International trademark application at WIPO

Trademark applications should be well thought out. There are numerous points to consider, starting with the registrability over possible competitor trademarks and thus risks of contradiction up to the protected regions.

On the last point, since this month there is another organizational relief. While a so-called IR trademark was previously only possible on the basis of a registered trademark registration at the EUIPO, this is now also possible with a registration at the DPMA. Of course, an IR trademark is only worthwhile for those seeking trademark protection outside the European Union.

Then, however, an IR trademark offers many advantages, because with only one application protection can be obtained for all contracting states of the Madrid Agreement and the Protocol to the Madrid Agreement. After all, that’s 104 countries worldwide. The complete list can be found here. Trademark protection is even granted for each country individually and possible collisions only affect each member country, so they cannot jeopardize trademark protection in a larger area, as is the case with an EUIPO trademark, for example.

Since the application is now also possible electronically directly in Germany and both the DPMA and WIPO check the requirements for registration, this can be an immense administrative relief. Nevertheless, such registration and the need for it should, of course, be well considered. For a registration in all 104 registrations worldwide, the fees alone amount to almost 32,000.00 euros. So maybe you can do without trademark protection in Western Samoa and much rather need it in countries like India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, Canada or Brazil, which cannot be reached with an IR trademark because they have neither signed the Madrid Trademark Agreement nor the Protocol to the Madrid Trademark Agreement.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.