Business and commerce is becoming more and more globalized. Concomitant with this increase in globalization, intellectual property needs more protection, especially internationally, more now than ever before. The United Nations has created an organization —The World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”)—that provides global services for protecting intellectual property (“IP”) across borders.
The WIPO provides four services to protect the following types of IP internationally: (1) patents; (2) trademarks; (3) designs; and (4) Protection of Appellations of Origin. Protection of Appellations of Origin protects products created due exclusively or essentially to the geographical environment of the origin country. WIPO’s role is to enable governments, businesses, and individuals throughout WIPO’s 187 member states to enforce the internationally agreed laws, which will promote innovation.
So how does one file an application? First, you submit a basic application. Your application will be forwarded to the Office of Origins. Then once your application is certified, the Office of Origins forwards it to WIPO. Finally, the scope of protection will be determined within 12-18 months. This process provides businesses and innovators an easy, cost-effective, and efficient way to protect their inventions, their brands, and their designs in the member states across the globe. In summary, by filing one international patent application, for example, applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in 148 countries throughout the world. Although there are 187 member states involved in WIPO, not all member states are involved in each of the four services mentioned above. To illustrate, the international patent system has 148 member countries whereas the international trademark system has 95 members respectively.
If you have any questions about maintaining the full protections of your IP internationally, please contact EPDGlaw. We can help ensure that you and your property get the full protection it needs, so that you can receive the full financial benefits of your creation. Patents and copyrights is a complex, fairly new area of business law, which requires an experienced attorney for assistance. EPGDlaw is located in Coral Gables and can be reached by calling (786) 837-6787 or by emailing us to schedule a consultation with you. See more at: https://www.epgdlaw.com.
