International Trademark - Profile and Costs of Registrations

The top six in the ranking of most designated member states remained unchanged. China (with 14,766 designations) continues to be the most designated country, followed by the Russian Federation, USA, Switzerland, the European Union and Japan.

The number of designations fell in all designated contracting parties, although a number of countries moved up the list of 40 most designated contracting parties. For example, Viet Nam moved from 24th to 21st position, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 33rd to 26th position, Azerbaijan from 36th to 32nd position, Georgia (from 35th to 33rd position) and Albania (from 40th to 35th position). Two countries entered the top 40 most designated countries in 2009, namely, Iran (37th) and Egypt (39th).

In 2009, on average, about seven Madrid Union members were designated per registration by applicants seeking international trademark protection under the Madrid system. More than half (62%) of these registrations sought protection in five or less export markets.

In submitting a trademark application, an applicant has to specify the goods or services to which the trademark will be applied in accordance with an international classification system known as the “Nice Classification”. The most popular classes of goods and services in international trademark registrations recorded in 2009 were Class 9 (covering, for example, computer hardware and software) representing 8.3% of the total, Class 35 (covering services such as office functions, advertising and business management) which represented 7.1% of the total, Class 42 (covering services provided by for example, scientific, industrial or technological engineers and computer specialists) which represented 5.6% of the total; Class 5 (covering mainly pharmaceuticals and other preparations for medical purposes), Class 25 (covering clothing, footwear and headgear) and Class 41 (covering services in the area of education, training, entertainment, sporting and cultural activities) each represented 4.7% of the total.

In 2009, applicants paid on average 3,408 Swiss francs for an international registration; for 57% of registrations the fees paid were less than 3,000 Swiss francs. - WIPO

International Trademark - Top Holders and Top Applicants

With 136 international trademark applications, Novartis (Switzerland) was the largest filer in 2009 followed by Lidl (Germany), Henkel (Germany), Zhejiang Medicine Company (China), Shimano (Japan), KRKA (Slovenia), Richter Gedeon (Hungary), L’Oréal (France), BSH Bosch und Siemens (Germany), Egis Gyógyszergyár (Hungary), Pfizer (Switzerland), Janssen Pharmaceutica (Belgium), Bayer (Germany), Glaxo Group (UK), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Nestlé (Switzerland), Sanofi Aventis (France), Callaway Golf Company (USA) and Siemens (Germany).

In May 2009, the number of international trademark registrations topped one million when Austrian “eco” company Grüne Erde, which specializes in natural wood, textile and cosmetic products, registered its mark.

Henkel (Germany), with a total of 2,815, holds the largest number of international trademark registrations under the Madrid system. The top twenty holders by the end of 2009 were: Henkel (Germany), Novartis (Switzerland), Janssen Pharmaceutica (Belgium), l’Oréal (France), Nestlé (Switzerland), Unilever (Netherlands), ITM Enterprises (France), BASF (Germany), Sanofi-Aventis (France), Siemens (Germany), Lidl (Germany), Bayer (Germany), Biofarma (France), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Richter Gedeon (Hungary), Syngenta (Switzerland), Philips (Netherlands), Ecolab (Germany), Merck (Germany), Hofer (Austria) and Deutsche Telekom (Germany). - WIPO

Global Financial Crisis Hits International Trademark Filings in 2009

International trademark filings under WIPO’s Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (“the Madrid system”) dropped by 16% in 2009 as a result of the global economic downturn, though increases were observed among some major users of the system, notably the European Union (EU) (3.1%) and Japan (2.7%), as well as in the Republic of Korea (ROK) (+33.9%), Singapore (+20.5%), Croatia (+17.5%) and Hungary (+14.5%).

WIPO received 35,195 international applications under the 84-member Madrid system compared to 42,075 in 2008. Similarly, international trademark registrations were down 12% on 2008 with a total 35,925 international registrations in 2009. Trademark registrations reflect the introduction of new products and services to the market and are sensitive to business cycles. The comparatively smaller decrease (-1.2%) in the renewal of international trademark registrations, compared to 2008, reflects the value of established brands at a time when consumers opt for goods that are tried and trusted. In 2009, 19,234 international trademark renewals were recorded.

“International trademark filings took a hit in 2009,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, “this is not surprising given the difficult financial conditions and restrained consumer demand facing companies around the world. While trademark protection is sound business practice in good times and bad, companies are more cautious about bringing new products to market when economic uncertainty is high. That said, trademarks and the brands they underpin play a key role in value creation and provide the basis for business expansion when the economy recovers.”

Mr. Gurry noted “Historically, we know that demand for intellectual property rights declines in periods of recession. These downturns are more strongly and rapidly felt in the area of trademarks which are more closely tied to market conditions. Demand for intellectual property rights, however, had reached unprecedented levels prior to the crisis and we have every reason to believe that international trademark activity will pick up as economic growth solidifies and broadens.” - WIPO

Universal Adapter

Do you fret when you bring your electrical device to a foreign country and find that you can't connect it to the wall socket? There are various wall socket adopted by various countries. Lee Chiu Shan saw the need for a universal wall adapter to work with various wall socket. He invented a universal socket and file the patents in 35 countries around the world. The patents are marked in the product packaging.

EBay found liable in Louis Vuitton suit

EBay Inc. will pay about $316,500 to Louis Vuitton Malletier for legal costs and damages and stop using Internet search terms the luxury goods maker protested, following a ruling Thursday by the Paris District Court.

The online auction site was found liable for harming the reputation of Louis Vuitton trademarks, the company name and domain name - all held by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Ebay had been buying keywords such as "Viton," "Vitton" and "Wuiton" so that online shoppers using these misspellings into a search engine, along with anyone using the brand's correct spelling, would be directed to links promoting eBay, a Louis Vuitton spokeswoman said.

The court, which called eBay's actions "parasitic," ordered the company to stop using the keywords. The court said the practice harmed Louis Vuitton's brand.

The online auction house must pay Louis Vuitton euro200,000, or $275,000, in damages plus euro30,000, or $41,300, in legal costs. In a prepared statement, eBay said it was disappointed but noted Louis Vuitton was awarded less than the euro1.2 million, or $1.7 million, it sought. - StarBiz

Malaysia increased PCT fillings in 2009 by 6.3%

Malaysia increased PCT fillings from 205 applications in 2008 to 218 applications in 2009, an increase of 6.3%. This is despite the global economic down turn and the drop of world PCT filling of 4.5%. The drop is due to the drop of filling of PCT in western countries: USA (-11.4%), Germany (-11.2%), UK (-3.5%).

The top applicants from developng countries identified in the PCT Report are the Republic of Korea (8,066) and China (7,946) followed by India (761), Singapore (594), Brazil (480), South Africa (389), Turkey (371), Malaysia (218), Mexico (185) and Barbados (96).

Top PCT Applicant of 2009 - Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation (Japan) returned to the top spot in the list of PCT applicants, nudging Huawei Technologies, Co., Ltd. (China) into second place. Panasonic Corporation had 1,891 PCT applications published in 2009, China's Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. had 1,847, followed by Robert Bosch GMBH (Germany, 1586 applications), Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Netherlands, 1,295 applications) and Qualcomm Incorporated (USA, 1280 applications). Four Japanese companies, Panasonic Corporation (ranked 1st), NEC Corporation (ranked 8th), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (ranked 9th) and Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (ranked 10th) featured in the list of top 10 largest filers. Ericsson (Sweeden) is ranked 6th and LG (Korea) is ranked 7th.

The University of California accounted for the largest number of applications published in the category of educational institutions. Most top-filing universities, however, experienced declines in the number of international patent filings in 2009. - WIPO