Minutes - TRIPS Council Special Session - View details of the intervention/statement

Ambassador Eui-yong Chung (Korea, Republic of)
C.iii The purpose of the notification and registration system
76. The representative of Australia, in support of the intervention made by the United States, cited the example of a company which had registered in the Netherlands a trademark called "Australia Home Made", using Australian indigenous designs, motives, symbols etc., on products. The Australian authorities objected to the registration of the trademark because it was using Australian symbols and symbols of Australian indigenous societies, which the Netherlands Industrial Property Office was not aware of because of the lack of an international register to refer to. For his delegation, this example was a typical case in point showing that the kind of register proposed by the joint proposal could facilitate protection.
TN/IP/M/5