TM5 – a new framework by key players in trademarks


The TM5 is a conglomerating of the world’s top five trademark offices

1) China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC)

2)  Europe’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM)tm5

3)  the Japan Patent Office (JPO)

4) South Korea’s Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)

5) the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

These offices reportedly account for 70 percent of all trademark and design applications worldwide. The TM5 grew out of the Trademark Trilateral, a cooperative framework of the JPO, OHIM and the USPTO that was formed in 2001.  After expansions in 2011 and 2012 to include KIPO and SAIC, respectively, the group has had gradually evolved into its present form.

The tmfive.org website contains the history and objectives of the TM5, highlights developments and helps visitors to search effortlessly through Trademark Acts, examination guidelines, lists of official goods and services, and IP statistics, among other features.

As reported on the INTA.org website, “…website will be updated every quarter with the results of the TM5 projects. Data, including the 2013 Common Statistical Indicators and project reports on Image Search, Bad Faith Filings and the Comparative Analysis on Examination Results, will be available for access.”