Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks

Protocol Relating to
the Madrid Agreement Concerning
the International Registration
of Marks
Adopted at Madrid on June 27, 1989
List of the Articles of the Protocol
Article 1:
Article 2:
Article 3:
Article 3bis:
Article 3ter:
Article 4:
Article 4bis:

Membership in the Madrid Union
Securing Protection through International Registration
International Application
Territorial Effect
Request for “Territorial Extension”
Effects of International Registration
Replacement of a National or Regional Registration by an
International Registration
Article 5:
Refusal and Invalidation of Effects of International Registration in
Respect of Certain Contracting Parties
Article 5bis:
Documentary Evidence of Legitimacy of Use of Certain Elements of
the Mark
Article 5ter:
Copies of Entries in International Register; Searches for
Anticipation’s; Extracts from International Register
Article 6:
Period of Validity of International Registration; Dependence and
Independence of International Registration
Article 7:
Renewal of International Registration
Article 8:
Fees for International Application and Registration
Article 9:
Recordal of Change in the Ownership of an International
Registration
Article 9bis:
Recordal of Certain Matters Concerning an International
Registration
Article 9ter:
Fees for Certain Records
Article 9quater:
Common Office of Several Contracting States
Article 9quinquies: Transformation of an International Registration into National or
Regional Applications
Article 9sexies:
Safeguard of the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement
Article 10:
Assembly
Article 11:
International Bureau
Article 12:
Finances
Article 13:
Amendment of Certain Articles of the Protocol
Article 14:
Becoming Party to the Protocol; Entry into Force
Article 15:
Denunciation
Article 16:
Signature; Languages; Depository Functions

Article 1
Membership in the Madrid Union
The States party to this Protocol (hereinafter referred to as “the Contracting States”), even where
they are not party to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks as revised
at Stockholm in 1967 and as amended in 1979 (hereinafter referred to as “the Madrid (Stockholm)
Agreement”), and the organizations referred to in Article 14(1)(b) which are party to this Protocol
(hereinafter referred to as “the Contracting Organizations”) shall be members of the same Union of which
countries party to the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement are members. Any reference in this Protocol to
“Contracting Parties” shall be construed as a reference to both Contracting States and Contracting
Organizations.

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Article 2
Securing Protection through International Registration
(1) Where an application for the registration of a mark has been filed with the Office of a Contracting
Party, or where a mark has been registered in the register of the Office of a Contracting Party, the person
in whose name that application (hereinafter referred to as “the basic application”) or that registration
(hereinafter referred to as “the basic registration”) stands may, subject to the provisions of this Protocol,
secure protection for his mark in the territory of the Contracting Parties, by obtaining the registration of
that mark in the register of the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(hereinafter referred to as “the international registration,” “the International Register,” “the International
Bureau” and “the Organization,” respectively), provided that,
(i) where the basic application has been filed with the Office of a Contracting State or where the
basic registration has been made by such an Office, the person in whose name that application
or registration stands is a national of that Contracting State, or is domiciled, or has a real and
effective industrial or commercial establishment, in the said Contracting State,
(ii) where the basic application has been filed with the Office of a Contracting Organization or
where the basic registration has been made by such an Office, the person in whose name that
application or registration stands is a national of a State member of that Contracting
Organization, or is domiciled, or has a real and effective industrial or commercial
establishment, in the territory of the said Contracting Organization.
(2) The application for international registration (hereinafter referred to as “the international
application”) shall be filed with the International Bureau through the intermediary of the Office with which
the basic application was filed or by which the basic registration was made (hereinafter referred to as “the
Office of origin”), as the case may be.
(3) Any reference in this Protocol to an “Office” or an “Office of a Contracting Party” shall be
construed as a reference to the office that is in charge, on behalf of a Contracting Party, of the registration
of marks, and any reference in this Protocol to “marks” shall be construed as a reference to trademarks
and service marks.
(4) For the purposes of this Protocol, “territory of a Contracting Party” means, where the Contracting
Party is a State, the territory of that State and, where the Contracting Party is an intergovernmental
organization, the territory in which the constituting treaty of that intergovernmental organization applies.
Article 3
International Application
(1) Every international application under this Protocol shall be presented on the form prescribed by the
Regulations. The Office of origin shall certify that the particulars appearing in the international application
correspond to the particulars appearing, at the time of the certification, in the basic application or basic
registration, as the case may be. Furthermore, the said Office shall indicate,
(i) in the case of a basic application, the date and number of that application,
(ii) in the case of a basic registration, the date and number of that registration as well as the date
and number of the application from which the basic registration resulted.
The Office of origin shall also indicate the date of the international application.
(2) The applicant must indicate the goods and services in respect of which protection of the mark is
claimed and also, if possible, the corresponding class or classes according to the classification established
by the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes
of the Registration of Marks. If the applicant does not give such indication, the International Bureau shall
classify the goods and services in the appropriate classes of the said classification. The indication of classes
given by the applicant shall be subject to control by the International Bureau, which shall exercise the said
control in association with the Office of origin. In the event of disagreement between the said Office and the
International Bureau, the opinion of the latter shall prevail.
(3) If the applicant claims color as a distinctive feature of his mark, he shall be requir ed

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(i) to state the fact, and to file with his international application a notice specifying the color or
the combination of colors claimed;
(ii) to append to his international application copies in color of the said mark, which shall be
attached to the notifications given by the International Bureau; the number of such copies shall
be fixed by the Regulations.
(4) The International Bureau shall register immediately the marks filed in accordance with Article 2. The
international registration shall bear the date on which the international application was received in the
Office of origin, provided that the international application has been received by the International Bureau
within a period of two months from that date. If the international application has not been received within
that period, the international registration shall bear the date on which the said international application
was received by the International Bureau. The International Bureau shall notify the international
registration without delay to the Offices concerned. Marks registered in the International Register shall be
published in a periodical gazette issued by the International Bureau, on the basis of the particulars
contained in the international application.
(5) With a view to the publicity to be given to marks registered in the International Register, each Office
shall receive from the International Bureau a number of copies of the said gazette free of charge and a
number of copies at a reduced price, under the conditions fixed by the Assembly referred to in Article 10
(hereinafter referred to as “the Assembly”). Such publicity shall be deemed to be sufficient for the purposes
of all the Contracting Parties, and no other publicity may be required of the holder of the international
registration.
Article 3bis
Territorial Effect
The protection resulting from the international registration shall extend to any Contracting Party
only at the request of the person who files the international application or who is the holder of the
international registration. However, no such request can be made with respect to the Contracting Party
whose Office is the Office of origin.
Article 3ter
Request for “Territorial Extension”
(1) Any request for extension of the protection resulting from the international registration to any
Contracting Party shall be specially mentioned in the international application.
(2) A request for territorial extension may also be made subsequently to the international registration .
Any such request shall be presented on the form prescribed by the Regulations. It shall be immediately
recorded by the International Bureau, which shall notify such recordal without delay to the Office or Offices
concerned. Such recordal shall be published in the periodical gazette of the International Bureau. Such
territorial extension shall be effective from the date on which it has been recorded in the International
Register; it shall cease to be valid on the expiry of the international registration to which it relates.
Article 4
Effects of International Registration
(1)
(a) From the date of the registration or recordal effected in accordance with the provisions of
Articles 3 and 3ter, the protection of the mark in each of the Contracting Parties concerned shall be the
same as if the mark had been deposited direct with the Office of that Contracting Party. If no refusal has
been notified to the International Bureau in accordance with Article 5(1) and (2) or if a refusal notified in
accordance with the said Article has been withdrawn subsequently, the protection of the mark in the
Contracting Party concerned shall, as from the said date, be the same as if the mark had been registered by
the Office of that Contracting Party.

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(b) The indication of classes of goods and services provided for in Article 3 shall not bind the
Contracting Parties with regard to the determination of the scope of the protection of the mark.
(2) Every international registration shall enjoy the right of priority provided for by
Article 4 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, without it being necessary to
comply with the formalities prescribed in Section D of that Article.
Article 4bis
Replacement of a National or Regional Registration by an International Registration
(1) Where a mark that is the subject of a national or regional registration in the Office of a Contracting
Party is also the subject of an international registration and both registrations stand in the name of the
same person, the international registration is deemed to replace the national or regional registration,
without prejudice to any rights acquired by virtue of the latter, provided that
(i) the protection resulting from the international registration extends to the said Contracting
Party under Article 3ter(1) or (2),
(ii) all the goods and services listed in the national or regional registration are also listed in the
international registration in respect of the said Contracting Party,
(iii) such extension takes effect after the date of the national or regional registration.
(2) The Office referred to in paragraph (1) shall, upon request, be required to take note in its register of
the international registration.
Article 5
Refusal and Invalidation of Effects of International Registration
in Respect of Certain Contracting Parties
(1) Where the applicable legislation so authorizes, any Office of a Contracting Party which has been
notified by the International Bureau of an extension to that Contracting Party, under Article 3ter(1) or (2),
of the protection resulting from the international registration shall have the right to declare in a notification
of refusal that protection cannot be granted in the said Contracting Party to the mark which is the subject of
such extension. Any such refusal can be based only on the grounds which would apply, under the Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, in the case of a mark deposited direct with the Office
which notifies the refusal. However, protection may not be refused, even partially, by reason only that the
applicable legislation would permit registration only in a limited number of classes or for a limited number
of goods or services.
(2)
(a) Any Office wishing to exercise such right shall notify its refusal to the International Bureau,
together with a statement of all grounds, within the period prescribed by the law applicable to that Office
and at the latest, subject to subparagraphs (b) and (c), before the expiry of one year from the date on which
the notification of the extension referred to in paragraph (1) has been sent to that Office by the International
Bureau.
(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), any Contracting Party may declare that, for international
registrations made under this Protocol, the time limit of one year referred to in subparagraph (a) is
replaced by 18 months.
(c) Such declaration may also specify that, when a refusal of protection may result from an opposition
to the granting of protection, such refusal may be notified by the Office of the said Contracting Party to the
International Bureau after the expiry of the 18–month time limit. Such an Office may, with respect to any
given international registration, notify a refusal of protection after the expiry of the 18–month time limit,
but only if
(i) it has, before the expiry of the 18–month time limit, informed the International Bureau of the
possibility that oppositions may be filed after the expiry of the 18–month time limit, and
(ii) the notification of the refusal based on an opposition is made within a time limit of not more
than seven months from the date on which the opposition period begins; if the opposition

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period expires before this time limit of seven months, the notification must be made within a
time limit of one month from the expiry of the opposition period.
(d) Any declaration under subparagraphs (b) or (c) may be made in the instruments referred to in
Article 14(2), and the effective date of the declaration shall be the same as the date of entry into force of this
Protocol with respect to the State or intergovernmental organization having made the declaration. Any such
declaration may also be made later, in which case the declaration shall have effect three months after its
receipt by the Director General of the Organization (hereinafter referred to as “the Director General”), or
at any later date indicated in the declaration, in respect of any international registration whose date is the
same as or is later than the effective date of the declaration.
(e) Upon the expiry of a period of ten years from the entry into force of this Protocol, the Assembly
shall examine the operation of the system established by subparagraphs (a) to (d). Thereafter, the provisions
of the said subparagraphs may be modified by a unanimous decision of the Assembly.
(3) The International Bureau shall, without delay, transmit one of the copies of the notification of refusal
to the holder of the international registration. The said holder shall have the same remedies as if the mark
had been deposited by him direct with the Office which has notified its refusal. Where the International
Bureau has received information under paragraph (2)(c)(i), it shall, without delay, transmit the said
information to the holder of the international registration.
(4) The grounds for refusing a mark shall be communicated by the International Bureau to any interested
party who may so request.
(5) Any Office which has not notified, with respect to a given international registration, any provisional
or final refusal to the International Bureau in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) shall, with respect to
that international registration, lose the benefit of the right provided for in paragraph (1).
(6) Invalidation, by the competent authorities of a Contracting Party, of the effects, in the territory of that
Contracting Party, of an international registration may not be pronounced without the holder of such
international registration having, in good time, been afforded the opportunity of defending his rights.
Invalidation shall be notified to the International Bureau.
Article 5bis
Documentary Evidence of Legitimacy of Use of Certain Elements of the Mark
Documentary evidence of the legitimacy of the use of certain elements incorporated in a mark, such
as armorial bearings, escutcheons, portraits, honorary distinctions, titles, trade names, names of persons
other than the name of the applicant, or other like inscriptions, which might be required by the Offices of
the Contracting Parties shall be exempt from any legalization as well as from any certification other than
that of the Office of origin.
Article 5ter
Copies of Entries in International Register;
Searches for Anticipation’s; Extracts from International Register
(1) The International Bureau shall issue to any person applying therefor, upon the payment of a fee fixed
by the Regulations, a copy of the entries in the International Register concerning a specific mark.
(2) The International Bureau may also, upon payment, undertake searches for anticipation’s among
marks that are the subject of international registrations.
(3) Extracts from the International Register requested with a view to their production in one of the
Contracting Parties shall be exempt from any legalization.

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Article 6
Period of Validity of International Registration;
Dependence and Independence of International Registration
(1) Registration of a mark at the International Bureau is effected for ten years, with the possibility of
renewal under the conditions specified in Article 7.
(2) Upon expiry of a period of five years from the date of the international registration, such registration
shall become independent of the basic application or the registration resulting therefrom, or of the basic
registration, as the case may be, subject to the following provisions.
(3) The protection resulting from the international registration, whether or not it has been the subject of
a transfer, may no longer be invoked if, before the expiry of five years from the date of the international
registration, the basic application or the registration resulting therefrom, or the basic registration, as the
case may be, has been withdrawn, has lapsed, has been renounced or has been the subject of a final
decision of rejection, revocation, cancellation or invalidation, in respect of all or some of the goods and
services listed in the international registration. The same applies if
(i) an appeal against a decision refusing the effects of the basic application,
(ii) an action requesting the withdrawal of the basic application or the revocation, cancellation or
invalidation of the registration resulting from the basic application or of the basic registration,
or
(iii) an opposition to the basic application
results, after the expiry of the five–year period, in a final decision of rejection, revocation, cancellation or
invalidation, or ordering the withdrawal, of the basic application, or the registration resulting therefrom, or
the basic registration, as the case may be, provided that such appeal, action or opposition had begun before
the expiry of the said period. The same also applies if the basic application is withdrawn, or the registration
resulting from the basic application or the basic registration is renounced, after the expiry of the five–year
period, provided that, at the time of the withdrawal or renunciation, the said application or registration was
the subject of a proceeding referred to in item (i), (ii) or (iii) and that such proceeding had begun before the
expiry of the said period.
(4) The Office of origin shall, as prescribed in the Regulations, notify the International Bureau of the
facts and decisions relevant under paragraph (3), and the International Bureau shall, as prescribed in the
Regulations, notify the interested parties and effect any publication accordingly. The Office of origin shall,
where applicable, request the International Bureau to cancel, to the extent applicable, the international
registration, and the International Bureau shall proceed accordingly.
Article 7
Renewal of International Registration
(1) Any international registration may be renewed for a period of ten years from the expiry of the
preceding period, by the mere payment of the basic fee and, subject to Article 8(7), of the supplementary
and complementary fees provided for in Article 8(2).
(2) Renewal may not bring about any change in the international registration in its latest form.
(3) Six months before the expiry of the term of protection, the International Bureau shall, by sending an
unofficial notice, remind the holder of the international registration and his representative, if any, of the
exact date of expiry.
(4) Subject to the payment of a surcharge fixed by the Regulations, a period of grace of six months shall
be allowed for renewal of the international registration.

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Article 8
Fees for International Application and Registration
(1) The Office of origin may fix, at its own discretion, and collect, for its own benefit, a fee which it may
require from the applicant for international registration or from the holder of the international registration
in connection with the filing of the international application or the renewal of the international registration.
(2) Registration of a mark at the International Bureau shall be subject to the advance payment of an
international fee which shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph (7)(a), include,
(i) a basic fee;
(ii) a supplementary fee for each class of the International Classification, beyond three, into which
the goods or services to which the mark is applied will fall;
(iii) a complementary fee for any request for extension of protection under Article 3ter.
(3) However, the supplementary fee specified in paragraph (2)(ii) may, without prejudice to the date of
the international registration, be paid within the period fixed by the Regulations if the number of classes of
goods or services has been fixed or disputed by the International Bureau. If, upon expiry of the said period,
the supplementary fee has not been paid or the list of goods or services has not been reduced to the required
extent by the applicant, the international application shall be deemed to have been abandoned.
(4) The annual product of the various receipts from international registration, with the exception of the
receipts derived from the fees mentioned in paragraph (2)(ii) and (iii), shall be divided equally among the
Contracting Parties by the International Bureau, after deduction of the expenses and charges necessitated
by the implementation of this Protocol.
(5) The amounts derived from the supplementary fees provided for in paragraph (2)(ii) shall be divided,
at the expiry of each year, among the interested Contracting Parties in proportion to the number of marks
for which protection has been applied for in each of them during that year, this number being multiplied, in
the case of Contracting Parties which make an examination, by a coefficient which shall be determined by
the Regulations.
(6) The amounts derived from the complementary fees provided for in paragraph (2)(iii) shall be divided
according to the same rules as those provided for in paragraph (5).
(7)
(a) Any Contracting Party may declare that, in connection with each international registration in
which it is mentioned under Article 3ter, and in connection with the renewal of any such international
registration, it wants to receive, instead of a share in the revenue produced by the supplementary and
complementary fees, a fee (hereinafter referred to as “the individual fee”) whose amount shall be indicated
in the declaration, and can be changed in further declarations, but may not be higher than the equivalent of
the amount which the said Contracting Party's Office would be entitled to receive from an applicant for a
ten–year registration, or from the holder of a registration for a ten–year renewal of that registration, of the
mark in the register of the said Office, the said amount being diminished by the savings resulting from the
international procedure. Where such an individual fee is payable,
(i) no supplementary fees referred to in paragraph (2)(ii) shall be payable if only Contracting
Parties which have made a declaration under this subparagraph are mentioned under
Article 3ter, and
(ii) no complementary fee referred to in paragraph (2)(iii) shall be payable in respect of any
Contracting Party which has made a declaration under this subparagraph.
(b) Any declaration under subparagraph (a) may be made in the instruments referred to in
Article 14(2), and the effective date of the declaration shall be the same as the date of entry into force of this
Protocol with respect to the State or intergovernmental organization having made the declaration. Any such
declaration may also be made later, in which case the declaration shall have effect three months after its
receipt by the Director General, or at any later date indicated in the declaration, in respect of any
international registration whose date is the same as or is later than the effective date of the declaration.

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Article 9
Recordal of Change in the Ownership of
an International Registration
At the request of the person in whose name the international registration stands, or at the request of
an interested Office made ex officio or at the request of an interested person, the International Bureau shall
record in the International Register any change in the ownership of that registration, in respect of all or
some of the Contracting Parties in whose territories the said registration has effect and in respect of all or
some of the goods and services listed in the registration, provided that the new holder is a person who,
under Article 2(1), is entitled to file international applications.
Article 9bis
Recordal of Certain Matters Concerning an International Registration
The International Bureau shall record in the International Register
(i) any change in the name or address of the holder of the international registration,
(ii) the appointment of a representative of the holder of the international registration and any other
relevant fact concerning such representative,
(iii) any limitation, in respect of all or some of the Contracting Parties, of the goods and services
listed in the international registration,
(iv) any renunciation, cancellation or invalidation of the international registration in respect of all
or some of the Contracting Parties,
(v) any other relevant fact, identified in the Regulations, concerning the rights in a mark that is the
subject of an international registration.
Article 9ter
Fees for Certain Records
Any recordal under Article 9 or under Article 9bis may be subject to the payment of a fee.
Article 9quater
Common Office of Several Contracting States
(1) If several Contracting States agree to effect the unification of their domestic legislation’s on marks,
they may notify the Director General
(i) that a common Office shall be substituted for the national Office of each of them, and
(ii) that the whole of their respective territories shall be deemed to be a single State for the
purposes of the application of all or part of the provisions preceding this Article as well as the
provisions of Articles 9quinquies and 9sexies.
(2) Such notification shall not take effect until three months after the date of the communication thereof
by the Director General to the other Contracting Parties.
Article 9quinquies
Transformation of an International Registration into National or Regional Applications
Where, in the event that the international registration is cancelled at the request of the Office of
origin under Article 6(4), in respect of all or some of the goods and services listed in the said registration,
the person who was the holder of the international registration files an application for the registration of
the same mark with the Office of any of the Contracting Parties in the territory of which the international
registration had effect, that application shall be treated as if it had been filed on the date of the
international registration according to Article 3(4) or on the date of recordal of the territorial extension
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according to Article 3ter(2) and, if the international registration enjoyed priority, shall enjoy the same
priority, provided that
(i) such application is filed within three months from the date on which the international
registration was cancelled,
(ii) the goods and services listed in the application are in fact covered by the list of goods and
services contained in the international registration in respect of the Contracting Party
concerned, and
(iii) such application complies with all the requirements of the applicable law, including the
requirements concerning fees.
Article 9sexies
Safeguard of the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement
(1) Where, with regard to a given international application or a given international registration, the
Office of origin is the Office of a State that is party to both this Protocol and the Madrid (Stockholm)
Agreement, the provisions of this Protocol shall have no effect in the territory of any other State that is also
party to both this Protocol and the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement.
(2) The Assembly may, by a three–fourths majority, repeal paragraph (1), or restrict the scope of
paragraph (1), after the expiry of a period of ten years from the entry into force of this Protocol, but not
before the expiry of a period of five years from the date on which the majority of the countries party to the
Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement have become party to this Protocol. In the vote of the Assembly only those
States which are party to both the said Agreement and this Protocol shall have the right to participate.
Article 10
Assembly
(1)
(a) The Contracting Parties shall be members of the same Assembly as the countries party to the
Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement.
(b) Each Contracting Party shall be represented in that Assembly by one delegate, who may be
assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.
(c) The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Contracting Party which has appointed it,
except for the travel expenses and the subsistence allowance of one delegate for each Contracting Party,
which shall be paid from the funds of the Union.
(2) The Assembly shall, in addition to the functions which it has under the Madrid (Stockholm)
Agreement, also
(i) deal with all matters concerning the implementation of this Protocol;
(ii) give directions to the International Bureau concerning the preparation for conferences of
revision of this Protocol, due account being taken of any comments made by those countries of
the Union which are not party to this Protocol;
(iii) adopt and modify the provisions of the Regulations concerning the implementation of this
Protocol;
(iv) perform such other functions as are appropriate under this Protocol.
(3)
(a) Each Contracting Party shall have one vote in the Assembly. On matters concerning only
countries that are party to the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement, Contracting Parties that are not party to the
said Agreement shall not have the right to vote, whereas, on matters concerning only Contracting Parties,
only the latter shall have the right to vote.
(b) One–half of the members of the Assembly which have the right to vote on a given matter shall
constitute the quorum for the purposes of the vote on that matter.

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(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (b), if, in any session, the number of the members
of the Assembly having the right to vote on a given matter which are represented is less than one–half but
equal to or more than one–third of the members of the Assembly having the right to vote on that matter, the
Assembly may make decisions but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such
decisions shall take effect only if the conditions set forth hereinafter are fulfilled. The International Bureau
shall communicate the said decisions to the members of the Assembly having the right to vote on the said
matter which were not represented and shall invite them to express in writing their vote or abstention within
a period of three months from the date of the communication. If, at the expiry of this period, the number of
such members having thus expressed their vote or abstention attains the number of the members which was
lacking for attaining the quorum in the session itself, such decisions shall take effect provided that at the
same time the required majority still obtains.
(d) Subject to the provisions of Articles 5(2)(e), 9sexies(2), 12 and 13(2), the decisions of the
Assembly shall require two–thirds of the votes cast.
(e) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
(f) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one member of the Assembly only.
(4) In addition to meeting in ordinary sessions and extraordinary sessions as provided for by the Madrid
(Stockholm) Agreement, the Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director
General, at the request of one–fourth of the members of the Assembly having the right to vote on the matters
proposed to be included in the agenda of the session. The agenda of such an extraordinary session shall be
prepared by the Director General.
Article 11
International Bureau
(1) International registration and related duties, as well as all other administrative tasks, under or
concerning this Protocol, shall be performed by the International Bureau.
(2)
(a) The International Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions of the Assembly, make the
preparations for the conferences of revision of this Protocol.
(b) The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and international non–
governmental organizations concerning preparations for such conferences of revision.
(c) The Director General and persons designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, in
the discussions at such conferences of revision.
(3) The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned to it in relation to this Protocol.
Article 12
Finances
As far as Contracting Parties are concerned, the finances of the Union shall be governed by the same
provisions as those contained in Article 12 of the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement, provided that any
reference to Article 8 of the said Agreement shall be deemed to be a reference to Article 8 of this Protocol.
Furthermore, for the purposes of Article 12(6)(b) of the said Agreement, Contracting Organizations shall,
subject to a unanimous decision to the contrary by the Assembly, be considered to belong to contribution
class I (one) under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Article 13
Amendment of Certain Articles of the Protocol
(1) Proposals for the amendment of Articles 10, 11, 12, and the present Article, may be initiated by any
Contracting Party, or by the Director General. Such proposals shall be communicated by the Director
General to the Contracting Parties at least six months in advance of their consideration by the Assembly.

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(2) Amendments to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall be adopted by the Assembly. Adoption
shall require three–fourths of the votes cast, provided that any amendment to Article 10, and to the present
paragraph, shall require four–fifths of the votes cast.
(3) Any amendment to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall enter into force one month after
written notifications of acceptance, effected in accordance with their respective constitutional processes,
have been received by the Director General from three–fourths of those States and intergovernmental
organizations which, at the time the amendment was adopted, were members of the Assembly and had the
right to vote on the amendment. Any amendment to the said Articles thus accepted shall bind all the States
and intergovernmental organizations which are Contracting Parties at the time the amendment enters into
force, or which become Contracting Parties at a subsequent date.
Article 14
Becoming Party to the Protocol;
Entry into Force
(1)
(a) Any State that is a party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property may
become party to this Protocol.
(b) Furthermore, any intergovernmental organization may also become party to this Protocol where
the following conditions are fulfilled:
(i) at least one of the member States of that organization is a party to the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property;
(ii) that organization has a regional Office for the purposes of registeri ng marks with effect in the
territory of the organization, provided that such Office is not the subject of a notification under
Article 9quater.
(2) Any State or organization referred to in paragraph (1) may sign this Protocol. Any such State or
organization may, if it has signed this Protocol, deposit an instrument of ratification, acceptance or
approval of this Protocol or, if it has not signed this Protocol, deposit an instrument of accession to this
Protocol.
(3) The instruments referred to in paragraph (2) shall be deposited with the Director General.
(4)
(a) This Protocol shall enter into force three months after four instruments of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession have been deposited, provided that at least one of those instruments has been
deposited by a country party to the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement and at least one other of those
instruments has been deposited by a State not party to the Madrid (Stockholm) Agreement or by any of the
organizations referred to in paragraph (1)(b).
(b) With respect to any other State or organization referred to in paragraph (1), this Protocol shall
enter into force three months after the date on which its ratification, acceptance, approval or accession has
been notified by the Director General.
(5) Any State or organization referred to in paragraph (1) may, when depositing its instrument of
ratification, acceptance or approval of, or accession to, this Protocol, declare that the protection resulting
from any international registration effected under this Protocol before the date of entry into force of this
Protocol with respect to it cannot be extended to it.
Article 15
Denunciation
(1) This Protocol shall remain in force without limitation as to time.
(2) Any Contracting Party may denounce this Protocol by notification addressed to the Director General.
(3) Denunciation shall take effect one year after the day on which the Director General has received the
notification.

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(4) The right of denunciation provided for by this Article shall not be exercised by any Contracting Party
before the expiry of five years from the date upon which this Protocol entered into force with respect to that
Contracting Party.
(5)
(a) Where a mark is the subject of an international registration having effect in the denouncing State
or intergovernmental organization at the date on which the denunciation becomes effective, the holder of
such registration may file an application for the registration of the same mark with the Office of the
denouncing State or intergovernmental organization, which shall be treated as if it had been filed on the
date of the international registration according to Article 3(4) or on the date of recordal of the territorial
extension according to Article 3ter(2) and, if the international registration enjoyed priority, enjoy the same
priority, provided that
(i) such application is filed within two years from the date on which the denunciation became
effective,
(ii) the goods and services listed in the application are in fact covered by the list of goods and
services contained in the international registration in respect of the denouncing State or
intergovernmental organization, and
(iii) such application complies with all the requirements of the applicable law, including the
requirements concerning fees.
(b) The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall also apply in respect of any mark that is the subject of
an international registration having effect in Contracting Parties other than the denouncing State or
intergovernmental organization at the date on which denunciation becomes effective and whose holder,
because of the denunciation, is no longer entitled to file international applications under Article 2(1).
Article 16
Signature; Languages; Depository Functions
(1)
(a) This Protocol shall be signed in a single copy in the English, French and Spanish languages, and
shall be deposited with the Director General when it ceases to be open for signature at Madrid. The texts in
the three languages shall be equally authentic.
(b) Official texts of this Protocol shall be established by the Director General, after consultation with
the interested governments and organizations, in the Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese,
Portuguese and Russian languages, and in such other languages as the Assembly may designate.
(2) This Protocol shall remain open for signature at Madrid until December 31, 1989.
(3) The Director General shall transmit two copies, certified by the Government of Spain, of the signed
texts of this Protocol to all States and intergovernmental organizations that may become party to this
Protocol.
(4) The Director General shall register this Protocol with the Secretariat of the United Nations.
(5) The Director General shall notify all States and international organizations that may become or are
party to this Protocol of signatures, deposits of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession, the entry into force of this Protocol and any amendment thereto, any notification of denunciation
and any declaration provided for in this Protocol.

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