When planning a global trademark layout, applicants often weigh the "Madrid International Application" against "National Applications." However, before comparing fees or timelines, the most critical prerequisite is: Does the applicant qualify for the Madrid System? This is not merely a procedural step; it dictates the very feasibility of your strategic path.
Read MoreA trademark or service mark can be any word, a phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these that identifies the goods or services belonging to a specific company as well as recognizing the company’s ownership of the brand.
Read MoreAlthough trademark search is not mandatory, but it is recommended to conduct a pre-filing search before filing an application. In most cases, conducting pre-filing trademark searches is an important first step in any trademark registration, as it helps to avoid unintended infringement of third-party trademark rights.
Read MoreOn 18 March 2026, the Argentine National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) issued Resolution No. 75/2026, announcing a comprehensive increase in all intellectual property fees effective from 1 April 2026, and introducing a new fee structure – the “Industrial Property Tariff Unit” (“UMAPI”) - a new calculation unit that is adjusted monthly in line with inflation. This adjustment applies to all trademark applications, registrations and related procedures, and is designed to be linked to the inflation rate, meaning that the operational costs associated with trademarks will rise significantly.
Read MoreArgentina’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) announced that ex officio or upon an applicant’s request, INPI may partially cancel a trademark in relation to the goods/services for which the trademark was not used, will come into effect on 12 June 2023.
Read MoreThe China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published its draft for the 5th Amendment to the Chinese Trademark Law (Draft Amendment) on 13 January 2023. The trademark law was amended four times since 1993, 2001, 2013 and 2019.
Read MoreThe United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a notice that the time for responding to Office Action (OA) of US trademark examination will be shortened from 6 months to 3 months starting from 3 December 2022, which is intended to improve the efficiency of US trademark registration as well as speed up the registration process.
Read MoreIn order to facilitate and improve the process of filing applications and other registration-related documents with the Department of Intellectual Property, the Department of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Science and Technology announces the abolition of the notarization requirement for IP-related documents with effect from 26 June 2023.
Read MoreThe Korean Intellectual Property Office (“KIPO”) had made a several amendments to the Korean Patent Act, Trademark Act, and Design Protection Act that came in force on 20 April 2022. The aim of these amendments is to improve the Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”) laws and make it more accessible to the applicant which often incurred in formality mistakes in detriment of their IP Rights.
Read MoreChina has new rules on trademark that came in force on 1 January 2022, which the rules are intended to strengthen the detection of illegal trademark acts and stricter requirements on manufacturers on trademark use.
Read MoreA bill to amend the Korean Trademark Act was submitted to the Korean National Assembly on 20 March 2023. The amendment aims to introduce a trademark co-existence consent system to overcome the prior trademark barrier, which is a long-awaited system to the trademark industry.
Read MoreOn 10th December 2021, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has issued a final order for sanctions against Shenzhen Huanyee Intellectual Property Co., Ltd. and Ms. Yusha Zhang, Huanyee’s Executive Director for filing more than 15,000 trademark applications which included “false and fraudulent submissions”.
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