Designating Countries Under the Madrid System
By Casey Scott McKay ·
A working guide to the single most consequential decision in an international trademark filing: which countries to name in a Madrid application, in what order, and at what cost. It walks through eligibility and the choice of basic mark, the country-by-country test for whether Madrid is the right vehicle at all, the tiering framework that turns a business plan into a designation list, the full fee anatomy with worked numbers in Swiss francs and dollars, and the priority-versus-dependency fork that decides when you file. It covers per-country limitations of goods and services, the country-specific declarations that trip up first-time filers, the twelve- and eighteen-month provisional refusal windows, and the maintenance obligations that survive the international renewal. It closes with transformation and replacement mechanics for when the basic mark falls, model language for a designation memo and a foreign-associate instruction letter, and ten mistakes that cost real money.
IP and Technology > Trademarks | Guide | Published 15 January 2026 - Updated 3 February 2026 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. This is a working guide to the single most consequential decision in an international trademark filing: which countries to name in a Madrid application, in what order, and at what cost. It walks through eligibility and the choice of basic mark, the country-by-country test for whether Madrid is the right vehicle at all, the tiering framework that turns a business plan into a designation list, the full fee anatomy with worked numbers in Swiss francs and dollars, and the priority-versus-dependency fork that decides when you file. It covers per-country limitations of goods and services, the country-specific declarations that trip up first-time filers, the twelve- and eighteen-month provisional refusal windows, and the maintenance obligations that survive the international renewal. It closes with transformation and replacement mechanics for when the basic mark falls, model language for a designation memo and a foreign-associate instruction letter, and ten mistakes that cost real money.
Keywords: madrid protocol · designating contracting parties · international registration · wipo international bureau · subsequent designation · central attack · five-year dependency · transformation · individual fees · teasi filing · basic application · territorial extension · european union designation · provisional refusal · goods and services limitation · madrid renewal · replacement · section 66a
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