Introduction

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Madrid Monitor is WIPO’s specialized tool designed for keeping track of the status of international applications or registrations, as well as staying updated on the latest developments of all trademarks registered internationally via the Madrid System.

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This tool also allows applicants to browse, filter, and save records, making it easier to monitor competitors' trademarks.

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Madrid Monitor’s primary function is to provide comprehensive tracking and monitoring capabilities for trademark management, and it is not intended for use as a business development tool.

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How to use Madrid Monitor search function

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With Madrid Monitor, you can find international applications or registrations using various search options. You can use terms like AND, OR, and NOT to narrow down or broaden your search. Additionally, there are features like proximity search and fuzzy matching to help you find relevant trademark applications or registrations.

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It is very important to note that some of the operators work differently in Madrid Monitor than they do in other search tools or databases. Now let's review some of these important search tools and how to use them to find trademark applications or registrations.

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1. Boolean operators:

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Boolean operators are fundamental tools for conducting logical operations within search queries. Madrid Monitor supports three primary Boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT.

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AND Operator: Use "AND" between terms to find records containing both terms. For example, searching for Trademark X AND Registration will return records that mention both “Trademark X" and “Registration”.

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OR Operator: Utilize “OR" between terms to find records containing either term or both terms. For instance, searching for Trademark X OR Registration will yield records mentioning  “Trademark X” or “Registration”, broadening the scope of the search.

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NOT Operator: Incorporate “NOT” between terms to find records containing the first term but not the second, refining the search. For example, searching for Trademark X NOT Registration will exclude records mentioning “Registration” from the results.

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2. Wildcards:

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Wildcards offer flexibility in matching variations within words, accommodating potential spelling variations or alternative forms of terms associated with trademark applications or registrations.

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* (Asterisk): The asterisk wildcard matches zero or more characters within words.

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? (Question Mark): The question mark wildcard matches any single character within words. 

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For instance, searching for te?t will match both "test" and "text", and text will match "text", "texts", "texting." Note that you can use the wildcards in the middle or beginning of your term as well.

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3. Proximity operators:

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Proximity operators enable users to search for specific phrases or terms within a close range of each other.

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"<term> <term>"~<distance>: Use the tilde symbol (~) followed by a numerical value to specify the maximum distance allowed between the terms. For example, searching for “trademark applications”~5 will return records where the term “trademark” occurs within five words of “applications.”

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4. Fuzzy matching:

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Fuzzy matching expands search capabilities to include terms that are spelled similarly to the entered term.

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<term>~: For example, if you search for pho~ fuzzy matching will also find words like “phone" and "photograph.”

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5. Range searches:

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Range searches enable users to find trademark applications or registrations falling within specific criteria, such as registration numbers or dates.

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[<term1> TO <term2>]: Use square brackets to specify a range of values between two terms. For instance, searching for [20210101 TO 20211231] in the publication date field will match trademark applications or registrations within the specified timeframe.

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Search interface

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You can use the search interface to find records of interest. It has four options: Simple Search (the default), Advanced Search, Realtime Search, and Image Search. We will focus on the Advanced Search interface to demonstrate the capabilities Madrid Monitor offers.

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1. Advanced search:

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Within the Advanced Search interface, you have access to different sections such as Number, Mark, Name/Address, Date, Classification, etc. Each section features a small dropdown button next to it. For example, if you click on the dropdown arrow next to the Date section, you will see a list that includes options like Registration, Expiration, Publication, etc. Clicking on any of these will add that specific type of date as a search field.

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Once you add search fields under a section, you will notice a green plus icon on the left side of these fields. By clicking this icon, you can select any of the three Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT). 

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Additionally, you can manually input these operators in the search fields themselves. For example, in the Country section's Origin search field, you can input CH OR TR to get results for both Switzerland and Türkiye.

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You can add multiple search fields under each section. For example, under the Date section, you can add all the listed search fields such as Registration, Expiration, and Publication dates, and apply Boolean operators to each one. After setting up your search fields, you can execute the search.

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Note that even though we can customize the search fields to look for trademark applications and registrations, there is no option to add a search field specifically designed to search for trademark refusals. For instance, under the Date section, we can only add search fields related to registration and application dates. If there were a way to search for trademark refusal cases, it would greatly benefit IP business development by providing valuable insights into potential market opportunities.

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1. Example search:

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Let’s perform an example search using some of the operators mentioned above such as wildcards, fuzzy matching, range searches and boolean operators. We will also do our search across various sections such as, Mark, Name/Address, Date, Classification, and Country.

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Here you can see the search results for our search criteria.

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Let’s look at the details of the trademark application that appears as the first search result. When we click on the application, we are directed to a page where we can see more details of that application, organized under the tabs Summary, Designation Status and Real-time Status.

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If we scroll down on this page, we can see the transaction history of this application. Here in the transaction history, we can see that this trademark application was provisionally refused in Thailand (TH), Canada (CA), Japan (JP), and India (IN).

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If you’re an IP firm that can handle trademark refusal cases in these jurisdictions (TH, CA, JP or IN), you can use these trademark refusal cases as opportunities for your IP business development. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a way to see trademark refusal cases as a list so we could use them for IP business development? Unfortunately, we can’t search for trademark refusal cases using WIPO's Madrid Monitor.

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Limitations of Madrid Monitor

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Not a business development tool: Madrid Monitor is not designed for business development purposes.

Limited search capabilities: You cannot search for trademark refusal cases specifically by date.

Lack of detailed contact information: It does not provide detailed contact information for trademark representatives or holders.

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This is where WeCrest comes in. As a complement to Madrid Monitor, WeCrest streamlines the trademark refusal monitoring process, offering a solution that saves time and enhances efficiency. With WeCrest, businesses can access real-time updates on trademark refusal cases relevant to their jurisdictions, enabling them to make informed decisions and gain new opportunities without hassle. 

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Moreover, WeCrest provides a vast database of contact details for trademark representatives and holders, including email addresses, eliminating the need for firms to manually search for this information. In addition to providing timely refusal case updates and contact details, WeCrest offers personalized email marketing solutions. 

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For instance, If you’re planning to attend a conference and want to find a list of firms that recently had a trademark refusal case in your jurisdiction, and you want to set up a meeting with that firm, there is no convenient way to do that using Madrid Monitor, but you can easily achieve this with WeCrest in just a few clicks.

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Are you interested in simplifying your trademark refusal monitoring efforts and unlocking opportunities with new clients? Schedule a complimentary 20-minute demo with WeCrest today, and discover how we can help propel your IP business forward in the global marketplace.