1. Positive conditions for registered trademarks.
Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks provides that if an applicant requires color to be a distinctive feature of his or her trademark, he or she must: ① state the actual situation and submit a notice stating the color or color combination required along with the application; ② submit a color drawing of the trademark along with the application and attach it to the notice of the International Bureau. The number of copies of such drawings shall be specified in the rules.
2. Madrid International Registration of Marks.
Madrid International Registration of Marks refers to the registration of trademarks between contracting parties of the Madrid Union in accordance with the provisions of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as the Madrid Agreement) or the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as the Madrid Protocol). Compared with registration abroad alone, Madrid International Registration of Marks has the advantages of wide coverage, convenient and fast procedures, and relatively low costs.
The Madrid Union refers to a special union for the international registration of trademarks composed of countries or intergovernmental organizations to which the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol apply. As of August 2017, the Madrid Union has 99 contracting parties covering 115 countries. Major economies in the world, such as China, the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, and Switzerland, are all members of the Madrid Union.