Paris Convention: Official Emblems

According to the Patent Office, the WIPO has requested protection for the new pope's coat of arms and seals under art 6ter of the Paris Convention in that they constitute the state emblems of the the Vatican. There is a delicious irony there in that the WIPO is based in Geneva which was John Calvin's home town.

The Patent Office also claims that the new arms and seals may be inspected on the WIPO website. I did have a look but all I could find were representations of the previous pope's.

One of my first posts was on clergymen registering trade marks "Hallelujah! More Entertainment from across the Atlantic" 24 Aug 2005. Even though Mr Falwell was relying on common law trade marks which suggests that he must have some sort of reputation and goodwill it is not quite the same thing as protection under the Paris Convention. Is it.

Revised 17 Jan 2005 thanks to the comment from "Anonymous" below.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Actually it is article 6bis which protects well-known marks (to which you refer in the heading and final paragraph). Article 6ter (as you stated in the body of your post) protects "State Emblems, Official Hallmarks, and Emblems of Intergovernmental Organizations" which do not need to be well known (and hence can be a new Pope's arms) provided they meet the requirements of the Treaty.

Let's not get the statutory provisions confused!
09:26
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