About Apostille For Trademark Documents
Trademarks and Patents are two types of intellectual property rights that provide legal protection for unique brands, inventions or designs. While a trademark is a word, phrase, or design that identifies your goods and services, a patent is a government-issued right that grants you exclusive use of an invention for a specific period of time. When transferring these documents between countries, it is sometimes necessary to authenticate them. Traditionally, this is done through a process called legalization. However, many countries that are signatories of the 1961 Hague Convention abolished the requirement for legalization and now accept apostilles instead. This simplifies the authentication process and saves clients time and money compared to traditional consular legalization.
Apostille for federal clearances are issued by a designated authority in the country where the original document was originated to verify that the signature or seal on the document is genuine. The apostille certification is then attached to the original document or a copy of it. In the United States, competent authorities include the secretary of state or equivalent in all 50 states and the District of Columbia; the clerks and deputy clerks of federal courts in all 50 states and the District of Columbia; and the U.S. Department of State Authentication Office.
Apostille for Trademark Documents: Ensuring Global Recognition
When preparing documents for international use, determine which country the document will be used in to determine what type of authentication it requires. If the document is a private or state/county-issued document, it must be authenticated by a designated authority, generally the state Secretary of State’s office. If the document is a federally-issued document, it must be authenticated at the U.S. Department of State – see the Authentication Office website for details, costs and requirements.