Member States Agree to Update International Standards for Trademark Registration Procedures
Geneva, September 28, 2004
Press Releases PR/2004/394
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) agreed today to convene a diplomatic conference on the revision of a key international treaty that will further simplify and streamline procedures for the registration of trademarks. The Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) will update the existing treaty bringing it in line with technological advances in telecommunications in the past decade. The Diplomatic Conference, which traditionally is the last step in the treaty-making process, will be held in March 2006.
Two further sessions of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) and one session of a preparatory meeting will be held prior to the Conference to continue work on outstanding issues.
The revision of the TLT envisages the inclusion into the treaty of provisions on electronic filing of trademark applications and associated communications, provisions concerning the recording of trademark licenses, relief measures when certain time limits have been missed, and the establishment of an assembly of the contracting parties to enable the adaptation of certain administrative details regulated under the treaty.
The TLT was concluded in 1994 with a view to streamlining and simplifying, on a worldwide basis, administrative procedures relating to national and regional trademark applications and the maintenance of trademark registrations. Companies seeking trademark protection must, as a first step, meet certain formality requirements in order to avoid initial refusal of their application and a possible loss of rights. These formalities generally vary from one country to another and the TLT has successfully introduced standard requirements to be followed in procedures before trademark offices. The TLT currently has thirty two member countries. (Please see Update 223/2004).
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