Member States Accept Singapore Offer to Host Diplomatic Conference on Revised Trademark Law Treaty

Geneva, September 28, 2005
Press Releases PR/2005/420

Singapore's offer to host a major conference to revise a key international treaty in the field of trademarks was accepted on Wednesday by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), meeting at the annual session of the WIPO Assemblies from 26 September to 5 October 2005.

The Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Trademark Law Treaty will be held from March 13 to 31, 2006. Delegations thanked Singapore for its generous offer, which includes providing the conference infrastructure and covering the costs of participation of delegates from least developed countries, developing countries and countries in transition that are members of WIPO.

A diplomatic conference is convened when negotiators feel that the time is ripe for the adoption of a treaty. Recent talks within the context of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) have resulted in a text that will be submitted to the Singapore meeting. The new treaty is meant to revise the existing Trademark Law Treaty bringing it in line with the technological advances of the past decade.

Basic Proposal for the Revised Trademark Law Treaty

The Trademark Law Treaty (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. The TLT currently has 33 member countries. Companies seeking trademark protection must, as a first step, meet certain formality requirements in order to avoid rejection of their application and a consequent 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.

In order to keep pace with developments in telecommunication and to create an institutional framework allowing the adaptation of certain administrative details regulated under the treaty, the revision of the TLT envisages the inclusion into the treaty of provisions on electronic filing of trademark applications and associated communications, the formalities concerning the representation of all types of marks, including visible signs (and certain forms of visible signs, such as hologram marks, color marks, position marks or motion marks) as well as non-visible signs, 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.

The SCT agreed on a "basic proposal" to be presented at the diplomatic conference. The absence from the basic proposal of text between square brackets or alternative texts for certain provisions, indicates consensus among member states.

For further information please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at (+ 41 22) 338 81 61, 338 95 47 Fax: (+41 22) 338 82 80, E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int.