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International Intellectual Property

Research guide with links to laws, treaties, cases and information on International IP

Int'l TM Law Overview

International Trademark Law - The Madrid System
A GlobaLex guide

Treatises

Online Treatises

Trademarks, country studies.
Law school log in required. icon

Getting the Deal Through - Trademarks, country studies.
Law school log in required. Lexis icon

Trademarks Throughout the World,
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Trademark Practice Throughout the World,
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International Trademark Dilution,
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Trade marks at the limit,
Jeremy Phillips, ed., Edw. Elgar Publishers, 2006. FIU log in required. GL

WIPO Resources

Main WIPO Trademarks page.

Registration and Searching portals.

ROMARIN database, contains information regarding all international marks recorded under the Madrid system that are currently in force in the International Register.

World Intellectual Property Report 2013, "Brands – Reputation and Image in the Global Marketplace", 140 page report includes statistics.

Directory of National and Regional IP Offices.

Commercial Trademark Organizations

International Trademark Association (INTA)

Marques, a european private owner's association.

Trademark Treaties

This is the WIPO listing for International TM Treaties:

Treaties governing general standards of protection to be provided by States

Treaties governing registration systems for obtaining protection

Treaties governing international classification systems

  • Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks
  • Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks

A list that includes additional regional agreements can be found at this page of the International Trademark Association (INTA).

National Trademark Laws

EU Trademark Laws

European Commission's Trademarks and Community Marks landing page. The Community Trade Mark, or CTM, applies in every country in the European Union. It is administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).

National implementing measures to comply with EU directives can be searched on this EurLex page.

EU's Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) Law search page for Trademarks and Designs.

Madrid Protocol, from the USPTO

Madrid Protocol
Access to the procedures, rules, enabling acts, and other information regarding the international protocol.

U.S. Enforcement

United States International Trade Commission, Intellectual Property
§ 337 information page.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posts this Intellectual Property  web page.

It also prepares a yearly "Special 301" report, an "...annual review of the global state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement." The report includes details on copyright, trademark, IP piracy, and IP treaty compliance by various countries. The wide ranging report also sets out a "Watch List" of allegedly egregious violators.

CALI lesson / Study Aids

European Union Trademark Basics
Lesson Completion Time: 1 hr.

Trademarks in the European Union: Advanced Topics
Lesson Completion Time: 45 minutes