Singapore to Host Diplomatic Conference on Revised Trademark Law Treaty
Geneva, February 20, 2006
Media Alerts MA/2006/21
A major conference to revise a key international treaty in the field of trademarks will be convened by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Singapore from March 13 to 31, 2006. The Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), hosted by the Government of Singapore, is expected to conclude with the adoption of a new international treaty of particular significance for brand-owners.
Delegations representing the 183 WIPO member states as well as a number of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are invited to participate in the conference. The proposed revision of the TLT, which deals mainly with procedural aspects of trademark registration and licensing, will help to ensure that brand owners using the trademark system benefit from greater flexibilities and efficiencies in the delivery of trademark registration services. It will also bring the existing TLT in line with the technological advances of the past decade.
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. The TLT currently has 33 member countries. Companies seeking to clear and register trademarks or to license their brands must, as a first step, meet certain formal registration 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 telecommunications 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.
Negotiations leading up to the diplomatic conference have been held under the auspices of WIPO's Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) and have resulted in a text that will be submitted to the Singapore meeting. Discussions at the diplomatic conference will be based on a "basic proposal" (all documents available at https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=6982). Negotiations leading up to the conference have shown a good degree of consensus among member states on the text of the proposed treaty.
Journalists wishing to cover the conference are requested to submit an accreditation form, available at https://www.wipo.int/meetings/2006/tlt-singapore/en/pdf/media_accreditation.pdf, with the supporting documents. For more information on media accreditation please see https://www.wipo.int/meetings/2006/tlt-singapore/en/press_accreditation.html.
For further information, please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:
- Tel: (+41 22) - 338 81 61 or 338 95 47
- Fax: (+41 22) - 338 82 80
- Email: publicinf@wipo.int.