USPTO Issues First Madrid Protocol Extension of Protection

On February 1, 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued its first certificate of Extension of Protection under the Madrid Protocol. Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, received Registration No. 2,923,503 for the mark OSTEOSOFT for certain chemical products.

Merch KGaA
The TTABlog noted on November 9, 2004, that the application for OSTEOSOFT was the first Madrid Request for Extension of Protection to be published for opposition.

The Certificate issued by the USPTO for the OSTEOSOFT mark is interesting in that it nowhere states that it represents a Certificate of Extension of Protection. Moreover, it does not make reference to the underlying International Registration, nor to the Madrid Protocol, nor to the particular provisions of the Trademark Act under which it was issued.

The sure indicator of the origin of the registration, however, is the prefix "79" in the serial number. Only Madrid requests for extension have the "79" prefix. (Thanks to reader Orrin Falby for the reminder) .