Madrid Protocol & EUTM

International
Trademark Registration

Your registration in Türkiye protects you only in Türkiye. If you export or are growing abroad, you need to register your brand in your target countries as well.

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One application, many countries with the Madrid Protocol

All EU members with an EU Trade Mark (EUTM)

Local attorney coordination where required

The whole portfolio in one customer panel

17+ Years of Experience TÜRKPATENT Authorized Attorney Madrid Protocol & EUTM Digital Client Portal

In short: What Is International Trademark Registration?

Trademark rights are territorial: a registration obtained in Türkiye protects you only within Türkiye. To be protected abroad you must either file in each country separately or use an international system. The Madrid Protocol, administered by WIPO, allows registration in several member countries through a single application; Türkiye is a party to it and applications are filed through TÜRKPATENT as the office of origin. If only the European Union is targeted, the EU Trade Mark (EUTM) — which covers all EU members with one application — is usually the more efficient route.

Three Routes

Which System Should You File Under?

The right route is determined by your target markets. We handle all three; before you decide, we go through your commercial priorities together.

Madrid Protocol

Registration in several member countries through a single filing before WIPO. Renewals and changes are managed from one point.

One application, one file

Centralised management and renewal

Requires a basic application in Türkiye

Central attack risk in the first five years

EU Trade Mark (EUTM)

A single filing before the EUIPO giving protection valid in every EU member state. The most efficient route if only the EU is targeted.

One application, the whole EU

Renewal from a single point

Distinctiveness is expected across the whole EU

"All or nothing" opposition risk

Direct National Filing

Filing before the local office for countries outside the Madrid system or markets where a direct filing is more advantageous.

The only route for non-Madrid countries

More advantageous in certain markets

Local attorney coordination

A separate process for each country

Process

How Is an International Trademark Registered?

Target Market and Strategy Analysis

The countries you export to or plan to export to are identified, and whether the Madrid Protocol, the EU Trade Mark (EUTM) or a direct national filing is more efficient is decided according to your business model.

Basic Application Check

The Madrid system is based on an existing or simultaneously filed basic trademark application or registration in Türkiye. If you do not have a Turkish registration, it is completed first or both processes are planned together.

Defining Country and Class Coverage

The Madrid system is likewise based on the Nice Classification. The scope of your basic application is the ceiling for your scope abroad and cannot be broadened afterwards, so the class coverage is set correctly from the outset.

Filing and Fee Notification

The Madrid application is submitted to WIPO through TÜRKPATENT as the office of origin. WIPO and national office fees are denominated in foreign currency; the amount is converted into Turkish Lira at the exchange rate applicable when you place the order and reported to you.

Refusal Notices and Local Attorney Coordination

Any provisional refusal issued by the offices of the countries you selected is forwarded to you immediately. Where proceedings must be conducted before the local office, Webx handles coordination with a local trademark attorney in that country.

What to Watch Out For

In International Registration
Two Critical Risks

If these two issues are not discussed at the strategy stage, they can produce consequences that are hard to undo years later. Both are set out explicitly in our service agreement.

Central Attack

For the first five years the international registration is dependent on the basic application in Türkiye. If that basic application is refused, cancelled or invalidated during this period, the international registration can be affected too.

Class Coverage Cannot Be Broadened Later

The Madrid system is based on the Nice Classification, and the scope of your basic application is also the ceiling for your scope abroad. If your Turkish application is drafted narrowly, the international registration stays just as narrow.

How Pricing Works

Fees are denominated in foreign currency

WIPO and national office fees are usually set in CHF, USD or EUR.

Reported at the exchange rate on the order date

The amount is converted into Turkish Lira at the exchange rate applicable when you place the order and reported to you.

Exchange-rate differences may be settled separately

Any shortfall or surplus arising from the exchange-rate difference between payment and the date the fee is actually paid is settled separately.

Responding to a refusal is a separate service

Preparing a response to a provisional refusal is a separate service and fee unless agreed otherwise.

Read the Service Agreement

Who Is It For?

If You Sell Across Borders
Your Protection Must Cross Borders Too

Exporters

Every market you sell in is a market where your brand can be copied.

E-commerce Sellers

Brand protection programmes on Amazon and similar platforms require a local registration.

Franchisor Brands

The legal foundation of your overseas franchise network is the registration in the target country.

Startups Expanding Abroad

Registering before you enter a market is both cheaper and safer than registering afterwards.

Related Services

Türkiye First,
Then the World

Trademark Registration

Start here with the basic registration your Madrid application will rely on.

Learn More

Trademark Search

Check for conflicts in your target markets before filing.

Learn More

Trademark Watch

Extended watch services covering EUIPO and WIPO bulletins as well.

Learn More

Design Registration

Protect the appearance of your product too.

Learn More

See All Services

FAQ

Frequently Asked
Questions

Ask us anything you want to know about international trademark registration.

Talk to an Expert

No. Trademark rights are territorial; each country recognises only its own registration. Your registration in Türkiye does not give automatic protection in, say, Germany or the United States. To be protected abroad you must either file in each country separately or use an international system such as the Madrid Protocol.

The Madrid Protocol is an international system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that allows a trademark to be registered in several member countries through a single application. Türkiye is a party to the system and applications are filed through TÜRKPATENT as the office of origin.

You file an international application with WIPO based on your existing Turkish application or registration, select the member countries where you want protection, and each selected country then examines the application separately under its own legislation. In other words you file once, but every country makes its own decision.

An international application under the Madrid Protocol must be based on an existing or simultaneously filed basic trademark application or registration in Türkiye. If you do not yet have a Turkish application, we can start both processes together.

For the first five years the international registration is dependent on the basic application in Türkiye. If that basic application is refused, cancelled or invalidated within this period, the international registration can be adversely affected. This risk is stated explicitly in our service agreement and is factored in from the outset when the strategy is built.

The EUTM (European Union Trade Mark) is administered by the EUIPO and provides, through a single application, protection valid in every EU member state. Madrid, by contrast, offers a much wider pool of countries beyond the EU. If you target only the EU market, the EUTM is usually more efficient; if your targets extend beyond the EU, Madrid may suit you better.

The EUTM works on an "all or nothing" basis: a serious opposition from even one member state can affect the entire EU registration. Your mark is also expected to be distinctive across the whole EU. That is why a thorough search before filing matters.

The right answer depends on your business model: the markets you actually sell in, the markets in your sales plan, the countries where you manufacture and the markets with a high counterfeiting risk are all weighed together. Because every country means an additional fee, the scope has to be built around your real commercial priorities.

The amount depends on the number of countries selected, the number of NICE classes and each country's own fee schedule. Fees are usually denominated in a foreign currency (CHF, USD, EUR) and are reported after conversion into Turkish Lira at the exchange rate applicable when you place the order. Any exchange-rate difference between payment and the date the fee is actually paid may be settled separately. Share your target countries and we will prepare an itemised quote.

The office of the country you selected examines your application under its own legislation and may issue a provisional refusal. Responding to such notices on time is critical; the notice is forwarded to you immediately. Preparing the response is a separate service and fee unless agreed otherwise.

Some countries require proceedings before the national office to be conducted through a local attorney. In those cases Webx works with a local trademark attorney or law firm in that country and handles the coordination on your behalf.

Some countries are not party to the Madrid system, and in certain markets a direct national filing can be more advantageous anyway. For those countries we use the direct national route and run the process through a local attorney.

This is one of the greatest strengths of the Madrid system: renewals, name and address changes and assignments can all be handled from a single point. For Webx clients the entire international portfolio is tracked in the same customer panel as your Turkish files.

Yes. Our standard trademark watch service covers the TÜRKPATENT bulletin; for your international marks we offer extended packages that also monitor the bulletins of foreign offices such as the EUIPO and WIPO.

Because of the basic application requirement, the Madrid system makes the Turkish leg mandatory; in practice the Turkish application is therefore either filed first or run simultaneously with the international one. Setting your class coverage around your export plan from the very start is critical, because it cannot be broadened later.

Country lists, fee schedules and processing times are set by the relevant offices (WIPO, EUIPO, national offices) and may change. This page is for general information; the current amounts and timelines specific to your target markets are provided to you in writing after a free strategy consultation.

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