When a company carries out import and export business, international trademarks will be involved. Because trademarks applied for registration in our country are only protected by our country's laws, companies need to register international trademarks. There are two ways to register international trademarks: One is country-by-country registration; the other is Madrid trademark registration. So many people will ask which way to register is better? In fact, both have advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at the differences from 7 aspects.

1. Registration conditions

Madrid trademark registration: To apply for registration of a Madrid trademark, the applicant must have certain subject qualifications, and the trademark applying for international registration must have started certain processes in our country. Trademark registration application process (that is, the trademark has been registered or a registration application has been filed and accepted).

Country-by-country registration: In most countries around the world, registration one by one does not require a trademark registration basis in the country. Enterprises are relatively free to apply for any trademarks and formulate what types of goods or services.

2. Registration procedures

Madrid International Trademark Registration: Currently, the Madrid Union*** has 104 contracting countries. An application for international trademark registration can specify all countries at the same time and register Once the application is approved, the trademark will be protected in all countries, and the registration procedure is very simple. Similarly, precisely because the number of contracting countries in the Madrid Union is limited, for some countries that are not in the Madrid Union, applying for an international trademark still requires country-by-country registration.

Country-by-country registration: Applicants need to apply for registration one by one according to the specific regulations of each country/region, and the registration procedures are relatively complicated.

3. Registration time

Madrid International Trademark Registration: The applicant submits an application to the Trademark Office. It usually takes about 6 months to receive the international trademark registration certificate from the International Bureau, 12 You will know within the month whether the registration application is successful, that is, it will only take about 18 months to complete the Madrid international trademark registration.

Country-by-country registration: The time for registering an international trademark one by one can be long or short. Those with long review times, such as Brazil, India, and the Philippines, are basically more than 3 years; those with short review times, such as Switzerland , Singapore, Germany, France, etc., it can be completed in almost 1 year.

4. Registration Risks

Madrid International Trademark Registration: An application for international trademark registration specifies multiple countries at the same time, and the specific regulations of each country/region are different, so It is more likely to be rejected and the risk of registration failure is higher.

Country-by-country registration: When registering an international trademark one by one, a trademark registration inquiry will generally be conducted in that country to understand the registration status of the international trademark to be registered, such as squatting and infringement, which can effectively reduce the risk of registration failure. risk.

5. Trademark Management

Madrid International Trademark Registration: Each internationally registered trademark has only one registration number, and all subsequent management operations related to the trademark thereafter such as changes, transfers, and deletions , renewal, cancellation, etc. are all based on this registration number, and the International Bureau registers the various stages of each internationally registered trademark. Enterprises can also check and grasp the latest status of the trademark in each Madrid Union country through the International Bureau website based on the registration number.

Country-by-country registration: There are different registration certificates in different countries/regions, and the registration status in each country needs to be checked separately. The management of international trademarks requires a lot of time and energy.

6. Trademark Protection

Madrid International Trademark Registration: Within 5 years of the national registration of a trademark, if the trademark is fully or partially not protected by law in the country, the international trademark will be registered in the country. The State party is also completely or partially exempted from legal protection.

Country-by-country registration: An international trademark is protected by the laws of the country in which it is registered. Unless the right holder seriously violates the country's trademark laws, the right to use the international trademark will remain stable during the validity period.

7. Registration fees

Madrid international trademark registration: The registration fee is much cheaper than registering one by one country. In the case of batch registration, the registration fee is even more than half cheaper. Madrid international trademark registration fees specifically include two items, namely the registrar fee of the domestic trademark office and the agency fee of the domestic trademark agency.

Country-by-country registration: In addition to the official trademark registration fees required by each country/region and the agency fees of domestic trademark agencies, there will also be the agency fees of foreign trademark agencies, because according to the legal requirements of each country, Applicants usually need to entrust local agencies in each country to submit registration applications.

Combining the above points, everyone should be able to understand that the advantages of Madrid registration are simple procedures and low fees. But it also has the disadvantages of higher threshold and higher risks. The advantages of registering on a country-by-country basis are that the threshold is low, it is conducive to confirming rights, and risks are easy to control. Its disadvantages are high cost, complicated procedures, and difficult management. Therefore, when companies apply for international trademark registration, they need to comprehensively consider factors such as registration purpose, risk control, budget, market importance, export demand, etc., tailor it to their own market companies, and choose a registration method that suits them.