Rajya Sabha Passed the Trademarks (amendment) Bill of 2009

Rajya Sabha on Tuesday has passed the Trademarks (amendment) Bill of 2009. this bill will amend the existing Trademark Act, 1999 and enable a applicant  to apply for a trademark in any of the 84 member countries of the Madrid Protocol through a single application. the bill is already passed in Lok Sabha in December last year. A copy of the bill can be found here.

Industry Minister Anand Sharma, while replying during the discussion on the bill has stated that “the Bill had been amended to align Indian trade mark with provisions of the Madrid Protocol. An Indian firm wishing to register in other countries can do so by filing a single application and one time fee”. The bill also provides for international enterprises and persons to apply in India.

Presently an applicant in India has to file the trademark separately in all the countries where they wish to take the protection.