谈到知识产权保护，有多项国际协定可加速全球的知识产权保护。如要在多个管辖区获得商标保护，可通过1891年签署的《商标国际注册马德里协定》以及1989年签署的《商标国际注册马德里协定有关议定书》。

两者相辅相成，构成了马德里商标国际注册体系，为在多个管辖区同时获得商标保护提供了一种更为高效的途径。因此，可提交指定的任何/所有马德里成员国的“国际”申请，后续的注册将在各个指定国单独生效，和单一国家申请一样。

《保护工业产权巴黎公约》成员国可同意并加入《马德里协议》和/或《马德里议定书》。各国需遵守其中一项或两项条约。

尽管《马德里协定》和《马德里议定书》相辅相成，性质相同，但是这两者作为独立的条约单独实施，因此具有若干固有差异。通过《马德里协定》或《马德里议定书》提交申请会在申请要求、预期期限以及官费等方面有所不同。

例如，《马德里协定》比《马德里议定书》早近100年，旨在为获得国际商标保护提供一种更为高效便捷的途径奠定基础，无须在各个管辖区单独提交申请。

但是，《马德里议定书》旨在为马德里体系提供更为灵活的方式。相关调整推动马德里体系与更多国家和政府间组织接轨，这些国家和组织此前基于其国内法无法加入《马德里协定》。此外，《马德里协定》仅允许单个国家加入，但是除此之外，《马德里议定书》还允许政府间组织加入。

涉及到商标申请和续展，这两项条约也有所不同。例如，《马德里协定》要求提交的国际申请基于一件本国商标注册。而《马德里议定书》要求国际申请可基于本国或“基础”商标申请，或在《马德里议定书》缔约国所在商标局注册的基础商标。

《马德里协定》还规定必须在原属国商标局提交国际申请且申请人在该国设有“真实有效的工商业营业场所”。如申请人无此类商业营业场所，则只能在其居住国提交申请。然而，《马德里议定书》允许申请人基于商业营业场所或居住国选择原属国商标局。

起初，《马德里协定》规定只能以法语提交申请，但是签署《马德里议定书》后，申请人可通过马德里体系以英语提交申请。在2004年，西班牙成为此体系的又一官方语言。这意味着，无论是通过《马德里协定》还是《马德里议定书》提交申请，申请人均可以三种官方语言之一提交国际申请。但是，各个原属国商标局可对使用这三种语言进行相关限制。

这两项条约在官费支付流程方面也有所不同。例如，《马德里协定》要求申请人为各个指定成员国缴纳固定费用，但自引入《马德里议定书》后，申请人可缴纳固定费用或马德里缔约国可选择单独计费模式。通过此计费模式，缔约国收取的国际申请费用将等同于单一国家申请费。

有关商标驳回期，《马德里协定》规定为12个月，而之后出台的《马德里议定书》规定为18个月，且可延长此期限。但是，如果原属国和指定国均为《马德里协定》和《马德里议定书》的缔约国，则根据《马德里议定书》第九条之六，商标临时驳回期限为12个月。

最后，《马德里协定》规定商标的有效期为20年，而《马德里议定书》规定的新有效期为10年。虽然有效期大大缩短，但是有助于清除登记簿中未使用或未续展的商标。

虽然《马德里协定》和《马德里议定书》各个方面有所不同，但是均为获得国际商标保护的有力途径。马德里联盟覆盖130个国家，拥有114个成员国，生动诠释了全球知识产权合作的意义所在。

搜索知识产权保护相关信息时，您可能会看到专利和商标检索等术语，但是您清楚这是强制性的还是建议性的，以及由谁来进行这类检索？

可专利检索又称之为现有技术、专利或新颖性检索。进行这类检索是为了查找同一发明是否已被他人公开或是否存在近似发明。可专利性检索并非强制，通常在撰写专利申请时进行。此外，在审查您的申请时，专利局也会进行这类检索。

商标检索有助于确定同一商标是否已注册。在大多数国家，申请前进行商标检索并非强制，但是需要注意的是，在很多国家，商标检索为审查程序的一部分。

但是您如何清楚自己是否需要进行检索？专利检索的结果有助于您决定您的发明是否值得申请专利、评估专利授权的成功率以及为可能下发的审查意见准备答复。

对于商标而言，好处也非常多；您可以避免不必要的侵权，申请前便可考虑您的后续行为以及发现会提出异议的潜在竞争对手。

如进行检索，建议您寻求专业商标或专利代理人的帮助。

One of the key parts of the procedure for the registration of a trademark is the possibility of oppositions to an application.

A trademark opposition is a formal objection, filed by a third party, against the registration of a mark. National and regional trademark laws outline the procedures for the opposition process in each jurisdiction, including the particulars such as opposition terms, documents etc. In many jurisdictions, a trademark application is published once it has been accepted and deemed as registrable by the trademark office. Thereafter, third parties may object to the registration of the mark during a defined period of time on the basis of grounds set forth by the relevant trademark law. This period is otherwise known as the Opposition Period.

There are 2 types of opposition grounds - absolute and relative. Absolute grounds encompass issues with the trademark itself, such as if the mark is not distinctive, is descriptive of the goods/services covered by the mark, or is generic in nature in relation to the goods or services.

Relative grounds rely on the basis that an earlier trademark right exists, and the applied-for trademark conflicts with said earlier right, for example, if it is confusingly similar, or takes advantage of a previous mark’s reputation.

Should an opposition be filed against the registration of a mark, the relevant IPO will typically make an applicant aware of the opposition, and will set a deadline for which a response may be filed. This response will usually comprise either a Notice of Defence and a counterstatement with arguments to defend the application in full, withdrawal of the application, or limiting of the goods or services. This stage may continue to both parties filing further submissions in support of their side, and the IPO will form a decision based upon said submissions. In some jurisdictions, the parties may elect to have the matter heard at a hearing.

One possible outcome is that the opposition is rejected by the IPO. In this instance, the trademark application may then proceed to be registered without issue.

Should an opposition be accepted fully, the trademark application shall be considered withdrawn, and thus will not be registered.

If, on the other hand, the opposition is accepted partially, the trademark applicant may be obliged to amend their mark in accordance with the decision, for example, reducing the list of goods and/or services in the application which were subject to the opposition.

Alternatively, it may be possible to negotiate an amicable solution with the opposing party in order for the application to continue to registration without the need for the matter to be decided by the IPO.

Considering the complex nature of trademark oppositions, it is important for both applicants and potential opposing parties to be aware of all particulars of the trademark opposition procedure. If you have any questions regarding the trademark opposition process, or require the assistance of a trademark attorney, feel free to contact us.