On April 4, the Chilean government submitted its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol, becoming the 111th member of the Madrid System. After three months of adaptation, this protocol, which homogenizes and simplifies trademark registration and management in 129 countries by filing a single international application, will enter into force in Chile next Monday, July 4. Before its effective accession, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in collaboration with the National Institute of Intellectual Property of Chile (INAPI), has held a three-day Virtual Conference Series with training workshops aimed to thousands of professionals involved in trademark management and registration in the Andean country to help them in this transition.
As one of the leading intellectual property consultancy firms at national level and with an outstanding presence in LATAM at international level as a benchmark in the comprehensive management of large trademark portfolios, PONS IP has been invited through Cristina Gilabert, Key Account Manager of Trademarks, to provide practical experience in the use of this system, along with leading professionals in the intellectual property industry such as Antonio Ferro Ricci, founding partner of Ricci Propiedade Intelectual in Brazil, Juan Pablo Cadena, Partner at Brigard & Castro in Colombia and Mariana Vargas Macías, Senior Associate at Basham, Ringe & Correa in Mexico.
During the session, moderated by Denisse Pérez, lawyer of INAPI’s International and Public Policy Department, the speakers highlighted the great benefits of this system for companies and intellectual property agencies in the industry, not only from the daily processes perspective, but also concerning the time and costs for companies, providing practical examples of cases and resolving doubts after the session with the nearly 200 attendees of the meeting.
Thus, Cristina Gilabert pointed out during the meeting that the Madrid System is “very useful” for companies that want to internationalize, since they can apply for and manage their trademarks in 129 countries, with a single documentation, currency and language. Gilabert also pointed out that it is very interesting for IP professionals “as it provides them with an agile mechanism to offer correct advice to their clients interested in other markets, and helps them to appropriately set up their trademark portfolio, thus complementing the option of going directly to the Trademark Office in each country”.
