The Madrid Union is a special proposed union for international registration of trademarks set up by the countries or organizations under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.

Currently, the Madrid Union has 92 member states in total. A Madrid trademark is valid in all member states of Madrid Union.

Advantages

• Simple procedure: An applicant may make a single application in just one language for a trademark protection covering a number of designated countries.
• Lower fees: An applicant is just required to pay a one-time basic fee regardless that he/she designates one or all member states to provide the trademark protection.

Limitations

• Timeliness: An initial registration has first to be made in the country of origin which may cause a delay in time.
• The contents of the trademark, the name of the trademark holder and the designated goods or services have to be the same as those under the initial registration
• Instability: Only after the expiry of a period of five years shall the international registration be separated from the domestic initial registration. Therefore, the trademark may be challenged within such period of five years.

Qualifications

• An applicant must be a citizen or a legal entity of a member state
• An applicant must have residence or place of business in a member state
• An applicant must first complete the initial registration in the country of origin before filing an application for the trademark

Required Documents

• A copy of current Business Registration Certificate of the applicant, if the applicant is a corporation
• A copy of Identification documents of the applicant, if the applicant is an individual person
• Clear image of the trademark
• List of goods or services

Trademark Registration Flow

• Trademark Search
• Initial Application
• Substantive Examination
• Publication
• Issuance of Certificate

Preliminary Trademark Search

The Preliminary trademark search, while optional, to avoid legal complications in the future. The point of a trademark search is to ensure that the trademark is not already under application or registered by another entity in order to reduce the possibilities of the rejection or opposition raised.

Required Time

About 18-24 months

Period of Validity

10 years

Renewal upon Expiration

Six months before the expiration of an application for renewal, renewal is valid for 10 years.

Note:As the European Union as a whole became a party of the Madrid Agreement on 1 October 2004, an applicant may designate the European Union for his/her initial registration when he/she files his/her application for registration of trademark under the Madrid System. The protection of a trademarks registered in the European Union under the Madrid System also covers those 27 member states of the European Union. Citizens of Hong Kong and Macao are not qualified to be applicants for the trademark registration and holders of registered trademarks under the Madrid System as neither Hong Kong and Macao are parties to the Madrid System.