The Government of Brunei Darussalam on October 6, 2016 1 deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks in Geneva with the Director General of WIPO Francis Gurry 5. The accession makes Brunei Darussalam the 98th member to the Madrid System. The aforementioned protocol came into force On January 6 2017 1.
The local businesses and brand owners of Brunei Darussalam have already started using the Madrid System in order to ensure protection of their marks in 114 territories of the 98 member countries of the Madrid system 2. This is achieved by filing a single international application in a single language and paying one set of fees in a single currency.
With the introduction of Madrid system in Brunei Darussalam, foreign brand and trademark owners can now easily seek protection for their marks & brands when they introduce their brands, products or services in Brunei Darussalam 2. As WIPO celebrated 125 years of the Madrid System, the accession of Brunei Darussalam further displayed the System's emergence as a key component for protecting marks internationally.
From its inception, the Madrid system has continued to develop according to the needs and requirements of the applicants thereby providing cost-effective and simple features for filing trademark applications across multiple territories. Today, the Madrid System is a convenient and cost-effective solution for registering and managing trademarks worldwide. Applicants can modify, renew or expand their global trademark portfolio through one centralized system with its evolving E-Services options 4.
Notably, Brunei Intellectual Property Office, in addition to the Madrid System, has already implemented two other WIPO-administered international registration systems namely, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs in 2012 and 2013 respectively 3.
Footnotes
1 http://bruipo.gov.bn/Lists/News/NewDispForm.aspx?ID=1
2 http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/news/2016/news_0020.html
3 http://www.energy.gov.bn/Lists/EDPMO%20Updates/NewDispForm.aspx?ID=70
4 http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/
5 http://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/dgo/
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