ARTICLE X.

Commercial names shall be protected in all the States of the Union, without deposit or registration, whether the same form part of a trade-mark or not.

ARTICLE XI.

For the purposes indicated in the present convention a union of American Nations is hereby constituted, which shall act through two international bureaux established one in the city of Habana, Cuba, and the other in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, acting in complete accord with each other.

ARTICLE XII.

The international bureaux shall have the following duties:

1. To keep a register of the certificates of ownership of trademark issued by any of the signatory States.

2. To collect such reports and data as relate to the protection of intellectual and industrial property and to publish and circulate them among the nations of the union, as well as to furnish them whatever special information they may need upon this subject.

3. To encourage the study and publicity of the questions relating to the protection of intellectual and industrial property; to publish for this purpose one or more official reviews, containing the full texts or digest of all documents forwarded to the bureaux by the authorities of the signatory States.

The Governments of said States shall send to the International American Bureaux their official publications which contain the announcements of the registrations of trade-marks, and commercial names, and the grants of patents and privileges as well as the judg ments rendered by the respective courts concerning the invalidity of trade-marks and patents.

4. To communicate to the Governments of the union any difficulties or obstacles that may oppose or delay the effective application. of this convention.

be

5. To aid the Governments of the signatory States in the preparations of international conferences for the study of legislation concerning industrial property, and to secure such alterations as it may proper to propose in the regulations of the union, or in treaties in force to protect industrial property. In case such conferences take place, the directors of the bureaux shall have the right to attend the meetings and there to express their opinions, but not to vote.

6. To present to the Governments of Cuba and of the United States of Brazil, respectively, yearly reports of their labors which shall be communicated at the same time to all the Governments of the other States of the union.

7. To initiate and establish relations with similar bureaus and with the scientific and industrial associations and institutions for the exchange of publications, information, and data conducive to the progress of the protection of industrial property.

8. To investigate cases where trade-marks, designs, and industrial models have failed to obtain the recognition of registration provided

for by this convention, on the part of the authorities of any one of the States forming the union, and to communicate the facts and reasons to the Government of the country of origin and to interested parties. 9. To cooperate as agents for each one of the Governments of the signatory States before the respective authorities for the better performance of any act tending to promote or accomplish the ends of this convention.

ARTICLE XIII.

The bureau established in the city of Habana, Cuba, shall have charge of the registration of trade-marks coming from the United States of America, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama.

The bureau established in the city of Rio de Janeiro shall have charge of the registration of trade-marks coming from Brazil, Uruguay, the Argentine Republic, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia.

ARTICLE XIV.

The two international bureaus shall be considered as one, and for the purpose of the unification of the registrations it is provided: (a) Both shall have the same books and the same accounts kept under an identical system.

(b) Copies shall be reciprocally transmitted weekly from one to the other of all applications, registrations, communications, and other documents affecting the recognition of the rights of owners of trademarks.

ARTICLE XV.

The international bureaux shall be governed by identical regulations, formed with the concurrence of the Governments of the Republic of Cuba and of the United States of Brazil and approved by all the other signatory States.

Their budgets, after being sanctioned by the said Governments, shall be defrayed by all the signatory States in the same proportion as that established for the International Bureau of the American Republics at Washington, and in this particular they shall be placed under the control of those Governments within whose territories they are established.

The international bureaux may establish such rules of practice and procedure, not inconsistent with the terms of this convention, as they may deem necessary and proper to give effect to its provisions.

ARTICLE XVI.

The Governments of the Republic of Cuba and of the United States of Brazil shall proceed with the organization of the Bureaux of the International Union as herein provided, upon the ratification of this convention by at least two-thirds of the nations belonging to each group.

The simultaneous establishment of both bureaux shall not be necessary; one only may be established if there be the number of adherent governments provided for above.

ARTICLE XVII.

The treaties on trade-marks previously concluded by and between the signatory States, shall be substituted by the present convention from the date of its ratification, as far as the relations between the signatory States are concerned.

ARTICLE XVIII.

The ratifications or adhesion of the American States to the present convention shall be communicated to the Government of the Argentine Republic, which shall lay them before the other States of the union. These communications shall take the place of an exchange of ratifications.

ARTICLE XIX.

Any signatory State that may see fit to withdraw from the present convention shall so notify the Government of the Argentine Republic, which shall communicate this fact to the other States of the union, and one year after the receipt of such communication this convention shall cease with regard to the State that shall have withdrawn.

In witness whereof the plenipotentiaries and delegates sign this convention and affix to it the seal of the Fourth International American Conference.

Made and signed in the city of Buenos Aires, on the 20th day of August, in the year 1910, in Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French, and filed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic in order that certified copies may be made to be forwarded through appropriate diplomatic channels to each one of the signatory

nations.

1910.

CONVENTION FOR THE UNIFICATION OF CERTAIN RULES OF LAW WITH RESPECT TO ASSISTANCE AND SALVAGE AT SEA.1

Signed at Brussels September 23, 1910; ratification advised by the Senate January 18, 1912; ratified by the President March 14, 1912; ratification of the United States deposited with the Government of Belgium January 25, 1913; deposit of ratifications closed February 1, 1913; convention effective March 1, 1913; proclaimed February 13, 1913.2

(Treaty Series, No. 576; 37 Statutes at Large, 1658.)

His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia, in the name of the German Empire; the President of the Argentine Republic; His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc., and

1 Act carrying convention into effect, 37 Statutes at Large, 242.

The proclamation of the President of February 13, 1913, states that, in addition to the United States, the convention has been ratified by the Governments of Germany. Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Mexico, Netherlands, Rumania, and Russia, and the ratifications of the said Governments were, by the provisions of article 18 of the said convention, deposited by their respective plenipotentiaries with the Government of Belgium."

Subsequent ratifications have been deposited on behalf of the Governments of Brazil, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. Accessions have been made on behalf of Canada, Eritrea, the colonies of the German Empire (with reservation), the Government of India, Italian Somaliland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Uruguay, and the following portions of the British Empire: Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Guiana, British Honduras, Ceylon, Cyprus, East Africa Protectorate, Falkland Islands, Federated Malay States, Fiji, Gambia Gibraltar, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate, Gold Coast, Grenada, Hongkong, Jamaica (and Turks, Caicos, and Caiman Islands), Leeward Islands (Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Christopher-Nevis, Virgin Islands), Malta, Mauritius, Norfolk Island, Papua, St. Helena, St. Lucia. St. Vincent, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands Protectorate, Somaliland Protectorate. Southern Nigeria (including protectorate), Straits Settlements (and Labuan), Trinidad and Tobago, Weihaiwei. Portugal acceded on behalf of all Portuguese colonies on August 30, 1914. Accessions on behalf of the Republic of Poland and of the Free City of Danzig were deposited on December 1, 1921. The Government of Austria has declared, under the terms of article 234 of the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, itself bound toward all the contracting parties,

The report of the American delegation to the Brussels Conference, covered by the Secretary of State by a letter dated February 14, 1911, states that "no official translation of the convention was made or authorized by the conference." The delegates transmitted to the Secretary of State a translation which was identical with that adopted by the British delegates. This translataion with some modifications recommended by Mr. Martin, one of the translators of the Department of State (Foreign Relations of the United States, 1911, 14), is appended to the proclamation by the President of February 13, 1913, in Treaty Series No. 576, and is here reprinted from that

source.

The convention was proclaimed in the French language only.