Section 44 Trademark Applications May Be Based On
     Applications And Registrations In World Trade Organization Countries

   The World Trade Organization (WTO), established on January 1, 1995,
resulted from the Uruguay Round trade negotiations and is the successor
to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO Agreement
entered into force in the United States on January 1, 1996. Article 4 of
the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPs), provides that any advantage, favor, privilege or
immunity that a WTO member gives to the nationals of another WTO member
must normally be extended to the nationals of all other members. Section
44(b) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1126(b), provides that any person
whose country of origin is a party to any convention or treaty to which
the United States is a member is entitled to the benefits of Section 44.
Accordingly, foreign applicants may file a U.S. application based on
either (a) a valid registration from any of the WTO members listed
below, or (b) a claim of priority arising from an application from any
of the WTO members listed below. A claim of priority may be made only if
the United States application is filed within 6 months of the date of
the first filing of the foreign application. Benefits accorded to
nationals under this agreement by the United States date from January 1,
1996.

   WTO members who are also members of the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property have been able to base their U.S.
application on their home country application or registration since the
date of the country's accession to the Paris Convention. Therefore, for
convenience, the following chart lists only WTO members who are not
presently members of the Paris Convention.

                                                                    Renewal
                Effective Date  Term of                             Period
                of Membership   Registration                        (in
Country         in WTO          (in years)                          years)

Angola          Nov. 23, 1996   10 (from date of application)       10
Antigua and     Jan. 1, 1995    14 (from date of application)       14
Barbuda
Bahrain         Jan. 1, 1995    10 (from date of application)       10
Belize*         Jan. 1, 1995
Botswana**      May 31,1995
Brunei          Jan. 1, 1995     7 (from date of application)       14
Darussalam
Djibouti        May 31, 1995    10 (from date of application)       10
Dominica        Jan. 1, 1995    14 (from date of application)       14
European        Jan. 1, 1995    10 (from date of application)       10
Community
Fiji            Jan. 14, 1996   14 (from date of application)       14
Grenada*        Feb. 22, 1996
Guatemala       July 21, 1995   10 (from date of registration)      10
Hong Kong       Jan. 1, 1995     7 (from date of application)       14
India           Jan. 1, 1995     7 (from date of application)        7
Jamaica         Mar. 9, 1995     7 (from date of application)       14
Kuwait          Jan. 1, 1995    10 (from date of registration)      10
Macau           Jan. 1, 1995     7 (from date of application)        7
Mozambique      Aug. 26, 1995   10 (from date of registration)      10
Myanmar***      Jan. 1, 1995
Namibia         Jan. 1, 1995    10 (from date of registration)      10
Pakistan        Jan. 1, 1995     7 (from date of application)       15
Papua           June 9, 1996    10 (from date of application)       10
New Guinea
Qatar           Jan. 13, 1996   10 (from date of application)       10
Sierra Leone    July 23, 1995   14 (from date of application)       14
Slovenia        July 30, 1995   10 (from date of application)       10
Solomon         July 26, 1996
Islands*
Thailand        Jan. 1, 1995    10 (from date of registration)      10

*Term and Renewal Dependent on United Kingdom Registration
**Term and Renewal Dependent on United Kingdom or South African
Registration
***Unlimited Term from Date of First Use

March 17, 1997                                       PHILLIP G. HAMPTON, II
                                      Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks