Exclusive Right to Trademark Internationally

Trademarks registration is also possible abroad. As a general rule, registration must be sought separately for each country using the official language of the relevant country. It is often necessary to use a local representative.

For a company using a trademark within the territory of the European Union, it may be more efficient to apply for a EU-trademark. The EU-trademark receives the same scope of protection within the entire European Union. Thus, a EU-trademark may be registered only if there are no earlier trademarks registered in any EU Member State that would prevent registration. Registrations are handled by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

If an applicant wishes to register its trademark in several countries also outside the European Union, the applicant may take advantage of the international system for registration of trademarks, which is created by virtue of an international convention commonly referred to as the Madrid Protocol and administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The simplified application process allows the applicant to make an international application in English, as opposed to applying for registration separately in all countries in the local language. In Finland, the application for international registration of a trademark is filed with the Finnish Patet and registration Office or with EUIPO, which forwards it to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) office in Geneva. A prerequisite for filing the application is that the applicant is a Finnish citizen or or a legal person with a domicile or company in Finland. In addition, an application for registration of the trademark in Finland or EU must be pending. The applicant may designate the countries, being parties to the Madrid Protocol, in which the applicant wishes to obtain protection for the trademark. The geographical scope may be extended at a later stage. The Madrid system also allows the applicant to designate the entire European Union as one area in which protection is sought, if the trade mark was originally applied for exclusively in Finland.. The registration will become effective in the designated countries, provided that no obstacles are encountered under local law. The registration is effective for a period of ten years, and can be renewed as many times as desired for 10 years at a time.. The validity and scope of the international registration depends on the validity of the national trademark registration for a period of five years. During such five year period, all changes in the national trademark registration will directly affect the international registration and its scope.