GENEVA - The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Francis Gurry, welcomed the ratification by the United States of America (USA) on October 1, 2008 of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, an international treaty on trademarks that streamlines and modernizes certain trademark office procedures.
According to a press release by WIPO, the American delegation which deposited the USA instrument of ratification with the WIPO Director General on October 1, 2008, was led by Ambassador Warren Tichenor, Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.
“The US looks forward to the Singapore Treaty entering into force,” Tichenor said.
“This ratification is a step in that direction. The Treaty will benefit not only US companies but those of all signatories looking to protect their trademarks abroad, efficiently and cost-effectively,” he added.
The Singapore Treaty, which was concluded under WIPO’s auspices in March 2006, capped international efforts to update the 1994 Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) in order to keep pace with the evolution of trademark practice.
The Treaty will enter into force as soon as 10 contracting parties (countries or qualifying intergovernmental organizations) have deposited instruments of ratification to the Treaty with the WIPO Director General. The US ratification brings the current number of states party to the Treaty to eight.