On 11 March 2015, Zimbabwe will become a member of the Madrid
Protocol – an international filing system which allows trade
mark applicants to designate various member countries in one
international trade mark application. The system is cost effective
and eliminates vast amounts of paperwork required to file trade
mark applications in individual countries of interest, which has
made it a popular choice for many trade mark owners.
Zimbabwe will be the 94th member of the Madrid
system. OAPI (the African Intellectual Property Organisation) also
joins the Madrid Protocol on 5 March 2015. Zimbabwe and OAPI are
amongst a few other African countries that are members of the
Madrid Protocol – these include Botswana, Egypt, Ghana,
Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia,
Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia and Zambia.
