With the purposes of expediting the registration and management of trademarks worldwide, on November 27^th, 2020, the Executive filed a bill to approve the incorporation of Chile into the "Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks" (the "Madrid Protocol"). After going through several constitutional procedures and being approved by National Congress, on April 4^th, 2022, Chile deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol before the World Intellectual Property Organization, becoming the 111^th member of the Madrid System, which covers 127 countries. The Madrid Protocol will enter into force on July 4^th, 2022.

The Madrid System contemplates a centralized trademark application and management process. In the context of this system, filing a single international application is equivalent to filing national applications in all the countries that are designated by the applicant. The centralized registration provides a simple and efficient way of managing a portfolio of international trademarks within the member countries of the Madrid Protocol.

Through the Madrid System, owners of trademark applications will have access to an expedited procedure for the protection of their trademarks with a reach that is practically global, and which allows to reduce the expenses associated to the registration fees, especially in the case of trademarks that must be protected in several countries.

The national grant of trademark applications processed through the Madrid System is a faculty of the Trademark Office of each designated country, and those applications could be faced with oppositions, like if they had been filed directly before the national Trademark Office. If the trademark is granted, it will be protected from the date of the international registration, in the same manner as if the trademark had been filed before the national Trademark Office.

The international registration may be renewed every 10 years and is subject to the payment of the fees established in the Madrid System.

In case you have any doubts or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.