Register Your Trademarks in Emerging Export Countries

As China’s high-growth, low-wage era wanes, our clients in a range of industries, from clothing and fashion to electronics, are looking for alternatives to source their products. The emerging leaders in low-cost exports include Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Mexico (in that country’s southern-most states), Myanmar, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam. Only four of those countries, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines and Vietman, can be covered under an International Registration. Nevertheless, we have successfully registered our clients’ trademarks in all of these countries (as well as most others) and strongly recommend that our clients obtain trademark protection in these countries long in advance of conducting any business there. We do so for a variety of reasons, including preventing a third party from blocking a foreign trademark holder’s sourcing in that country, the slowness of the registration process in some jurisdictions, and avoiding legal battles with future contract manufacturers.

A strong trademark in the global market means taking a proactive approach and investing in registration before it’s too late. Many people fail to realize that a trademark registration in a particular territory covers only that territory and that their trademark may well be up for grabs anywhere else. With more than 25 years of experience in filing international trademarks, we can provide you with the advice and s