Attorneys-at-Law and members of the business community will tomorrow night have the opportunity to air their views and concerns, while gleaning greater insight into the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks, one of Barbados’ obligations under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The opportunity comes as representatives of the International Registries of Madrid and Lisbon, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), participate in a public meeting aimed at sensitising relevant persons about the trade marks system administered by the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva, which is applicable among countries party to the Madrid Agreement or Madrid Protocol.

Organised by the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO), tomorrow’s meeting is slated to take place at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, beginning at 7:00 p.m. It is part of a broader mission.

According to Registrar, Heather Clarke, "the public meeting is one of the preparatory steps being undertaken by CAIPO as Barbados considers its obligations under the EPA, which was officially signed here on October 15, 2008. We have to move forward, we have to start the process," she underlined.

Ms. Clarke further noted that the WIPO team is also expected to meet with some local attorneys on a one-on-one basis to further discuss the way forward.

By virtue of an international procedural mechanism, the Madrid system offers a trademark owner the possibility to have his trademark protected in several countries by simply filing one application directly with his own national or regional trademark office.

The Madrid system, established in 1891, functions under the Madrid Agreement (1891) and the Madrid Protocol (1989). It is said to simplify the subsequent management of the mark, since it is possible to record consequent changes or to renew the registration through a single procedural step.??

cgaskin@barbados.gov.bb

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