International trademarks
The Madrid System offers a cost-effective solution for registering and managing trademarks worldwide.
International Trademarks are registered for 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely for periods of 10 years each.
The International Trademark System allows you to register your trademark in up to 117 countries in a single application. Click here for the list of countries that can be included in these applications. These member States represent almost 80% of the worlwide commerce.
In order to have the right to use this System, one of the following requirements must be fullfilled:
- To have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in one of the member countries.
- Have an address in one of the member countries, or
- Be a national of one of the member countries.
One third of the total number of applicants from all over the world that want to protect their brands abroad use the Madrid system. Many of them are SMEs.
This protection can be subsequently extended to other member countries of the system at any time by means of an application for subsequent territorial designation.
The international trademark is easier to manage than several national trademarks, since it will be subject to a single renewal and it will also be easier to register changes in that registration.
Once registered, the ® symbol can be used to show that the trademark is registered.