Madrid protocol: The road to Madrid
Brazil is taking the final steps in the road to joining the Madrid Protocol. The House of Representatives approved on April 4 the proposed text of the international system, and now the version will continue to the Senate for analysis and final approval.
The country has never been so close to becoming a member of the Protocol. It is not yet clear whether the proposed text will be approved in its entirety. However, it seems that one thing is certain—Brazil will soon be one of the almost 120 countries within the Madrid Protocol’s system.
There are still aspects of the Protocol that need to be adjusted to be in line with Brazilian Laws, as well as with the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI’s) systems. Amid enthusiastic talks over Brazil’s joining of the Madrid Protocol, we will go over some of the issues that are currently being discussed and may suffer changes when the proposed text is presented in the Senate. Below are some considerations to set the stage of Brazil’s joining of the Madrid Protocol.
Many local and international practitioners had given up on the idea of Brazil, the largest country and economy of South America, becoming part of the global system for the registration of trademarks. The massive bureaucracy and difficult political landscape always created barriers to consistent discussions over joining the Madrid Protocol.
