A trade mark registration protects your mark only in the country, or regional system, that granted it. Trade marks are territorial, so every market you sell in needs its own protection. There are two ways to get it: one international application under the Madrid Protocol, or a separate national application filed directly with each country's trade mark office.
Neither route is always better. The right answer depends on where you sell, how secure your mark is at home, and how each target country examines marks. Here is how we think it through with clients, wherever they are based.
The starting point: a basic mark at home
The Madrid route cannot stand on its own. Every international application must be based on a trade mark application or registration in your "home" office, known as the basic mark. Your home office is the office of a Madrid member where your business is established, where you are domiciled, or of which you are a national. The international application is filed through that office, and it must be for the same mark, covering the same or narrower goods and services.
Take Singapore as an example. A company established in Singapore first files its mark with IPOS, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. That Singapore application, or the registration that follows, is the basic mark. The international application is then filed through IPOS, naming the other Madrid members where protection is wanted. A company in Australia would do the same through IP Australia, a company in Germany through the German office or, for an EU trade mark, through the EU office, and so on.
Two practical points follow:
- Your home country must be a Madrid member, or your business must be established in one. If it is not, the Madrid route is not open to you, and each country is filed directly.
- The basic mark should be on firm ground. It carries the international registration for its first five years (see "Dependency" below), so a clean home filing, supported by a proper search, is the best foundation, and the best test of whether the mark is strong enough to take abroad.
If you are based outside Singapore, Singapore can simply be one of the countries named in your international application, or filed directly. Either way we can advise on the route and handle Singapore for you.
How the Madrid route works
The Madrid System is run by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It currently has 117 members covering 133 countries; the full list is at the end of this guide.
You file one international application through your home office and name ("designate") the members you want. You pay one set of fees to WIPO, made up of a basic fee plus fees that depend on the countries and classes chosen; your home office may charge its own handling fee. WIPO records the international registration and sends it to each country named.
Each of those countries then examines the mark under its own law, as it would a local application, and has 12 or, in some cases, 18 months to raise an objection (a "provisional refusal"). If it does not, the mark is protected there.
The advantages show up after filing:
- one registration to manage, with one renewal date every 10 years, renewed through WIPO;
- changes recorded once, such as a new company name or address, rather than country by country;
- countries added later, as the business grows, without starting again.
Dependency. For five years from the date of the international registration, it depends on the basic mark. If the home application is refused, or the home registration is cancelled or narrowed, in that period, the international registration is cancelled or narrowed to the same extent in every country. The lost protection can be converted into national applications that keep the original date, but that costs time and money in each country.
What we look at before recommending a route
When a client asks us to protect a mark abroad, we do not default to one route. We weigh the following, country by country.
How many countries, and which. Madrid's cost advantage grows with the number of countries in one application. For one or two countries, a direct filing often costs about the same and gives more control. We also check that every target country is a Madrid member; the ones that are not must be filed directly.
The refusal risk in each country. Some offices examine strictly, or are known for raising objections that take local argument to overcome. Where the risk of refusal in a country is high, and that market matters, a direct filing prepared for that office from the start is often the safer course than waiting for a refusal under Madrid and then responding.
Similar earlier marks. Before recommending anything, we run a clearance search in the countries you need. If a similar mark is already registered in one country, we consider whether to file there at all, whether to narrow the goods and services, or whether to file directly so that the application can be shaped around the conflict. One problem country should not hold up, or put at risk, protection everywhere else.
Refusals over the wording of the goods and services. Under Madrid, the specification follows the basic mark. Wording that is perfectly acceptable at home can be refused elsewhere as too broad or unclear; some offices, the United States and China among them, expect goods and services to be described in their own accepted terms. Each such refusal needs a local response, often through a local representative, which adds cost and delay. Where the specification is likely to be challenged, a direct filing drafted to that office's practice can avoid the refusal altogether.
The strength of the basic mark. If the home application is still being examined, or faces an objection, we look at whether it is wise to make other countries depend on it for five years. Sometimes it is better to wait, or to file the key countries directly.
Local versions of the mark. A Madrid application must be for exactly the same mark as the basic mark. If you trade under a different version in a market, such as a Chinese-character name or a transliteration, that version needs its own filing there.
When direct filing is the better choice
Putting those together, a direct national filing is usually the better route when:
- the country is not a Madrid member, or your home country is not;
- you need protection in only one or two countries;
- the country carries a high refusal risk, from strict examination or a similar earlier mark;
- the specification needs to be drafted to local practice to avoid a refusal;
- the basic mark is not yet secure, and you do not want other countries to depend on it;
- the mark or the goods and services need to differ in that market.
The hard part of direct filing is local procedure: the language, the forms and the supporting documents, such as notarised authorisations or proof of company registration, which vary from country to country. We manage those requirements and handle the filing end to end; where a country requires a local representative, we appoint and manage one, so you deal with one firm throughout.
A mixed route is common
Take a skincare brand based in Singapore, with its Singapore mark already registered, planning to sell in five overseas markets over the next two years. Four are Madrid members; one is not. Our search shows a similar mark already registered in one of the four, and another of the four is known for refusing broad descriptions of cosmetics.
We would usually recommend one Madrid application for the two straightforward members, a direct filing in the strict-examination country with a specification drafted to its practice, a direct filing in the non-member, and a separate plan for the country with the conflicting mark: narrowing the goods, seeking consent, or holding back until the position is clear. The same thinking applies to a brand based anywhere else; only the home office changes.
How we decide with you
In the free consultation we ask three questions: which countries matter now, which may matter in the next few years, and how soon you need the first filing. We check the state of your home mark. Before you commit to any fees, we run a basic clearance search in the countries you need, because an earlier mark in one market can change the plan for all of them.
Cost and timing
Official fees and local requirements differ widely, so we quote for the exact countries and classes you need rather than publishing a single figure. We monitor each country until protection is granted and tell you what is happening along the way. More detail is on our international trademark registration page, and our search and assessment service covers the clearance work.
Talk to us
Send us your mark, what you sell, where your business is based and the countries you have in mind. We will recommend a route, run the basic search and give you a quotation before you spend anything. Book a free consultation.
The Madrid System's members
As at November 2026, the Madrid Protocol has 117 members. Two are regional: a designation of the European Union covers all 27 EU member states, and a designation of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) covers its 17 member states in West and Central Africa. Through them, the 117 members cover 133 countries. Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are designated together, as one Benelux territory.
- Afghanistan
- African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI)*
- Albania
- Algeria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei Darussalam
- Bulgaria
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- European Union*
- Finland
- France
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran (Islamic Republic of)
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
- New Zealand
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Republic of Korea
- Republic of Moldova
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syrian Arab Republic
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uzbekistan
- Viet Nam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
* Regional organisation. Membership changes from time to time; WIPO keeps the current list of Madrid members, and we check it before every filing.
Questions about your own mark? The first consultation and a basic clearance search are complimentary, with no obligation.
Written by the JK Marcam team. General information, not legal advice; IPOS practice and fees change, so check the date above.