The Government of Finland has notified the Director General of WIPO in accordance with new Rule 27 ter(2)(b) of the Common Regulations, which has entered into force on February 1, 2019.
In accordance with new Rule 27 ter(2)(b) of the Common Regulations, the Government of Finland has declared that new Rule 27 ter(2)(a) of the Common Regulations does not apply in respect of Finland. Therefore, as a result, its Office will not present to the International Bureau of WIPO requests for the merger of international registrations resulting from division under this new Rule.
The new Rules 27ter(2)(b) and 40(6) of the Common Regulations under the Madrid Agreement entered into force on February 1, 2019. According to them, international registration holders can request the division and merger of international trademark registrations. The amendments state that requests for division must be filed with the local IPO, and not directly with WIPO. The local IPO may examine the request to ensure that it meets the requirements in the applicable national or regional law before notifying the International Bureau of WIPO.
However, contracting states have the right to notify WIPO that they will not present division requests to WIPO if their local legislation does not provide for the division of trademark applications.
Source: World Intellectual Property Organization
