A mark is valid on a territory. This territory is generally one country(national trademark). However, there are regional brands geared towards a set of countries with a single title (e.g. Community trade mark). Finally, there is the Madrid system which allows you to register an international trademark designating a number of countries of your choice.
National brands
These are all the trademarks that you can register directly with the national trademark office. In France, this is the INPI. In the United States, the USPTO, in the Benelux countries the BOIP, in Korea the KIPO, in Japan the JPTO, etc. Each country in the world has its own industrial property office with which it is possible to register a trademark.
Opting for a national trademark application in each country in which you wish to protect your trademark can be costly for two reasons:
- You will have to pay "full pot" deposit fees in each country.
- For some countries you will be required to use a local agent such as a lawyer, which will incur additional costs.
The national trademark in your country of origin will however be indispensable to register an international trademark (see below).
Regional brands
These are single securities that protect your brand in a designated set of countries. Existing regional brands are :
- The EU trademark allows you to protect your trademark in the 28 member countries of the European Union. It is not possible to choose the countries in which the trademark will take effect. It is the 28 countries or nothing. It is registered with the EUIPO (ex OHIM).
- The OAPI brandThe company's name, registered with the African Intellectual Property Organization. A trademark registered with OAPI automatically covers the 17 African countries that are members of this system (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo).
These brands have an important advantage: they are much cheaper than a deposit in each of the countries they cover.
The disadvantage (because there has to be one) is that if a third party opposes the registration of your trademark in one of the countries it covers, then the entire regional brand will fall. Indeed, the regional trademark must cover all the countries that are members of the regional trademark, it is impossible to split the protection and cover only a few countries. It is therefore logical that, if this mark cannot be valid in one of the countries, it should be fully refused at registration. Example: you file a European trademark application, and a Polish person files an opposition on the basis of an earlier Polish national trademark of which he is the proprietor. EUIPO considers the opposition to be well-founded. Your entire CTM is refused registration.
The background checks pre-filing requirements (see our practical sheet on this subject) are therefore very important when you have a proposed Community trade mark. Indeed, the chances of opposition third parties are multiplied by 28 compared to a national trademark application. Note thatone in five European trademark applications is the subject of an opposition, according to OHIM.
For the European trade mark, however, a rule of transformation exists, i.e. by paying a fee, your European trademark can be transformed into national applications in the EU countries that interest you. Note, however, that you will then have to pay the application fees in each country as if you had filed national trademark applications from the outset. The registered trademarks will be national trademarks.
The International Trademark
This name falsely suggests that your trademark will be valid in all countries of the world. Far from it. In reality, the international trademark simply allows you to centralize trademark applications abroad at the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office).
Imagine that you buy a container and fill it with the countries you are interested in. That's what international branding is all about: you pay an initial fee to get an international trademark number, and then you pay for each country (rates differ depending on the country) that you want to target. You can also target regional trademarks via this system. They have their own fee.
Careful, now, not every country in the world is part of of the international trademark system. This is the case in Canada, as well as in most South American and Gulf countries. You will find the list of member countries by following this link: list of member countries.
In order to be able to register an international trademark, there is a precondition you must hold a national or regional core brandwhich will serve as the foundation for the international brand. The second cannot exist without the first. Your international brand will then be identical to your base brand.
The advantages of this system
- Deposit costs are often much less important that if you file national trademarks
- The steps are simplified since you don't have to apply by country
- In the event of refusal of registration in a country, the international trademark will not be affected. Only the extension in this country will be refused.
Disadvantages
- Not very economical if you only target one or two countries. Do not hesitate to comparecosts with those of national trademark registrations.
- The non-arm's length relationship between your basic national mark and the international mark for 5 years: if your basic mark falls (for any reason such as a cancellation action brought by a third party) within the first 5 years of existence of your international mark, it will also be cancelled. It is therefore very important to base your international trademark on a strong core brand (for which you have made background checksand who is used for avoid lapse).