INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS – REMOVAL OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR A GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF A TRADEMARK
As of February 1, 2023, applicants for an International trademark application are no longer required to provide a graphic representation of the mark.
Like applications for French trademarks at the Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI) or for European Union trademarks at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), it is now possible to send to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) a single digital file that can contain “a sound recording in WAV or MP3 format not exceeding five MB” or “an animated or multimedia recording in MP4 format not exceeding 20 MB”. This single digital file thus opens the way to trademarks other than those commonly represented in visual form (word, figurative, three-dimensional or sound trademarks represented by a sonogram).
The applicants will however need to validate that the designated Madrid System Contracting Parties accept these new means of trademark representation before completing the formalities required in the international registration application, as some countries still require a graphic representation of the marks.
For more information, please refer to the notice of January 27, 2023 on the following the link :