WIPO Gazette of International Marks Now Available on CD-ROM

Geneva, March 22, 1999
Press Releases PR/1999/160

As of March 18, 1999 users of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Protocol Relating to that Agreement, will be able to receive the WIPO Gazette of International Marks on CD-ROM. This is part of efforts by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to move towards full automation of its support structures, increase efficiency and stay abreast of technological developments.

Once an international application is approved, the mark is recorded in the International Register and published in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks. Until now, the Gazette was published on paper every two weeks. The CD-ROM version will be issued every four weeks and will be cumulative such that the first disk will contain Gazette numbers 1 and 2, the second will contain numbers 1 to 4, the third will contain numbers 1 to 6, etc.

Subscribers to the Gazette will be able to choose between receiving the paper form or the CD-ROM. It is possible to subscribe to the CD-ROM edition independently from that of the paper edition of the Gazette. The subscription price is the same for both, namely, 450 Swiss Francs per year.

Introduction of the CD-ROM is a boost to the Madrid system, which is often referred to as a "paperless" operation due the high level of automation at the premises. The Madrid system is unique in that it makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration which has effect in each of the contracting parties that has been designated.

For further information, please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:

Tel: (+41 22) 338 8161; (+41 22) 338 95 47
Fax: (+41 22) 338 88 10
E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int