Protection of Trademarks in Different Countries of the Union. Parallel to the principle of independence of marks which is embodied in the provisions of Article 6, the Convention establishes a special rule for the benefit of owners of trademarks registered in their country of origin. This exceptional rule is governed by Article 6quinquies of the Convention. The provisions of Article 6quinquies come into operation in the case where a registration in the country of origin is invoked in the country where protection is sought. Whereas the principle of national treatment of applications calls for the normal rule of complete independence of trademarks (as recognized in Article 6), in the exceptional situation regulated by Article 6quinquies the opposite rule prevails, providing for extraterritorial effects of the registration in the country of origin. There are two main reasons for this special rule. On the one hand, it is in the interest of both owners of trademarks and the public to have the same trademark apply to the same goods in various countries. On the other hand, there are some important differences in the domestic legislation of the member countries regarding the registration of trademarks. As a consequence, the differences in domestic legislation could prevent this uniform use of the same trademark. In order to diminish the impact of those differences on the registration of trademarks in respect of goods in international trade, Article 6quinquies of the Paris Convention establishes certain effects where registration in the country of origin has taken place and is invoked in another member country where registration and protection is sought. This provision has the effect of bringing about a certain uniformity of the law of the various countries as to the concept of trademarks. For Article 6quinquies to apply it is necessary that the trademark concerned should be duly registered in the country of origin. A mere filing or use of the trademark in that country is not sufficient. Moreover, the country of origin must be a country of the Union in which the applicant has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment or, alternatively, the applicant holds nationality or domicile of that country. The rule established by Article 6quinquies provides that a trademark which fulfils the required conditions must be accepted for filing and protected—as is (to use the expression found in the English version) or telle quelle (to use the expression adopted in the original French text)—in the other member countries, subj...
