There are 201 countries in the world and unfortunately, there's no single worldwide trade mark. So if you were planning to own trade mark rights worldwide, then you're going to have to file an application in each individually… two-hundred-and-one times...  Don’t lose hope just yet. First of all, in reality there is no point filing in a country you aren't going to do business in. But if you do want to file in several different countries, there are a few options available.  One of these is to file an internal application if the countries of your choice are members of the Madrid System. The Madrid System is an international system that facilitates registration of trade marks in multiple jurisdictions around the world. Under this treaty, when you file a single application it secures protection for your trade mark in several countries. Here’s a link to the list of all the current member countries:   http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/documents/pdf/madrid_marks.pd...

  If, like me, you spend any time social networking, maybe sharing a new recipe or checking out a new gadget or car. Then you may have heard of  Pinterest  – the fast growing US photo sharing website that lets you and others pin photographs to a virtual board.  What you might not know, is  Pinterest  have lost their claim to a trademark in Europe.  Instead the EU trademark court ruled in favor of the current owners, a UK news site called  Premium Interest  who filed their TM in January 2012.  Pinterest will no doubt be appealing the decision, but since they can’t give any more evidence, we doubt the decision will change. What can entrepreneurs learn from this? 1)   Trademarks are national or territorial in character  Just because Pinterest has a US trademark, it doesn’t mean they have any rights or necessarily a prior claim in other countries. The only way to make sure you have defendable trademark rights is to register in...