Pakistan Finally Joins the Madrid System of Trademark

In a landmark achievement, Pakistan has joined the Madrid system of Trademark following years of efforts of the country’s Intellectual Property Organization (IPO-Pakistan).

Ambassador Khalil-ur-Rehman Hashmi, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, and other International Organizations in Geneva deposited the instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol with Daren Tang, the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

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Earlier, the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi had signed the accession to the Madrid Protocol instrument, which had paved the way for Pakistan to become the 108th country in the world to join the Madrid System of Trademark.

IPO-Pakistan had started the initial work on this document in 2013 and has since had through massive consultations and held a wide range of meetings with stakeholders that had led to it becoming a part of the Madrid System.

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With the accession to the Madrid Protocol, Trademark holders of Pakistan will be able to protect their trademarks in more than 100 countries by filing a single application at the WIPO that will facilitate their ease of doing business.

The business community of other countries will also be able to get protection for their trademarks in Pakistan by using the Madrid route. This is a win-win situation for the traders of both Pakistan and its trading partners to obtain the protection of intellectual property rights to promote genuine businesses in their markets, in addition to instilling confidence in potential foreign investors.