The United States will become an official member of the Madrid Protocol on November 2, 2003. The Madrid Protocol is an international trademark application filing treaty. Trademark holders in its member countries are able to file for trademark protection in other member countries through one application, which is then examined according to each country’s national procedures. For example, this will permit a U.S. applicant to make a filing in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that initially covers other designated Madrid Protocol member countries. The members of the Madrid Protocol include most European countries, China, Cuba, Japan, North and South Korea, Iceland, Turkey, and some African countries, among others. Among the countries not included in the Madrid Protocol are Canada and Mexico, as well as most of Central and South America.