Trademarks, Brazil and the Madrid System.
This post contains sponsored content from Randazza.com*.
Protecting one’s trademark is both a proactive and a reactive process.
Many domain investors operate businesses that utilize a brand, which can be protected in the US by registering the respective trademark at the USPTO.
Uniregistry, for example, has registered both the UNIREGISTRY mark, and the mark for the figurative letter U.
Internationally, such registrations can be extended by applying for an international mark, which is covered by the so-called Madrid System.
According to a recent article at the Randazza.com blog about the Madrid trademark system, registrations of a mark in any signatory country are easily recognized in all other member countries. There is a simple process where you can rely on your existing rights in any member country to export it to any other member country.
There is one problem: Brazil is not a member country, and many times the following practice occurs, according to Randazza.com:
“In monitoring these issues globally, we have noticed that Brazil is a hot spot for this “trademark squatting” scheme. The crooks run out, register an already-used trademark from another country, and just wait for them to notice. By then, the price to fix the problem is quite dear.”
The good news is, that Brazil will become a member nation in 2018, thus changing the process in favor of trademark holders that seek to protect their brands in this large market.
If you consider extending your own brand’s protection to Brazil, or the current nations that are members of the Madrid System, hiring the right IP attorney is important.
For more information, read this article about Brazil and the Madrid System of trademark protection.
*Note: Randazza.com is an advertiser on DomainGang.com.
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