Thailand becomes the 99th member of the International Trademark System, also known as Madrid System, according to a press statement of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Thailand is the seventh of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional group to join the Madrid System which is a convenient and cost-effective solution for registering and managing trademarks worldwide.
Thailand formally joined the system in the first week of August this year. Being a member of the system, it can now file a single application and pay one set of fees to apply for trademark protection in up to 115 countries.
Bangladesh as well as many other countries is yet to join the system.
Last year, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), in a note urged the government to join the Madrid System along with two other systems for patent and industrial design.
Country’s Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT), under the Ministry of Industry, approved some 3321 applications of new trademark in 2016 which was 4522 in the previous year.
Of the approved applications, 2671 were filed by foreigners while the rest 704 were filed by the Bangladeshi locals.
