USPTO Hosts TM5 Annual Meeting
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosted the TM5 Annual Meeting at its headquarters last month. The framework of the TM5, a coalition of the world's five largest trademark offices, allows the offices to exchange information on trademark-related matters and discuss the progress on cooperative projects aimed at improving their respective trademark protection systems and procedures. The TM5 is comprised of the USPTO, the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the European Union’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), and the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (SAIC).
Current TM5 initiatives to improve users’ interactions include efforts to minimize the occurrence of bad faith trademark filings around the world; making it easier for applicants to access trademark information and conduct global trademark clearance searches; comparing the examination results between the partner offices to gain a better understanding of each offices’ practices and policies; and the development of uniform terms and icons that national offices can use to signify the particular status of registrations and applications, a project that is being led by the USPTO.
