Trademark Law Treaty
The Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) , adopted on October 27, 1994, entered into force on August 1, 1996. Forty-five states, including the United States, are party to the TLT as of November 9, 2009. The TLT was enacted to simplify procedures in the application and registration process and to harmonize trademark procedures in different countries. The TLT harmonizes procedures of national trademark offices by establishing the maximum requirements a contracting party can impose.
From the trademark owner's perspective, the TLT saves time and money in the preparation and filing of documents for the application. It streamlines the process for post-registration renewals, recording assignments, changes of name and address, and powers of attorney. Member countries to the TLT are now required to permit the use of multi-class applications, enabling trademark owners to file a single application covering multiple classes of goods and services.
Additionally, the TLT requires member nations to register service marks and treat them as they would trademarks. The TLT also harmonizes the initial and renewal terms of trademark registration among signatory countries at 10 years with 10-year renewals, making it easier for trademarks owners to keep track of their obligations to maintain registrations amongst TLT contracting parties.
A particularly significant feature of the TLT that benefits trademark owners is its prohibition of requirements by national offices for authentication or certification of documents as well as signatures on trademark applications and correspondence. Many countries had required that any signatures submitted in support of registration of a mark be notarized or otherwise legalized in accordance with the laws of that nation. Under the TLT, it is no longer necessary in most instances to go through these procedures. This feature enables trademark owners to complete and file trademark documents more quickly, at less cost. Overall, the TLT is intended to facilitate international trade: It is of particular importance to individuals and small businesses looking for markets in other countries.
Trademark Law Treaty (TLT)
The aim of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) is to standardize and streamline national and regional trademark registration procedures. This is achieved through the simplification and harmonization of certain features of those procedures, thus making trademark applications and the administration of trademark registrations in multiple jurisdictions less complex and more predictable.
Summary of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) (1994)
The aim of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) is to standardize and streamline national and regional trademark registration procedures. This is achieved through the simplification and harmonization of certain features of those procedures, thus making trademark applications and the administration of trademark registrations in multiple jurisdictions less complex and more predictable.
The great majority of the provisions of the TLT concern the procedure before a trademark office which can be divided into three main phases: application for registration; changes after registration; and renewal. The rules concerning each phase are constructed so as to clearly define the requirements for an application or a specific request.
As to the first phase – application for registration – the Contracting Parties to the TLT may require, as a maximum, the following indications: a request, the name and address and other indications concerning the applicant and the representative; various indications concerning the mark, including a certain number of representations of the mark; the goods and services for which registration is sought classified in the relevant class of the Nice Classification (established under the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (1957)); and, where applicable, a declaration of intention to use the mark. Each Contracting Party must also allow that an application can relate to goods and/or services belonging to several classes of the Nice Classification. As the list of permissible requirements is exhaustive, a Contracting Party cannot require, for example, that the applicant produce an extract from a register of commerce, an indication of a certain commercial activity, or evidence to the effect that the mark has been registered in the trademark register of another country.
The second phase of the trademark procedure covered by the TLT concerns changes in names or addresses and changes in the ownership of the registration. Here too, the applicable formal requirements are exhaustively listed. A single request is sufficient even where the change relates to more than one – possibly hundreds – of trademark applications or registrations, provided that the change to be recorded pertains to all registrations or applications concerned.
As to the third phase, renewal, the TLT standardizes the duration of the initial period of registration and the duration of each renewal to 10 years each.
Furthermore, the TLT provides that a power of attorney may relate to several applications or registrations by the same person or entity.
The TLT also contains Model International Forms (MIF) corresponding to the maximum requirements that a Contracting Party may provide for in respect of a particular procedure or document. A Contracting Party may also prepare its own Individualized International Form for use by applicants, provided that such forms do not require mandatory elements that would be additional to the elements referred to in the corresponding MIF.
Most notably, the TLT does not allow a requirement as to the attestation, notarization, authentication, legalization or certification of any signature, except in the case of the surrender of a registration.
The TLT was concluded in 1994 and is open to States members of WIPO and to certain intergovernmental organizations. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.
Trademark Law Treaty
(adopted at Geneva on October 27, 1994)
| Article 1: | Abbreviated Expressions |
| Article 2: | Marks to Which the Treaty Applies |
| Article 3: | Application |
| Article 4: | Representation; Address for Service |
| Article 5: | Filing Date |
| Article 6: | Single Registration for Goods and/or Services in Several Classes |
| Article 7: | Division of Application and Registration |
| Article 8: | Signature |
| Article 9: | Classification of Goods and/or Services |
| Article 10: | Changes in Names or Addresses |
| Article 11: | Change in Ownership |
| Article 12: | Correction of a Mistake |
| Article 13: | Duration and Renewal of Registration |
| Article 14: | Observations in Case of Intended Refusal |
| Article 15: | Obligation to Comply with the Paris Convention |
| Article 16: | Service Marks |
| Article 17: | Regulations |
| Article 18: | Revision; Protocols |
| Article 19: | Becoming Party to the Treaty |
| Article 20: | Effective Date of Ratifications and Accessions |
| Article 21: | Reservations |
| Article 22: | Transitional Provisions |
| Article 23: | Denunciation of the Treaty |
| Article 24: | Languages of the Treaty; Signature |
| Article 25: | Depositary |
For the purposes of this Treaty, unless expressly stated otherwise:
(i) "Office" means the agency entrusted by a Contracting Party with the registration of marks;
(ii) "registration" means the registration of a mark by an Office;
(iii) "application" means an application for registration;
(iv) references to a "person" shall be construed as references to both a natural person and a legal entity;
(v) "holder" means the person whom the register of marks shows as the holder of the registration;
(vi) "register of marks" means the collection of data maintained by an Office, which includes the contents of all registrations and all data recorded in respect of all registrations, irrespective of the medium in which such data are stored;
(vii) "Paris Convention" means the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, signed at Paris on March 20, 1883, as revised and amended;
(viii) "Nice Classification" means the classification established by the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, signed at Nice on June 15, 1957, as revised and amended;
(ix) "Contracting Party" means any State or intergovernmental organization party to this Treaty;
(x) references to an "instrument of ratification" shall be construed as including references to instruments of acceptance and approval;
(xi) "Organization" means the World Intellectual Property Organization;
(xii) "Director General" means the Director General of the Organization;
(xiii) "Regulations" means the Regulations under this Treaty that are referred to in Article 17.
(1) [ Nature of Marks ]
(a) This Treaty shall apply to marks consisting of visible signs, provided that only those Contracting Parties which accept for registration three-dimensional marks shall be obliged to apply this Treaty to such marks.
(b) This Treaty shall not apply to hologram marks and to marks not consisting of visible signs, in particular, sound marks and olfactory marks.
(2) [ Kinds of Marks ]
(a) This Treaty shall apply to marks relating to goods (trademarks) or services (service marks) or both goods and services.
(b) This Treaty shall not apply to collective marks, certification marks and guarantee marks.
(1) [ Indications or Elements Contained in or Accompanying an Application; Fee ]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that an application contain some or all of the following indications or elements:
(i) a request for registration;
(ii) the name and address of the applicant;
(iii) the name of a State of which the applicant is a national if he is the national of any State, the name of a State in which the applicant has his domicile, if any, and the name of a State in which the applicant has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, if any;
(iv) where the applicant is a legal entity, the legal nature of that legal entity and the State, and, where applicable, the territorial unit within that State, under the law of which the said legal entity has been organized;
(v) where the applicant has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(vi) where an address for service is required under Article 4(2)(b), such address;
(vii) where the applicant wishes to take advantage of the priority of an earlier application, a declaration claiming the priority of that earlier application, together with indications and evidence in support of the declaration of priority that may be required pursuant to Article 4 of the Paris Convention;
(viii) where the applicant wishes to take advantage of any protection resulting from the display of goods and/or services in an exhibition, a declaration to that effect, together with indications in support of that declaration, as required by the law of the Contracting Party;
(ix) where the Office of the Contracting Party uses characters (letters and numbers) that it considers as being standard and where the applicant wishes that the mark be registered and published in standard characters, a statement to that effect;
(x) where the applicant wishes to claim color as a distinctive feature of the mark, a statement to that effect as well as the name or names of the color or colors claimed and an indication, in respect of each color, of the principal parts of the mark which are in that color;
(xi) where the mark is a three-dimensional mark, a statement to that effect;
(xii) one or more reproductions of the mark;
(xiii) a transliteration of the mark or of certain parts of the mark;
(xiv) a translation of the mark or of certain parts of the mark;
(xv) the names of the goods and/or services for which the registration is sought, grouped according to the classes of the Nice Classification, each group preceded by the number of the class of that Classification to which that group of goods or services belongs and presented in the order of the classes of the said Classification;
(xvi) a signature by the person specified in paragraph (4);
(xvii) a declaration of intention to use the mark, as required by the law of the Contracting Party.
(b) The applicant may file, instead of or in addition to the declaration of intention to use the mark referred to in subparagraph (a)(xvii), a declaration of actual use of the mark and evidence to that effect, as required by the law of the Contracting Party.
(c) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the application, fees be paid to the Office.
(2) [ Presentation ] As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the application, no Contracting Party shall refuse the application,
(i) where the application is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to paragraph (3), on a form corresponding to the application Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by telefacsimile and the application is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal corresponds, subject to paragraph (3), to the application Form referred to in item (i).
(3) [ Language ] Any Contracting Party may require that the application be in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office. Where the Office admits more than one language, the applicant may be required to comply with any other language requirement applicable with respect to the Office, provided that the application may not be required to be in more than one language.
(4) [ Signature ]
(a) The signature referred to in paragraph (1)(a)(xvi) may be the signature of the applicant or the signature of his representative.
(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), any Contracting Party may require that the declarations referred to in paragraph (1)(a)(xvii) and (b) be signed by the applicant himself even if he has a representative.
(5) [ Single Application for Goods and/or Services in Several Classes ] One and the same application may relate to several goods and/or services, irrespective of whether they belong to one class or to several classes of the Nice Classification.
(6) [ Actual Use ] Any Contracting Party may require that, where a declaration of intention to use has been filed under paragraph (1)(a)(xvii), the applicant furnish to the Office within a time limit fixed in its law, subject to the minimum time limit prescribed in the Regulations, evidence of the actual use of the mark, as required by the said law.
(7) [ Prohibition of Other Requirements ] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (4) and (6) be complied with in respect of the application. In particular, the following may not be required in respect of the application throughout its pendency:
(i) the furnishing of any certificate of, or extract from, a register of commerce;
(ii) an indication of the applicant’s carrying on of an industrial or commercial activity, as well as the furnishing of evidence to that effect;
(iii) an indication of the applicant’s carrying on of an activity corresponding to the goods and/or services listed in the application, as well as the furnishing of evidence to that effect;
(iv) the furnishing of evidence to the effect that the mark has been registered in the register of marks of another Contracting Party or of a State party to the Paris Convention which is not a Contracting Party, except where the applicant claims the application of Article 6quinquies of the Paris Convention.
(8) [ Evidence ] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office in the course of the examination of the application where the Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication or element contained in the application.
(1) [ Representatives Admitted to Practice ] Any Contracting Party may require that any person appointed as representative for the purposes of any procedure before the Office be a representative admitted to practice before the Office.
(2) [ Mandatory Representation; Address for Service ]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that, for the purposes of any procedure before the Office, any person who has neither a domicile nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment on its territory be represented by a representative.
(b) Any Contracting Party may, to the extent that it does not require representation in accordance with subparagraph (a), require that, for the purposes of any procedure before the Office, any person who has neither a domicile nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment on its territory have an address for service on that territory.
(3) [ Power of Attorney ]
(a) Whenever a Contracting Party allows or requires an applicant, a holder or any other interested person to be represented by a representative before the Office, it may require that the representative be appointed in a separate communication (hereinafter referred to as "power of attorney") indicating the name of, and signed by, the applicant, the holder or the other person, as the case may be.
(b) The power of attorney may relate to one or more applications and/or registrations identified in the power of attorney or, subject to any exception indicated by the appointing person, to all existing and future applications and/or registrations of that person.
(c) The power of attorney may limit the powers of the representative to certain acts. Any Contracting Party may require that any power of attorney under which the representative has the right to withdraw an application or to surrender a registration contain an express indication to that effect.
(d) Where a communication is submitted to the Office by a person who refers to himself in the communication as a representative but where the Office is, at the time of the receipt of the communication, not in possession of the required power of attorney, the Contracting Party may require that the power of attorney be submitted to the Office within the time limit fixed by the Contracting Party, subject to the minimum time limit prescribed in the Regulations. Any Contracting Party may provide that, where the power of attorney has not been submitted to the Office within the time limit fixed by the Contracting Party, the communication by the said person shall have no effect.
(e) As regards the requirements concerning the presentation and contents of the power of attorney, no Contracting Party shall refuse the effects of the power of attorney,
(i) where the power of attorney is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to paragraph (4), on a form corresponding to the power of attorney Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by telefacsimile and the power of attorney is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal corresponds, subject to paragraph (4), to the power of attorney Form referred to in item (i).
(4) [ Language ] Any Contracting Party may require that the power of attorney be in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(5) [ Reference to Power of Attorney ] Any Contracting Party may require that any communication made to the Office by a representative for the purposes of a procedure before the Office contain a reference to the power of attorney on the basis of which the representative acts.
(6) [ Prohibition of Other Requirements ] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (3) to (5) be complied with in respect of the matters dealt with in those paragraphs.
(7) [ Evidence ] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office where the Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in any communication referred to in paragraphs (2) to (5).
(1) [ Permitted Requirements ]
(a) Subject to subparagraph (b) and paragraph (2), a Contracting Party shall accord as the filing date of an application the date on which the Office received the following indications and elements in the language required under Article 3(3):
(i) an express or implicit indication that the registration of a mark is sought;
(ii) indications allowing the identity of the applicant to be established;
(iii) indications sufficient to contact the applicant or his representative, if any, by mail;
(iv) a sufficiently clear reproduction of the mark whose registration is sought;
(v) the list of the goods and/or services for which the registration is sought;
(vi) where Article 3(1)(a)(xvii) or (b) applies, the declaration referred to in Article 3(1)(a)(xvii) or the declaration and evidence referred to in Article 3(1)(b), respectively, as required by the law of the Contracting Party, those declarations being, if so required by the said law, signed by the applicant himself even if he has a representative.
(b) Any Contracting Party may accord as the filing date of the application the date on which the Office received only some, rather than all, of the indications and elements referred to in subparagraph (a) or received them in a language other than the language required under Article 3(3).
(2) [ Permitted Additional Requirement ]
(a) A Contracting Party may provide that no filing date shall be accorded until the required fees are paid.
(b) A Contracting Party may apply the requirement referred to in subparagraph (a) only if it applied such requirement at the time of becoming party to this Treaty.
(3) [ Corrections and Time Limits ] The modalities of, and time limits for, corrections under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be fixed in the Regulations.
(4) [ Prohibition of Other Requirements ] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) be complied with in respect of the filing date.
Where goods and/or services belonging to several classes of the Nice Classification have been included in one and the same application, such an application shall result in one and the same registration.
(1) [ Division of Application ]
(a) Any application listing several goods and/or services (hereinafter referred to as "initial application") may,
(i) at least until the decision by the Office on the registration of the mark,
(ii) during any opposition proceedings against the decision of the Office to register the mark,
(iii) during any appeal proceedings against the decision on the registration of the mark,
be divided by the applicant or at his request into two or more applications (hereinafter referred to as "divisional applications") by distributing among the latter the goods and/or services listed in the initial application. The divisional applications shall preserve the filing date of the initial application and the benefit of the right of priority, if any.
(b) Any Contracting Party shall, subject to subparagraph (a), be free to establish requirements for the division of an application, including the payment of fees.
(2) [ Division of Registration ] Paragraph (1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a division of a registration. Such a division shall be permitted
(i) during any proceedings in which the validity of the registration is challenged before the Office by a third party,
(ii) during any appeal proceedings against a decision taken by the Office during the former proceedings, provided that a Contracting Party may exclude the possibility of the division of registrations if its law allows third parties to oppose the registration of a mark before the mark is registered.
(1) [ Communication on Paper ] Where a communication to the Office of a Contracting Party is on paper and a signature is required, that Contracting Party
(i) shall, subject to item (iii), accept a handwritten signature,
(ii) shall be free to allow, instead of a handwritten signature, the use of other forms of signature, such as a printed or stamped signature, or the use of a seal,
(iii) may, where the natural person who signs the communication is its national and such person’s address is in its territory, require that a seal be used instead of a handwritten signature,
(iv) may, where a seal is used, require that the seal be accompanied by an indication in letters of the name of the natural person whose seal is used.
(2) [ Communication by Telefacsimile ]
(a) Where a Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by telefacsimile, it shall consider the communication signed if, on the printout produced by the telefacsimile, the reproduction of the signature, or the reproduction of the seal together with, where required under paragraph (1)(iv), the indication in letters of the name of the natural person whose seal is used, appears.
(b) The Contracting Party referred to in subparagraph (a) may require that the paper whose reproduction was transmitted by telefacsimile be filed with the Office within a certain period, subject to the minimum period prescribed in the Regulations.
(3) [ Communication by Electronic Means ] Where a Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by electronic means, it shall consider the communication signed if the latter identifies the sender of the communication by electronic means as prescribed by the Contracting Party.
(4) [ Prohibition of Requirement of Certification ] No Contracting Party may require the attestation, notarization, authentication, legalization or other certification of any signature or other means of self-identification referred to in the preceding paragraphs, except, if the law of the Contracting Party so provides, where the signature concerns the surrender of a registration.
(1) [ Indications of Goods and/or Services ] Each registration and any publication effected by an Office which concerns an application or registration and which indicates goods and/or services shall indicate the goods and/or services by their names, grouped according to the classes of the Nice Classification, and each group shall be preceded by the number of the class of that Classification to which that group of goods or services belongs and shall be presented in the order of the classes of the said Classification.
(2) [ Goods or Services in the Same Class or in Different Classes ]
(a) Goods or services may not be considered as being similar to each other on the ground that, in any registration or publication by the Office, they appear in the same class of the Nice Classification.
(b) Goods or services may not be considered as being dissimilar from each other on the ground that, in any registration or publication by the Office, they appear in different classes of the Nice Classification.
(1) [ Changes in the Name or Address of the Holder ]
(a) Where there is no change in the person of the holder but there is a change in his name and/or address, each Contracting Party shall accept that a request for the recordal of the change by the Office in its register of marks be made in a communication signed by the holder or his representative and indicating the registration number of the registration concerned and the change to be recorded. As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the request, no Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to subparagraph (c), on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal corresponds, subject to subparagraph (c), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate
(i) the name and address of the holder;
(ii) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(iii) where the holder has an address for service, such address.
(c) Any Contracting Party may require that the request be in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(d) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request, a fee be paid to the Office.
(e) A single request shall be sufficient even where the change relates to more than one registration, provided that the registration numbers of all registrations concerned are indicated in the request.
(2) [ Change in the Name or Address of the Applicant ] Paragraph (1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, where the change concerns an application or applications, or both an application or applications and a registration or registrations, provided that, where the application number of any application concerned has not yet been issued or is not known to the applicant or his representative, the request otherwise identifies that application as prescribed in the Regulations.
(3) [ Change in the Name or Address of the Representative or in the Address for Service ] Paragraph (1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to any change in the name or address of the representative, if any, and to any change relating to the address for service, if any.
(4) [ Prohibition of Other Requirements ] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3) be complied with in respect of the request referred to in this Article. In particular, the furnishing of any certificate concerning the change may not be required.
(5) [ Evidence ] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office where the Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in the request.
(1) [ Change in the Ownership of a Registration ]
(a) Where there is a change in the person of the holder, each Contracting Party shall accept that a request for the recordal of the change by the Office in its register of marks be made in a communication signed by the holder or his representative, or by the person who acquired the ownership (hereinafter referred to as "new owner") or his representative, and indicating the registration number of the registration concerned and the change to be recorded. As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the request, no Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to paragraph (2)(a), on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal corresponds, subject to paragraph (2)(a), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(b) Where the change in ownership results from a contract, any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate that fact and be accompanied, at the option of the requesting party, by one of the following:
(i) a copy of the contract, which copy may be required to be certified, by a notary public or any other competent public authority, as being in conformity with the original contract;
(ii) an extract of the contract showing the change in ownership, which extract may be required to be certified, by a notary public or any other competent public authority, as being a true extract of the contract;
(iii) an uncertified certificate of transfer drawn up in the form and with the content as prescribed in the Regulations and signed by both the holder and the new owner;
(iv) an uncertified transfer document drawn up in the form and with the content as prescribed in the Regulations and signed by both the holder and the new owner.
(c) Where the change in ownership results from a merger, any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate that fact and be accompanied by a copy of a document, which document originates from the competent authority and evidences the merger, such as a copy of an extract from a register of commerce, and that that copy be certified by the authority which issued the document or by a notary public or any other competent public authority, as being in conformity with the original document.
(d) Where there is a change in the person of one or more but not all of several co-holders and such change in ownership results from a contract or a merger, any Contracting Party may require that any co-holder in respect of which there is no change in ownership give his express consent to the change in ownership in a document signed by him.
(e) Where the change in ownership does not result from a contract or a merger but from another ground, for example, from operation of law or a court decision, any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate that fact and be accompanied by a copy of a document evidencing the change and that that copy be certified as being in conformity with the original document by the authority which issued the document or by a notary public or any other competent public authority.
(f) Any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate
(i) the name and address of the holder;
(ii) the name and address of the new owner;
(iii) the name of a State of which the new owner is a national if he is the national of any State, the name of a State in which the new owner has his domicile, if any, and the name of a State in which the new owner has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, if any;
(iv) where the new owner is a legal entity, the legal nature of that legal entity and the State, and, where applicable, the territorial unit within that State, under the law of which the said legal entity has been organized;
(v) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(vi) where the holder has an address for service, such address;
(vii) where the new owner has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(viii) where the new owner is required to have an address for service under Article 4(2)(b), such address.
(g) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request, a fee be paid to the Office.
(h) A single request shall be sufficient even where the change relates to more than one registration, provided that the holder and the new owner are the same for each registration and that the registration numbers of all registrations concerned are indicated in the request.
(i) Where the change of ownership does not affect all the goods and/or services listed in the holder’s registration, and the applicable law allows the recording of such change, the Office shall create a separate registration referring to the goods and/or services in respect of which the ownership has changed.
(2) [ Language; Translation ]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that the request, the certificate of transfer or the transfer document referred to in paragraph (1) be in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that, if the documents referred to in paragraph (1)(b)(i) and (ii), (c) and (e) are not in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office, the request be accompanied by a translation or a certified translation of the required document in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(3) [ Change in the Ownership of an Application ] Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, where the change in ownership concerns an application or applications, or both an application or applications and a registration or registrations, provided that, where the application number of any application concerned has not yet been issued or is not known to the applicant or his representative, the request otherwise identifies that application as prescribed in the Regulations.
(4) [ Prohibition of Other Requirements ] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3) be complied with in respect of the request referred to in this Article. In particular, the following may not be required:
(i) subject to paragraph (1)(c), the furnishing of any certificate of, or extract from, a register of commerce;
(ii) an indication of the new owner’s carrying on of an industrial or commercial activity, as well as the furnishing of evidence to that effect;
(iii) an indication of the new owner’s carrying on of an activity corresponding to the goods and/or services affected by the change in ownership, as well as the furnishing of evidence to either effect;
(iv) an indication that the holder transferred, entirely or in part, his business or the relevant goodwill to the new owner, as well as the furnishing of evidence to either effect.
(5) [ Evidence ] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence, or further evidence where paragraph (1)(c) or (e) applies, be furnished to the Office where that Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in the request or in any document referred to in the present Article.
(1) [ Correction of a Mistake in Respect of a Registration ]
(a) Each Contracting Party shall accept that the request for the correction of a mistake which was made in the application or other request communicated to the Office and which mistake is reflected in its register of marks and/or any publication by the Office be made in a communication signed by the holder or his representative and indicating the registration number of the registration concerned, the mistake to be corrected and the correction to be entered. As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the request, no Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to subparagraph (c), on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal corresponds, subject to subparagraph (c), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate
(i) the name and address of the holder;
(ii) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(iii) where the holder has an address for service, such address.
(c) Any Contracting Party may require that the request be in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(d) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request, a fee be paid to the Office.
(e) A single request shall be sufficient even where the correction relates to more than one registration of the same person, provided that the mistake and the requested correction are the same for each registration and that the registration numbers of all registrations concerned are indicated in the request.
(2) [ Correction of a Mistake in Respect of an Application ] Paragraph (1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, where the mistake concerns an application or applications, or both an application or applications and a registration or registrations, provided that, where the application number of any application concerned has not yet been issued or is not known to the applicant or his representative, the request otherwise identifies that application as prescribed in the Regulations.
(3) [ Prohibition of Other Requirements ] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) be complied with in respect of the request referred to in this Article.
(4) [ Evidence ] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office where the Office may reasonably doubt that the alleged mistake is in fact a mistake.
(5) [ Mistakes Made by the Office ] The Office of a Contracting Party shall correct its own mistakes, ex officio or upon request, for no fee.
(6) [ Uncorrectable Mistakes ] No Contracting Party shall be obliged to apply paragraphs (1), (2) and (5) to any mistake which cannot be corrected under its law.
(1) [ Indications or Elements Contained in or Accompanying a Request for Renewal; Fee ]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that the renewal of a registration be subject to the filing of a request and that such request contain some or all of the following indications:
(i) an indication that renewal is sought;
(ii) the name and address of the holder;
(iii) the registration number of the registration concerned;
(iv) at the option of the Contracting Party, the filing date of the application which resulted in the registration concerned or the registration date of the registration concerned;
(v) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(vi) where the holder has an address for service, such address;
(vii) where the Contracting Party allows the renewal of a registration to be made for some only of the goods and/or services which are recorded in the register of marks and such a renewal is requested, the names of the recorded goods and/or services for which the renewal is requested or the names of the recorded goods and/or services for which the renewal is not requested, grouped according to the classes of the Nice Classification, each group preceded by the number of the class of that Classification to which that group of goods or services belongs and presented in the order of the classes of the said Classification;
(viii) where a Contracting Party allows a request for renewal to be filed by a person other than the holder or his representative and the request is filed by such a person, the name and address of that person;
(ix) a signature by the holder or his representative or, where item (viii) applies, a signature by the person referred to in that item.
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request for renewal, a fee be paid to the Office. Once the fee has been paid in respect of the initial period of the registration or of any renewal period, no further payment may be required for the maintenance of the registration in respect of that period. Fees associated with the furnishing of a declaration and/or evidence of use shall not be regarded, for the purposes of this subparagraph, as payments required for the maintenance of the registration and shall not be affected by this subparagraph.
(c) Any Contracting Party may require that the request for renewal be presented, and the corresponding fee referred to in subparagraph (b) be paid, to the Office within the period fixed by the law of the Contracting Party, subject to the minimum periods prescribed in the Regulations.
(2) [ Presentation ] As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the request for renewal, no Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to paragraph (3), on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal corresponds, subject to paragraph (3), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(3) [ Language ] Any Contracting Party may require that the request for renewal be in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(4) [ Prohibition of Other Requirements ] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3) be complied with in respect of the request for renewal. In particular, the following may not be required:
(i) any reproduction or other identification of the mark;
(ii) the furnishing of evidence to the effect that the mark has been registered, or that its registration has been renewed, in the register of marks of any other Contracting Party;
(iii) the furnishing of a declaration and/or evidence concerning use of the mark.
(5) [ Evidence ] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office in the course of the examination of the request for renewal where the Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication or element contained in the request for renewal.
(6) [ Prohibition of Substantive Examination ] No Office of a Contracting Party may, for the purposes of effecting the renewal, examine the registration as to substance.
(7) [ Duration ] The duration of the initial period of the registration, and the duration of each renewal period, shall be 10 years.
An application or a request under Articles 10 to 13 may not be refused totally or in part by an Office without giving the applicant or the requesting party, as the case may be, an opportunity to make observations on the intended refusal within a reasonable time limit.
Any Contracting Party shall comply with the provisions of the Paris Convention which concern marks.
Any Contracting Party shall register service marks and apply to such marks the provisions of the Paris Convention which concern trademarks.
(1) [ Content ]
(a) The Regulations annexed to this Treaty provide rules concerning
(i) matters which this Treaty expressly provides to be "prescribed in the Regulations";
(ii) any details useful in the implementation of the provisions of this Treaty;
(iii) any administrative requirements, matters or procedures.
(b) The Regulations also contain Model International Forms.
(2) [ Conflict Between the Treaty and the Regulations ] In the case of conflict between the provisions of this Treaty and those of the Regulations, the former shall prevail.
(1) [ Revision ] This Treaty may be revised by a diplomatic conference.
(2) [ Protocols ] For the purposes of further developing the harmonization of laws on marks, protocols may be adopted by a diplomatic conference insofar as those protocols do not contravene the provisions of this Treaty.
(1) [ Eligibility ] The following entities may sign and, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and Article 20(1) and (3), become party to this Treaty:
(i) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered with its own Office;
(ii) any intergovernmental organization which maintains an Office in which marks may be registered with effect in the territory in which the constituting treaty of the intergovernmental organization applies, in all its member States or in those of its member States which are designated for such purpose in the relevant application, provided that all the member States of the intergovernmental organization are members of the Organization;
(iii) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered only through the Office of another specified State that is a member of the Organization;
(iv) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered only through the Office maintained by an intergovernmental organization of which that State is a member;
(v) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered only through an Office common to a group of States members of the Organization.
(2) [ Ratification or Accession ] Any entity referred to in paragraph (1) may deposit
(i) an instrument of ratification, if it has signed this Treaty,
(ii) an instrument of accession, if it has not signed this Treaty.
(3) [ Effective Date of Deposit ]
(a) Subject to subparagraph (b), the effective date of the deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession shall be,
(i) in the case of a State referred to in paragraph (1)(i), the date on which the instrument of that State is deposited;
(ii) in the case of an intergovernmental organization, the date on which the instrument of that intergovernmental organization is deposited;
(iii) in the case of a State referred to in paragraph (1)(iii), the date on which the following condition is fulfilled: the instrument of that State has been deposited and the instrument of the other, specified State has been deposited;
(iv) in the case of a State referred to in paragraph (1)(iv), the date applicable under (ii), above;
(v) in the case of a State member of a group of States referred to in paragraph (1)(v), the date on which the instruments of all the States members of the group have been deposited.
(b) Any instrument of ratification or accession (referred to in this subparagraph as "instrument") of a State may be accompanied by a declaration making it a condition to its being considered as deposited that the instrument of one other State or one intergovernmental organization, or the instruments of two other States, or the instruments of one other State and one intergovernmental organization, specified by name and eligible to become party to this Treaty, is or are also deposited. The instrument containing such a declaration shall be considered to have been deposited on the day on which the condition indicated in the declaration is fulfilled. However, when the deposit of any instrument specified in the declaration is, itself, accompanied by a declaration of the said kind, that instrument shall be considered as deposited on the day on which the condition specified in the latter declaration is fulfilled.
(c) Any declaration made under paragraph (b) may be withdrawn, in its entirety or in part, at any time. Any such withdrawal shall become effective on the date on which the notification of withdrawal is received by the Director General.
(1) [ Instruments to Be Taken Into Consideration ] For the purposes of this Article, only instruments of ratification or accession that are deposited by entities referred to in Article 19(1) and that have an effective date according to Article 19(3) shall be taken into consideration.
(2) [ Entry Into Force of the Treaty ] This Treaty shall enter into force three months after five States have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.
(3) [ Entry Into Force of Ratifications and Accessions Subsequent to the Entry Into Force of the Treaty] Any entity not covered by paragraph (2) shall become bound by this Treaty three months after the date on which it has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.
(1) [ Special Kinds of Marks ] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare through a reservation that, notwithstanding Article 2(1)(a) and (2)(a), any of the provisions of Articles 3(1) and (2), 5, 7, 11 and 13 shall not apply to associated marks, defensive marks or derivative marks. Such reservation shall specify those of the aforementioned provisions to which the reservation relates.
(2) [ Modalities ] Any reservation under paragraph (1) shall be made in a declaration accompanying the instrument of ratification of, or accession to, this Treaty of the State or intergovernmental organization making the reservation.
(3) [ Withdrawal ] Any reservation under paragraph (1) may be withdrawn at any time.
(4) [ Prohibition of Other Reservations ] No reservation to this Treaty other than the reservation allowed under paragraph (1) shall be permitted.
(1) [ Single Application for Goods and Services in Several Classes; Division of Application ]
(a) Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 3(5), an application may be filed with the Office only in respect of goods or services which belong to one class of the Nice Classification.
(b) Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 6, where goods and/or services belonging to several classes of the Nice Classification have been included in one and the same application, such application shall result in two or more registrations in the register of marks, provided that each and every such registration shall bear a reference to all other such registrations resulting from the said application.
(c) Any State or intergovernmental organization that has made a declaration under subparagraph (a)may declare that, notwithstanding Article 7(1), no application may be divided.
(2) [ Single Power of Attorney for More Than One Application and/or Registration ] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 4(3)(b), a power of attorney may only relate to one application or one registration.
(3) [ Prohibition of Requirement of Certification of Signature of Power of Attorney and of Signature of Application ] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 8(4), the signature of a power of attorney or the signature by the applicant of an application may be required to be the subject of an attestation, notarization, authentication, legalization or other certification.
(4) [ Single Request for More Than One Application and/or Registration in Respect of a Change in Name and/or Address, a Change in Ownership or a Correction of a Mistake ] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 10(1)(e), (2) and (3), Article 11(1)(h) and (3) and Article 12(1)(e) and (2), a request for the recordal of a change in name and/or address, a request for the recordal of a change in ownership and a request for the correction of a mistake may only relate to one application or one registration.
(5) [ Furnishing, on the Occasion of Renewal, of Declaration and/or Evidence Concerning Use ] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 13(4)(iii), it will require, on the occasion of renewal, the furnishing of a declaration and/or of evidence concerning use of the mark.
(6) [ Substantive Examination on the Occasion of Renewal ] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 13(6), the Office may, on the occasion of the first renewal of a registration covering services, examine such registration as to substance, provided that such examination shall be limited to the elimination of multiple registrations based on applications filed during a period of six months following the entry into force of the law of such State or organization that introduced, before the entry into force of this Treaty, the possibility of registering service marks.
(7) [ Common Provisions ]
(a) A State or an intergovernmental organization may make a declaration under paragraphs (1) to (6) only if, at the time of depositing its instrument of ratification of, or accession to, this Treaty, the continued application of its law would, without such a declaration, be contrary to the relevant provisions of this Treaty.
(b) Any declaration under paragraphs (1) to (6) shall accompany the instrument of ratification of, or accession to, this Treaty of the State or intergovernmental organization making the declaration.
(c) Any declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (6) may be withdrawn at any time.
(8) [ Loss of Effect of Declaration ]
(a) Subject to subparagraph (c), any declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (5) by a State regarded as a developing country in conformity with the established practice of the General Assembly of the United Nations, or by an intergovernmental organization each member of which is such a State, shall lose its effect at the end of a period of eight years from the date of entry into force of this Treaty.
(b) Subject to subparagraph (c), any declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (5) by a State other than a State referred to in subparagraph (a), or by an intergovernmental organization other than an intergovernmental organization referred to in subparagraph (a), shall lose its effect at the end of a period of six years from the date of entry into force of this Treaty.
(c) Where a declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (5) has not been withdrawn under paragraph (7)(c), or has not lost its effect under subparagraph (a) or (b), before October 28, 2004, it shall lose its effect on October 28, 2004.
(9) [ Becoming Party to the Treaty ] Until December 31, 1999, any State which, on the date of the adoption of this Treaty, is a member of the International (Paris) Union for the Protection of Industrial Property without being a member of the Organization may, notwithstanding Article 19(1)(i), become a party to this Treaty if marks may be registered with its own Office.
(1) [ Notification ] Any Contracting Party may denounce this Treaty by notification addressed to the Director General.
(2) [ Effective Date ] Denunciation shall take effect one year from the date on which the Director General has received the notification. It shall not affect the application of this Treaty to any application pending or any mark registered in respect of the denouncing Contracting Party at the time of the expiration of the said one-year period, provided that the denouncing Contracting Party may, after the expiration of the said one-year period, discontinue applying this Treaty to any registration as from the date on which that registration is due for renewal.
(1) [ Original Texts; Official Texts ]
(a) This Treaty shall be signed in a single original in the English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish languages, all texts being equally authentic.
(b) At the request of a Contracting Party, an official text in a language not referred to in subparagraph (a) that is an official language of that Contracting Party shall be established by the Director General after consultation with the said Contracting Party and any other interested Contracting Party.
(2) [ Time Limit for Signature ] This Treaty shall remain open for signature at the headquarters of the Organization for one year after its adoption.
The Director General shall be the depositary of this Treaty.
The Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) is an international treaty enacted to simplify application and registration procedures of trademarks. It also harmonizes trademark procedures in different countries. The TLT synchronizes procedures of national trademark offices by establishing the maximum requirements a contracting party can impose. The TLT was adopted on October 27, 1994, and it came into force on August 1, 1996. As of July 1, 2005, 33 states are parties to the treaty. The U.S. is a party to the TLT.
The TLT requires member nations to register service marks, and treat them in the same manner as they would treat trademarks. The TLT helps trademark applicants in saving time and money in the preparation and filing of documents for the application. It also streamlines the process for post registration renewals, recording assignments, changes of name and address, and powers of attorney.