The Madrid Protocol: one application, many trademarks
The Madrid System, run by WIPO in Geneva, lets you protect a mark in many countries through a single international application, in one language, with one set of fees paid in Swiss francs. It is often described as an “international trademark”. It is not one. It is a bundle of national rights, each examined by its own office, all tied to your home registration for the first five years.
You need a basic mark: an application or registration at your home office. You file the international application through that office, designating the members where you want protection. WIPO checks the formalities and records the registration. Each designated office then examines it under its own law and either grants protection or refuses it.
Who can use it
You can use the system if you are a national of a Madrid member, are domiciled in one, or have a real and effective business there. The member's office then becomes your office of origin. The system has more than a hundred members, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, India, Australia and the European Union itself, which can be designated as a single member to get an EU trade mark. Membership changes, so check WIPO's current list for a specific country.
What it costs
Madrid fees are made up of several parts. The calculation is easiest with WIPO's online fee calculator, but the structure is as follows:
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Basic fee, mark in black and white | CHF 653 |
| Basic fee, mark with any colour | CHF 903 |
| Supplementary and complementary fees | Payable per class beyond three and per designated member, where that member has not set an individual fee |
| Individual fees | Set by each member that chooses to charge one, often comparable to its national filing fee. These usually make up most of the cost |
| Office of origin handling fee | Charged by some home offices for forwarding the application |
Applicants from least-developed countries pay a reduced basic fee. Individual fees change regularly, and WIPO publishes notices when they do. Use the calculator on the day you file rather than a figure from an article, including this one.
The five-year dependency, and central attack
This is the feature that most needs understanding before you file. For five years from the international registration date, the international registration depends on the basic mark at home. If the basic mark is refused, withdrawn, cancelled or limited during that period, the international registration is cancelled or limited to the same extent, in every designated country.
That allows what is called a central attack. A third party who succeeds in an opposition or invalidity action against your home mark can remove your protection worldwide with one action. The basic mark is often the weakest part of the structure. It may have been filed quickly, for a broad specification, in a home market where a conflict exists that you did not know about.
Transformation: the way back
If the international registration is cancelled because the basic mark failed, you can transform it into national applications in the designated members. Each national application keeps the international registration date. You must do this within three months of the cancellation being recorded, and you pay national fees again. Transformation saves your priority. It does not save you from paying twice.
Refusals happen country by country
Each designated office examines the mark under its own law and can issue a provisional refusal within a fixed period, generally 12 or 18 months depending on what that member has declared. A refusal is dealt with under that office's procedure and usually needs a local representative. A Madrid application that is accepted in eight countries and refused in two is a normal outcome, not a failure.
Pay particular attention to the specification. Some offices, notably the USPTO, require more precise descriptions of goods and services than others, and a wording accepted at home can draw objections abroad. Draft the specification with the strictest designated office in mind.
When Madrid is the better route
- Several countries at once, especially where local representatives would otherwise be needed just to file.
- Simple administration: one renewal date, and one place to record changes of owner or address for every designated country.
- Adding countries later through subsequent designations, as the business expands.
When direct national filings may be better
- Your home mark is vulnerable: broad, new, or facing a known conflict. Central attack puts everything at risk.
- Only one or two countries, where a direct filing costs little more and is examined to local standards from the start.
- Countries outside the system, which need national filings anyway.
- Markets with strict specification rules, where drafting locally avoids refusals later.
Questions
Can I file a Madrid application without a registration at home?
A pending application can serve as the basic mark. You do not have to wait for registration. If you claim priority from your home filing within six months, the designated countries treat your international filing as made on the home filing date.
Can I change the owner of an international registration?
Yes. A change of ownership can be recorded centrally at WIPO, for all or some of the designated members, provided the new owner is itself entitled to use the Madrid System. That central recording is one of the system's main conveniences.
Should I designate the EU or individual EU countries?
The same reasoning applies as for a direct EU filing. Designating the EU gives one unitary right, but an objection in any member state can block it everywhere. Designating individual member states that are also Madrid members gives you separate rights that stand or fall on their own.
Related
- EU or national filingThe unitary-character trade-off
- Searching the registersIncluding WIPO's Global Brand Database
Published 2026-10-18 and checked against the Madrid Protocol and WIPO's Schedule of Fees. Membership and individual fees change. Use WIPO's fee calculator and member list on the day you file. General guidance, not advice on any filing strategy.