Franchisers group seeks Philippine accession to Madrid Protocol

The Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) is urging the government to become a signatory to the Madrid Protocol, to cut the costs of registering trademarks abroad and allow more small and medium enterprises to penetrate the international market.

AFFI founding chairperson Teresa Laurel said homegrown brands and trademarks need not register in each of the Madrid Protocol signatory-countries once the country accedes to the pact, as accession means automatic registration in all member-countries.

“This will mean substantial savings for Filipino companies because it costs $3,000-$7,000 to register a trademark in other countries. Thus, accession by the Philippines to the Madrid Protocol will really be a very significant step,” she said.

The Madrid Protocol currently has more than 80 member-countries, including the United States and Japan, the country’s two largest trading partners. The US is also a favorite international destination among local firms that are expanding abroad because of the large Filipino communities there.

Laurel said the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines was all for the country’s accession to the Madrid Protocol. The government agency, however, was urging both AFFI and the Philippine Franchise Association—a group of bigger franchisers and which also included local licensees of international brands—to join hands in their push for accession.

Late last year, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged the Senate to ratify the country’s accession to the Madrid Protocol, which would automatically grant recognition by other signatories of patents and registrations filed in one member-country.

The World Intellectual Property Office said being a signatory to the Madrid Protocol would make the process of trademark registration easier and more economical. Once registered, renewal would not have to be done until 10 years later and could be done within just the home country of the trademark owner.

AFFI expects the franchising industry to expand by 20 percent this year and by 25 percent in 2012. For its members alone, sales should rise by 20 percent. AFFI member-companies have so far registered P80.5 billion in sales.

There are more than 50,000 franchises in the country, more than half of which are homegrown.