Making a mark in global markets

• Pages: 16-18

Trademarks are an integral part of any sh opping

experience. They not only attract , lure and seduce

us, but also act as a quick and reliable guide to the

quality of a pa rticular produc t or ser vice. A world

without marks is hard to imagi ne. How cou ld we,

as consumers, ot herwise be sure of the origin of

the products and servi ces we purchase? How

would compa nies build up t heir reputation in the

market and instill consumer confid ence and tr ust

in, and l oyalty for, their goo ds and services ?

Trademarks underpin brands, which a re now

widely recognized as key factors in creating busi-

ness va lue. Strong b rands command customer

loyalty and premium prices and contribu te to

healthy profit margins and growth, e nabling

companies to distinguish themselves and their

products and serv ices from those of t heir com-

petitors. Successfu l brands underpi nned by

trademark p rotection are a key to a company ’s

sustained financial v iability.

Often the most v aluable commercial ass et of a

business, marks freq uently comman d market val-

ues far exceeding the value of a company’s phy s-

ical assets. Take Coca Cola for exa mple. Its physi-

cal asset s are valued at a n est imated US$20

billion, w hile it s bran d value is an e stimated

US$70 billion, according to the Interbrand

Consultanc y. The way a company develops and

manages its marks i s a key de terminant of com-

mercial success.

In the face of ri sing level s of trade in counterfei t

goods, tough ma rket conditions an d slow eco-

nomic growth, it is criti cally impor tant that com-

panies d efend their pro ducts. A neces sary first

step is to secure the legal r ight to prev ent a third

party from us ing a trademark for their own bus i-

ness pu rposes. Trademark registration e stablishes

an offi cial record of a trademar k owner’s rig hts to

a particular mark. Businesses need to be able to

secure and manage their trademar ks co st-effec-

tively a nd easily.

WIPO’s Mad rid System for the Int ernationa l

Regist ration of Ma rks – the Madrid system – of -

fers a low-cos t an d sm art busines s so lution for

any co mpany see king to p rotect an d manage its

marks in inte rnationa l marke ts. What do compa -

nies s uch as the multinat ional food company,

Nestlé , tech giants G oogle a nd Apple , and s mall

and medium -sized e nterprise s (SMEs ) such as

Austri an eco company Grüne Erde have in co m-

mon? T hey eac h have recogn ized th e advan-

tages of regist ering their tradem arks under the

Madri d system. Interesti ngly, some 8 0 percent of

the u sers of the syst em are S MEs hold ing one or

two m arks.

In its 12 0-year history the Madrid syst em has con-

stantly exp anded and evolved in tan dem with the

changing commercial landscape. Since its estab -

lishment in 1891, it has helped busi nesses estab -

lish over a million trademarks worldwide. A br ief

scan o f the I nternational Register re veals a color-

ful array of iconic trad emarks from Dis ney charac-

ters (Bambi, Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Pinocchio,

etc.) to Lego (toys ), R olex (watches ), Renault

(cars), Miele (con sumer goods) and even British

Airways. The first inte rnational tradem ark was reg-

istered in 1893 by Swis s c hocolate-make r Ru ss-

Suchard & Company. That same yea r, the Sw iss

watchmake r Longines registered wha t is the old-

est i nternational trademark registration still in ef-

fect (as a result o f multiple re newals).

In th e 15 year s since the Protocol Relating to the

Madrid Agreement Concerning the Internationa l

Registrat ion of Marks, one of the two treaties gov -

erning the system, became operat ional on April 1,

1996, the system’s me mbership h as expanded

from 49 to 85 contracting par ties. The Protocol in-

troduced grea ter flexibility to th e system, enhanc-

ing its attrac tiveness as an o ption for companies

to register thei r dom estic trademar ks ab road.

Today, it is dynamic and expanding.

At p resent, the Madrid system has 851me mbers.

These inclu de major economie s like China, the

USA, Jap an, the Russia n Federation, th e European

Union (EU ), Turkey and the Nordic countries.

“Global I P systems are a n essential ele ment of the

global economy,” sai d WI PO Director General

Francis Gur ry in a recent in terview. “We are seeing

an incre asing interest in the Ma drid system, and I

am very confident that it will expand from its cur-

rent membershi p o f 85 to well over 100 in the

next th ree or four years.”

MAKING A MARK IN

GLOBAL MARKETS

AP RI L 20 11

16

1www.wipo.int/e xport/

sites/www/ treaties/en/

documents/pd f/madrid_

marks.pdf