Collaborating to Achieve Shared Goals

In a sign of the excellent collaboration that exists amongst IP technical assistance providers working in ASEAN, the WIPO Singapore Office (WSO) was invited to contribute to a workshop organized by ARISE+ in coordination with the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO).

The workshop, Madrid Protocol: A Route to Global Branding, was held to raise awareness and promote the Madrid system among Malaysian entrepreneurs. A key outcome was to help attendees understand how the system works so they can make effective use of it to obtain and maintain legal protection for their trade marks in international markets.

ARISE+, which is a project funded by the European Union and implemented by the EUIPO, advised that over 70 Malaysian business owners joined the session. During which, the WSO explained what the Madrid Protocol is, how it works and the key benefits the system provides applicants.

Following the presentations there was a very active Q&A session with questions touching on claiming priority when using Madrid, the use of characters other than Latin characters, non-traditional marks, and the process of subsequently designating contracting parties at a later date.

The WSO looks forward to collaborating in the future with the ARISE+ team to enhance the IP ecosystem in ASEAN.