International news

San Marino, the tiny little Republic that is better known for its attractive postage stamps than for its IP regime, has just declared its allegiance to the Madrid Protocol on trade marks. By Madrid (Marks) Notification No. 174 , WIPO has announced that San Marino will be a fully functioning member of the Madrid club with effect from 12 September 2007, subject to the following reservations:

* in accordance with Article 5(2)(d) of the Madrid Protocol, the normal time limit of one year in which a signatory may exercise the right to notify a refusal of protection in respect of an international application is replaced by 18 months;

* in accordance with Article 8(7)(a), San Marino wants to receive, instead of a share in the revenue produced by the supplementary and complementary fees, an individual fee.

The IPKat is delighted that San Marino has joined the club, which makes it so much easier for the Chinese - fellow signatories of the Madrid Protocol - to extend their trade marks to the tiny state; could China's massive population all fit within its boundaries, he speculates. Merpel wonders, have any famous brands originated from San Marino?

San Marino Industrial Property Office here
Profile on San Marino here
World's largest postage stamp here


Two more countries have committed themselves to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).

UPOV Notification No. 102, WIPO has announced the accession of the Dominican Republic to the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, as amended to 1991. That convention entered force there on 16 June 2007. And then, in UPOV Notification No. 103, WIPO has declared that Spain is doing the the same thing, with effect from 18 July 2007.