ISLAMABAD, Dec 7: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is urging the developing countries including Pakistan to join the Madrid agreement on international registration of trade marks that would facilitate the exporters in marketing their products in the member countries with a single registration at the WIPO centre.

This was the consensus of majority of speakers at a two-day training workshop organized by the WIPO in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce here on Tuesday. The training programme was attended by the officials of Saarc countries to know about the utility and objectives of the Madrid system of registration of trade marks.

The training workshop was inaugurated by Joint Secretary WTO Wing, Ministry of Commerce, Qasim Niaz. The Madrid agreement, which was adopted in 1989, entered into force on December 1, 1995 and came into operation on April 1, 1996.

The system was administered by the international bureau of WIPO, which maintained the international register and published the WIPO Gazette of international marks. Till now, around 70 countries are signatory to the Madrid Agreement.

WIPO Senior Counsellor Cooperation for Development Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Mansur Raza told Dawn that after registering the mark or filing an application for registration with the office of origin, one has only to file one application in one language and pay one fee instead of filing separately in the trademark offices of various contracting parties in different languages and paying a separate fee in each office.

According to the counsellor, WIPO was creating awareness among the developing countries of the positive opportunities available under the agreement and also strengthening the capacities of the developing countries in handling registration of trade mark.

Some analysts were of the opinion that the agreement might result in an influx of imports with a trade mark, which could not be registered locally with the same trade mark. Developing countries, including Pakistan, are presently short of expertise to apply for trade mark registration.

They, however, proposed that first WIPO should help build manpower capacity in the developing countries for handling international registration marks. Under the agreement, the international registration was effective for 10 years and might be renewed for further 10-year period on payment of prescribed fees.