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International registration of trademarks

The international registration system functions under two agreements, with the purpose of facilitating trademark registration in countries belonging to the Madrid System. In practice it is an administrative system, which provides assistance in the administration of several national registrations.

Over eighty countries are party to the two agreements of the Madrid System. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), located in Switzerland, serves as the register authority. The application language is English. All European Community member states are also party to the Madrid Protocol.

The European Community's membership in the Madrid Protocol makes it possible for a trademark registered (or pending application) in the CTM system to be applied to other signatory countries, in the same manner as applying registrations (or pending applications) valid in other signatory countries to the Community. This in itself increases the need for trademark searches, as the scope of protection for potential obstacles for registration may not be directly specified in public databases.