SAIC), Ms. Tao Junying (Senior Counsellor of Madrid Registry, Brands and Designs Sector, WIPO), Ms. Li Xiaolan ( Partner of Talent Trademark & Patent & Copyright Law Office, China), Mr. Giulio Martellini (Trademark and Design Attorney, Italy) and Mr. Wen Xue (Deputy Head of International Registration Division, Trademark Office, SAIC) delivered excellent speeches on the topic of Madrid system. The workshop was chaired by Ms. Zhang Junqin, program officer of WOC.

Mr. Chen Hongbing, Director of WOC and Professor Liu Chuntian from RUC delivered opening speeches. In the speech, Mr.Chen then introduced the mandate and work of WIPO and WOC and expressed WOC’s commitment of better serving Chinese users of WIPO's global IP services.

Besides the presentations, heated discussions also took place between the speakers and the audience. The participants raised many questions about how to effectively use the Madrid System, how to use the newly developed Madrid electronic tools, how to efficiently handle the refusal and how to avoid “central attack”, etc. The speakers offered professional answers which were found very helpful by the participants. At the conclusion session, certificates were issued to the participants to verify their attendance.