I want to protect my company's brand overseas as well. Would I need legal advice?

To protect a trademark overseas, you must register it directly in accordance with the trademark law of the relevant country or region.

Because a domestic trademark registration alone does not confer rights overseas, it is important to carefully design the application strategy and procedures.

There are broadly four methods of overseas application.

First, filing directly in the country where protection is sought, which usually makes use of the priority right under the Paris Convention and must follow each country's procedures and requirements.

Second, filing through an organization operated under a treaty among multiple countries or for countries without an independent trademark office, a representative example being the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property or the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI).

Third, where both individual countries and a regional organization exist, you can obtain protection in several countries with a single application, as with the EUIPO or ARIPO.

Fourth, using the international application system under the Madrid Protocol, you can file an international application in multiple countries based on a valid trademark registered domestically.

As such, because an overseas application must take into account various factors such as the target countries, procedures, costs, and duration, obtaining legal advice at the early stage is essential.

Through legal advice, the entire process can be supported, including establishing the application strategy, providing guidance on procedures by country, reviewing documents, and making use of international treaties, thereby increasing the likelihood of securing overseas trademark rights and minimizing legal risks.