Korea plans to join Madrid Protocol

The Korean Intellectual Property Office has announced that it will submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade a proposal to join the Madrid Protocol on the international registration of marks. The ministry is expected to accept the proposal, allowing Korea to become a signatory to the protocol by as early as April this year.

Once implemented, the Madrid Protocol will allow Korean trademark owners to obtain international registrations for their marks based on a Korean application or registration. Similarly, foreign trademark owners will be able to obtain international registrations protectable in Korea based on applications or registrations in their home countries.

Korea has been a signatory to the Nice Agreement (on the international classification of goods and services for the purposes of registering marks) since January 1999.

Yoon Bae Kim, Kims & Lees, Seoul