LibGuides: Intellectual Property Research: International Trademark Research

Library Chat

WIPO Trademark News

Overview

Now more than ever, trademark is an international issue. More and more brands compete globally. Even local businesses have world-wide reach. As a result, there is more potential to conflict between marks of different countries that would have otherwise coexisted in blissful ignorance of each other. Searching for marks worldwide was become more important, even essential to business success.

Trademark Practice Centers

Trademark Treaties

Trademark documents and explanatory materials from WIPO. WIPO administers the Madrid System, which allows persons and entities to register their marks so that they can be protected in multiple countries.

Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
1883: The first major international convention for the harmonization of intellectual property law. Article 6 - 11 of the Paris Convention deals with the protection of marks.
Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
1891: The Madrid Treaty creates and international framework for the registration of marks.
Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks
1957: The Nice Agreement establishing international classification system for trademarks.
Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks
1973: The Vienna Agreement establishes an international classification system for figurative marks.
Madrid Agreement Protocol Concerning the International Registration of Marks
1989: Protocol updating the Madrid Agreement to make the international trademark registration framework more flexible.
Trademark Law Treaty
1994: Materials on the Trademark Law Treaty from WIPO. The purpose of this treaty is to streamline and harmonize trademark registration procedures.
Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks
2006: The Singapore Treaty builds upon the Trademark Law Treaty's harmonization efforts.

International Trademark Organizations and Offices

A sampling of trademark offices with organizations and different countries.

International Trademark Association (INTA)
Membership organization that supports advancement of trademark protection.
WIPO: Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks
WIPO's site with informational materials on Madrid System for international trademark registration.
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
Trademark office of the European Union.
Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP): Trademarks
Regional trademark office for the Benelux nations: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Canadian Intellectual Property Office: Trademarks
China: Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce
India: Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks: Trademark
Japan Patent Office: Trademarks

International Trademark Databases

A sampling of foreign and international databases set up for trademark searching.

WIPO: Global Brand Database
WIPO database of marks recorded under the Madrid system, plus marks from regional and national trademark offices around the world.
WIPO: Madrid Monitor
WIPO database of marks and applications recorded under the Madrid system.
EUIPO: TMview
Database of EU trademarks. Coverage also includes marks from the individual EU member states and beyond.
Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) Trademarks Register
Search trademarks of the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property, which covers Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Canadian Trademarks Database
Search Canadian trademarks by number, owner, keyword, or Vienna Classification.
India: Public Search of Trademarks
Trademark database of Controller General of Patent Design and Trade Marks from India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
Mexico: National Trademark Database
This database is in Spanish but it can be read in a browser with a translation function, for example Chrome.
UK Intellectual Property Office: Search for a Trade Mark
UK trademark database, searchable by number, owner, keyword, or image.

International Trademark Classifications

It is a lot easier to search databases nowadays thanks to online translators. Still, these helpful programs are not perfect. Classification systems organize marks by what they are not what they are called. So we can use these to search for marks in different countries even if we do not understand the local language.

WIPO: Nice Classification
Officially called the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, this system classifies commericial goods and services and is used by nearly 150 countries and regional organizations.
WIPO: Vienna Classification
Officially known as the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks, this is the international classification system for figurative marks.

International Trademark Secondary Sources

Global competition and trade requires a local knowledge of how countries might deal with different marks and mark disputes. Fortunately, there are several secondary sources which give you an international "lay of the land."

Horwitz on World Trademark Law by Ethan Horwitz
This treatise offers a complete guide to world trademark law and practice, with detailed coverage of 35 major jurisdictions and summary coverage of another 100.
Trademark Practice Throughout the World by Nanette M. Norton & Christopher M. Dolan
Describes and explains the phases of an international trademark as it goes from creation to perpetual use.
International Trademark Classification by Jessie N. Roberts
Call Number: K1565.A41957 M37
Publication Date: 2012
International Trademark Classification: A Guide to the Nice Agreement helps trademark and IP attorneys properly classify goods and services on trademark applications. It explains the forty-five Classes of goods and services adopted under the Nice Agreement, a worldwide classification system for trademark registration adhered to by more than seventy countries.
European Trademark Law by Tobias Cohen Jehoram & Constant Van Nispen
Call Number: KJE2768 .C64
Publication Date: 2010
European Trademark Law describes all relevant developments in both legislation and case law, in particular of the Court of Justice, offering not only a succinct introduction to the theory, structure and nature of trademark law, but also insightful suggestions for resolving and answering a host of practical problems. As the authors note, their book provides an 'overview of trademark law rather than an overview of trademark legislation.' The authors view the law from different perspectives; they take both the European perspective and the perspective from harmonised national trademark law, in particular as it is in the Benelux countries.
Intellectual Property Protection in Asia by Arthur Wineburg & Catherine Sun
Covers patent, copyright, and trademark laws of China, India, Japan, and Vietnam.
Chinese Trademark Law by Paul Kossof
Call Number: KNQ1220 .K57
Publication Date: 2014
Chinese trademark law will change dramatically in May 2014 when the Third Revision of the Trademark Law institutes various changes, including increased statutory damages for trademark infringement, stronger trademark protections, and obligations on Chinese trademark agencies.
Research Guide to Chinese Trademark Law and Practice by Robert H. Hu
Call Number: KNQ1220 .H8
Publication Date: 2009
Chinese trademark law has become a hot topic of discussion among scholars and practitioners, both in China and abroad. This book offers the essential information for understanding the Chinese legal regime for trademark registration and administration. It serves as a roadmap for conducting research in this subject area by providing the know-how on finding relevant statutes, regulations, case law, bibliographies, electronic resources, and other useful information. The Guide is a handy reference and valuable tool for legal scholars, law professors, lawyers, and others interested in learning about Chinese trademark law.