International Activities

　During June 19 to 22, 2017, the 15th session of the Madrid Working Group was held at WIPO in Geneva, Switzerland. The session is an international conference held once a year to share issues related to the Madrid Protocol and common rules and review and discuss the revision of the regulations, etc.

　This time, governmental delegations from the Madrid Protocol member countries (55 countries) and non-member countries (11 countries) as well as 3 international organizations and 9 trademark-related international organizations took part in the conference. From Japan, the Japan Patent Office, the Japan Patent Attorneys Association, the Japan Trademark Association, and JIPA participated therein, and JIPA sent 2 members, Ms. Kobayashi (Citizen, at left) and Mr. Sugisaki (Takeda, at right) of the Trademark Committee.

　This year, the agenda included "Replacement of domestic trademark registration with international trademark registration," "Limitation in international trademark applications and subsequent designation," "Examination guidelines concerning the classification of goods and services in international applications," and "Standards and operating procedures of trademark identity." JIPA delivered Japanese corporate users' opinions on the agenda.