The local benefits of Madrid: selling the Protocol

Last week WTR sat down with representatives of Colombia, Mexico and New Zealand’s IP offices. All three have acceded to the Madrid system in the past 12 months and spoke positively about the transition. However, prior to acceding some resistance was experienced from domestic private practitioners fearful of the impact that a one-stop international registration shop could have on their own prosecution practice. The message from the Philippines national office? Change is good – and can actually provide a boost to local firms.