Mumbai: The union cabinet has ratified the country's accession to the Madrid Protocol, which will provide extensive protection to Indian trademarks overseas and facilitate foreign firms to file their trademarks in India.

The accession would facilitate speedy registration of Indian marks in different markets worldwide and promote business confidence in the Indian intellectual property rights (IPR) system globally, finance minister P Chidambaram told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

The government would bring a bill in the Parliament for enabling the country's accession to the Madrid Protocol, 1989, which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), he said.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the following:

1) India's accession to the Madrid Protocol concerning the International Registration of Marks;
2) Amendment of the Trademarks Act, 1999 with a view to India's accession to the Madrid Protocol concerning the International registration of marks.
3) Initiating action for accession to Madrid Protocol and to introduce a Bill in the Parliament.

This will facilitate transfer of technology through trademarks licensing and franchising. This will also facilitate speedy registration of Indian mark in different markets worldwide and promote business confidence in Indian IPR system globally.

This is a proposal for India's accession to the Madrid Protocol, 1989 relating to the Madrid Agreement, 1891. Both the agreement and the protocol deal with the international system for registration of trademarks. The agreement as well as the protocol are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Any country, which is a member of the Paris Convention of WIPO, can accede to either the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol or both. Currently, 57 countries are members of the agreement, 71 countries are members of the protocol and 48 countries are members of both the agreement and the protocol.

There are several advantages in acceding to the protocol instead of the agreement. Accession to the Madrid Protocol will entail amendments to the "Trade Marks Act, 1999".