Expanding into new territory is an exciting venture, but not without its risks. Before consideration of globalization, you should have a trustworthy International Attorney on retainer to ensure smooth transition. In partnership with your attorney, there are three critical points of action that will help you to avoid any catastrophes in the process…
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In your application, you are able to directly designate the countries in which you'd like your Trademark to be protected. You can designate any number of countries as long as they're a member of the Madrid System. The registration for international Trademarks will last for 10 years and all associated fees are paid to the WIPO.
Like any nearly "perfect" system - the System has its flaws - namely that all nations globally are not a member of the Madrid Agreement. The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages by far. Even in the event you wish to register in a country singularly that is not included- you're able to file one application for many other countries in bulk.
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The U.S. Ambassador to India - Harsh Shringla - released just yesterday (January 8, 2020) that the United States and India are in talks about an exclusive trade agreement. The agreement would grant business owners of both nations preferential market access. Shringla, the now-former ambassador is set to take on his role as India's next foreign secretary later on this month.
His comments state that there has been success in bridging the gap during the latest trade talks for new trade packages. The current conversations are setting a stage for a much bigger bilateral trade agreement.
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The impeachment process for Donald J. Trump began on September 24th of 2019. Today - January 23rd - we’re just getting into the Trial portion of impeachment. Among the discoveries in American households when impeachment began was that it doesn’t *actually* mean an automatic unseating of the president. In-fact, in the other rare circumstances of Presidential impeachment, the President has been acquitted.
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Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the world has stayed attached to their mobile devices and computers, waiting for updates in real-time on the growing epidemic that many fear could become a global pandemic that makes the SARS outbreak of 2003 appear tame. The world was frankly - not prepared for a global pandemic, and speculation is flying on what it could mean…
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Sometimes there is lacking clarity about the liability when an individual as a part of a company enters into a verbal agreement - especially when it is not vocally specified who is bearing responsibility. The last thing you want or need is to be in a contract that binds you to something but you thought you were agreeing to something else.
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We have discussed the social and cultural Factors before, but make sure you know what the literacy rate is and the average educational level in the country? If you are selling to or your product is designed for the middle class, make sure there actually is a middle class that would support your product?
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Culture is very important in business and has an impact on the strategic direction of business. Culture influences management, decisions and all business functions from accounting to production. Don’t just think in terms of the national culture but also in business think of meetings, negotiation, formalities, social media use, internships and work placements hierarchy.
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When imports enter a country they normally have a tariff or a tax. So for example: when you are purchasing an item from France it’s more expensive because of a duty that the importer had to pay for it to come in. When a Trade Agreement is negotiated there is an elimination of that tax then the import comes in freely and the item may be less expensive than one you could purchase in the United States. If too many of those items are coming in then there may be concerns that there needs to be protection of that industry.
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In order to decrease fears of US litigation, or any long drawn out litigation, for that matter, NAFTA has "dispute resolution panels." These panels look at whether or not the NAFTA countries participant is being treated fairly. Under President Trump, the US has claimed that "US court's sovereignty is eroded." He would do away with the panel altogether. Canada and Mexico want to keep them of course.
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The Sanctions, under President Obama, the first U.S. President to visit since the embargo, authorized specific licenses for travel conditions and other transactions directly related to attendance or professional meetings in Cuba. This did not change the sanctions, but simply softened them. With a change of policy came diplomatic travel which included increase in tourist industries; with U.S. businesses going in and Cuban entrepreneurs opening up their homes for restaurants and cars for joyrides.
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You should consider registering your mark in any country in which you currently offer your products or services under that mark. You should also consider filing in those countries where you intend to use the mark for your products or services in the future. The use of a mark is not a prerequisite for filing an application in most countries; however, some countries do have use requirements.
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