International
Guides

A registration obtained in Türkiye protects you in Türkiye only. Businesses that export, have goods manufactured abroad or sell online into other markets have to establish protection separately in each country. This category compares the routes available: extending a single application to several countries through the Madrid Protocol, covering all EU member states with one European Union trade mark (EUTM), and filing nationally in the country itself.

The country guides cover the proof of use required in a United States (USPTO) filing, the priority problem faced by companies manufacturing in China, how filings are organised for Turkish exporters entering the German market, and the structure that applies in the United Kingdom after Brexit. The articles help you weigh which route fits your export map in terms of cost and timing.

Which route to take depends as much on timing as on your export map. Applications filed abroad within six months of your filing in Türkiye can claim priority; miss that window and third-party applications filed in the meantime take precedence in that country. The Madrid system makes it easy to reach many countries from a single file, but it remains tied to the basic application: if the basic mark is refused or cancelled within the first five years, the international registration is affected too. Each country still carries out its own examination, so the risk of refusal in your target markets is worth measuring up front.

Three practical details stand out on the operational side of international filings. Under the Madrid system the cost is made up of the basic fee paid to WIPO plus a designation fee for each country you select; because the total does not grow in a straight line with the number of countries, listing your target markets from the start is usually cheaper than filing country by country. Second, the system allows subsequent designation: you can select three countries today and add more to the same international registration in later years. Third, some countries require a foreign applicant to appoint a local representative — in the United States, for example, correspondence runs through an attorney licensed there. Use requirements differ by country as well: in the US, keeping a registration alive depends on filing declarations of use at set intervals, while an EU trade mark becomes open to revocation if genuine use is not shown within five years. Those obligations belong in the calendar when you plan protection abroad.