WIPO have recently issued Information Notice No. 29/2013 explaining how to pay official fees to them for registrations under the Madrid Protocol.
Those of you that deal with WIPO will know they can be a bit of bureaucratic organisation and the language of their Information Notice may be testament to this.
If you do not have a deposit account with WIPO - and many firms don't - then you will probably be required to transfer payment of official fees by bank transfer and this is why the Information Notice has issued. WIPO are regularly being short changed as users do not instruct their bank that they are to incur all the bank charges. This causes a headache and delay with WIPO and the user when it is necessary to request a second payment, which is usually fairly incremental.
If you have a deposit account with the UK Intellectual Property Office and you are filing a Madrid application through them as Office of origin then you can ask them to make the official fee payment (in Swiss francs) on your behalf and debit your deposit account. However, not many Offices of origin offer this service.
If you're based in Switzerland or Liechtenstein (or even in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia) then making payments in Swiss francs is not difficult. But most of us will not have a Swiss bank account.
Payment by credit card is not available at the time of filing Madrid Protocol applications because these are filed through an appropriate Office of origin and not WIPO directly. Nevertheless, I understand it is possible to wait for an Irregularity Notice to issue and then make payment by credit card through WIPO's E-payment tool. This is not exactly ideal as again it results in a delay.
WIPO also released their latest magazine 'Madrid Highlights' this week and this contained two fees related features.
Firstly, they will soon be launching a new on-line tool for filing Subsequent Designations with a credit card payment facility. This will not help with the initial filing of a Madrid application but I anticipate it making adding countries to an existing International Registration substantially easier - and hopefully quicker.
Their Madrid Tips section also explains some scenarios regarding the official fees payable for renewals. These can seem ridiculously complicated at times although if you can use WIPO's E-Renewal tool this should auto-calculate the correct fees for you.
25 September 2013
13 September 2013
The Catalan Way (and IP)
Wednesday (11 September 2013) marked an impressive show of support for the independence of Catalonia, currently an autonomous part of Spain, when a human chain, the Catalan Way, spread for 400km/250 miles.
Its inspiration was drawn from the Baltic Way of 1989 which preceded the re-establishment of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as independent countries from their occupation by the Soviet Union.
Catalonia is one of the wealthier parts of Spain and the current economic woes of the Eurozone have increased desire for independence. Football has widely been an outlet for Catalan pride with the world famous FC Barcelona, as well as the Catalonia national team (although unrecognised by FIFA or UEFA)
With a population of over 7 million it would be larger than some existing EU member states, and this is just the population of the current autonomous community; it excludes that of the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands which are also part of the Països Catalans within Spain. (Perhaps of note is that OHIM's home of Alicante is in the Valencian Community although this is a predominantly Spanish-speaking city.)
The Catalan language is also more widely spoken than some other national languages within the EU.
I have previously blogged on Scotland and if she votes for independence in 2014 what the impact could be on trade mark rights. Should the Catalans involved in this recent human chain get their way and Catalonia becomes independent then I would envisage a similar approach.
1. Community Trade Marks would automatically cover Catalonia (this presumes Catalonia is automatically accepted as a new member of the EU).
2. Spanish National Trade Marks would automatically cover Catalonia or they would require revalidation locally in Catalonia. However, the latter option would penalise local companies who have previously needed to register in Madrid when their trade mark is only really needed on a local basis.
3. International Registrations designating the European Community would automatically cover Catalonia (this presumes Catalonia is automatically accepted as a new member of the EU).
4. International Registrations designating Spain would need to have Continuation of Effects applications filed. There would be some small costs involved to cover WIPO's administration.
Back in 2006 - some time before this recent wave of ever expanding TLDs - the .cat TLD came into play for the Catalan-speaking community. However, it would be likely that a new two-letter ccTLD would be introduced for Catalonia, should it become independent.
As someone that grew up when there was the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia and then saw them disintegrate, I have had an avid interest in new countries.
However, independence - perhaps more so when you're a part of the "EU Club" anyway - might not always be the answer. Denmark and the Netherlands have developed a different approach. Taking Denmark as an example, the Kingdom of Denmark includes Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It's arguable that this set up gives independence in many respects (e.g. neither the Faroes or Greenland are, through choice, part of the EU, unlike Denmark proper) whilst being able to share some of the infrastructure. In this instance trade mark registrations granted by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office cover the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and there is no provision to register locally in either the Faroe Islands or Greenland.
This is a world that is becoming smaller in many respects and in my field of trade marks the Madrid Protocol is a clear indication of this. Yet we may have to take into account more and more countries as desires for self determination can be realised.
Its inspiration was drawn from the Baltic Way of 1989 which preceded the re-establishment of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as independent countries from their occupation by the Soviet Union.
Catalonia is one of the wealthier parts of Spain and the current economic woes of the Eurozone have increased desire for independence. Football has widely been an outlet for Catalan pride with the world famous FC Barcelona, as well as the Catalonia national team (although unrecognised by FIFA or UEFA)
With a population of over 7 million it would be larger than some existing EU member states, and this is just the population of the current autonomous community; it excludes that of the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands which are also part of the Països Catalans within Spain. (Perhaps of note is that OHIM's home of Alicante is in the Valencian Community although this is a predominantly Spanish-speaking city.)
The Catalan language is also more widely spoken than some other national languages within the EU.
I have previously blogged on Scotland and if she votes for independence in 2014 what the impact could be on trade mark rights. Should the Catalans involved in this recent human chain get their way and Catalonia becomes independent then I would envisage a similar approach.
1. Community Trade Marks would automatically cover Catalonia (this presumes Catalonia is automatically accepted as a new member of the EU).
2. Spanish National Trade Marks would automatically cover Catalonia or they would require revalidation locally in Catalonia. However, the latter option would penalise local companies who have previously needed to register in Madrid when their trade mark is only really needed on a local basis.
3. International Registrations designating the European Community would automatically cover Catalonia (this presumes Catalonia is automatically accepted as a new member of the EU).
4. International Registrations designating Spain would need to have Continuation of Effects applications filed. There would be some small costs involved to cover WIPO's administration.
Back in 2006 - some time before this recent wave of ever expanding TLDs - the .cat TLD came into play for the Catalan-speaking community. However, it would be likely that a new two-letter ccTLD would be introduced for Catalonia, should it become independent.
As someone that grew up when there was the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia and then saw them disintegrate, I have had an avid interest in new countries.
However, independence - perhaps more so when you're a part of the "EU Club" anyway - might not always be the answer. Denmark and the Netherlands have developed a different approach. Taking Denmark as an example, the Kingdom of Denmark includes Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It's arguable that this set up gives independence in many respects (e.g. neither the Faroes or Greenland are, through choice, part of the EU, unlike Denmark proper) whilst being able to share some of the infrastructure. In this instance trade mark registrations granted by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office cover the Faroe Islands and Greenland, and there is no provision to register locally in either the Faroe Islands or Greenland.
This is a world that is becoming smaller in many respects and in my field of trade marks the Madrid Protocol is a clear indication of this. Yet we may have to take into account more and more countries as desires for self determination can be realised.
11 September 2013
Holiday season
August is Europe's traditional holiday season and is reflected with blogs where news to blog about dries up somewhat. Aside from some short jaunts to Germany, Switzerland, Yorkshire and God's own county of Hertfordshire, I have not been on a proper holiday (sun, sea and sangria-style).
I appreciate this is a bit of a 'filler' but I decided to check if any of our IP Offices around the world made a planned shut down. It would appear not.
Unsurprisingly, employees at the USPTO are only granted leave for Federal holidays, which for 2014 will look like this. This has been this way since the mid-late 1980s.
In the UK, where we complain about our lack of public holidays compared to our European cousins, the UK IPO is closed on one day less than the USPTO. Of course, staff will receive more annual leave than their American counterparts and our public sector is known for being generous with this.
In Geneva, home of WIPO, their public holidays are more extensive including many typical European and Christian holidays as well as the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha and a purely local Geneva holiday.
There is an established Public Holiday Law in Japan which the Japan Patent Office follows. I was also interested to learn of Japan's 'Happy Monday System' whereby some holidays have been moved to a Monday to create a longer weekend. We have something similar in the UK, albeit without such a cool name, whereas in continental Europe if a holiday falls on a weekend it's tough, it won't be rolled over to the following Monday.
It will come as little shock to many that OHIM closes for the longest period of time - 18 days, with seven of these coming at Christmas and New Year. Being in Alicante on Spain's Costa Blanca, the weather isn't too bad either. For jobs at OHIM go here!
I hope readers of this blog enjoyed their holiday season. I hope I have more substantial things to blog about in the coming months.
I appreciate this is a bit of a 'filler' but I decided to check if any of our IP Offices around the world made a planned shut down. It would appear not.
Unsurprisingly, employees at the USPTO are only granted leave for Federal holidays, which for 2014 will look like this. This has been this way since the mid-late 1980s.
In the UK, where we complain about our lack of public holidays compared to our European cousins, the UK IPO is closed on one day less than the USPTO. Of course, staff will receive more annual leave than their American counterparts and our public sector is known for being generous with this.
In Geneva, home of WIPO, their public holidays are more extensive including many typical European and Christian holidays as well as the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha and a purely local Geneva holiday.
There is an established Public Holiday Law in Japan which the Japan Patent Office follows. I was also interested to learn of Japan's 'Happy Monday System' whereby some holidays have been moved to a Monday to create a longer weekend. We have something similar in the UK, albeit without such a cool name, whereas in continental Europe if a holiday falls on a weekend it's tough, it won't be rolled over to the following Monday.
It will come as little shock to many that OHIM closes for the longest period of time - 18 days, with seven of these coming at Christmas and New Year. Being in Alicante on Spain's Costa Blanca, the weather isn't too bad either. For jobs at OHIM go here!
I hope readers of this blog enjoyed their holiday season. I hope I have more substantial things to blog about in the coming months.
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