Gambia fine-tunes its Madrid Protocol arrangements

A week and a half ago, Afro Leo noted that Gambia had signed up for the Madrid Protocol -- the smart way to save money and gain efficiency when seeking trade mark protection internationally. Well, there has been a sequel. By a further notification, WIPO has indicated that Gambia is replacing the basic period of 12 months within which it may refuse an international application under the Protocol with an 18-month period, as it is entitled to do under Article 5(2)(b) of the Protocol.

This takes effect from 6 January 2016 -- which rather suggests that the period remains 12 months for international applications received between 18 December (when the Protocol takes effect in Gambia) and 5 January.