Helpful resources / Protection
Protecting a name outside the United States
Your U.S. registration stops at the border. Here is how rights work in other countries, what the Madrid Protocol does and does not do, and how to tell whether any of it applies to you yet.
Written by Trademarky. Last checked September 4, 2026. 7 min read.
Trademark rights are territorial
A trademark is a right granted by a country, under that country's law, for that country's market. A U.S. registration gives you rights throughout the United States; it gives you nothing in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom or anywhere else, and a registration there gives its owner nothing here. There is no such thing as a world trademark, and the FAQ's one-line answer on the point is the whole truth: for other countries, you file there.
Two features of foreign systems catch U.S. businesses out. First, most countries are first-to-file: rights go to whoever registers first, with little or no credit for having used the name earlier. In the United States, Hazel & Rye can rely on years of use to defeat a later filer; in a first-to-file country, a stranger who registers Hazel & Rye first owns it there, and the bakery may have to buy it back or trade under another name. Second, many countries do not require use to register a mark or to keep it for its first few years, so a name can be locked up by someone with no business at all.
The practical consequence: if you manufacture abroad, sell abroad or are about to be visible abroad, someone there can register your name before you do, and a U.S. registration will not help you get it back.
Three ways to file abroad
| Route | How it works | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Direct national filing | An application in one country, under its law, usually through a local trademark attorney or agent | One or two important countries, or countries outside the Madrid system |
| Regional system | One application covering a group of countries, such as the European Union trade mark, which covers every EU member state in a single registration | A whole region at once |
| Madrid Protocol | One international application, filed through the USPTO and based on your U.S. application or registration, designating any of the member countries | Several countries at once, managed from one record |
The routes combine. A brand might use the Madrid Protocol for most markets, a regional filing where that is cheaper, and a direct filing in a country that is not a Madrid member. Each application, whichever route, is examined under the law of the country it covers, and each country can refuse it on its own grounds.
The Madrid Protocol in outline
The Madrid Protocol is a treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, in Geneva. It lets the owner of a U.S. application or registration file one international application, in English, through the USPTO, and designate any of the member countries, which number well over a hundred. The USPTO explains the mechanics on its Madrid Protocol page. In outline:
- You need a U.S. basic application or registration. The international application must match it: the same mark, the same owner, and goods and services no broader than the U.S. list.
- You file the international application through the USPTO, which certifies that it matches the basic mark and forwards it to WIPO. The USPTO charges a certification fee for this step.
- WIPO checks the formalities, records the mark in the International Register and notifies each country you designated. WIPO's fees are set in Swiss francs: a basic fee plus a fee for each designated country, some of which set their own amounts.
- Each designated country examines the mark under its own law and has 12 months, or 18 in some countries, to refuse it. If it does not, the mark is protected there as if it had been registered nationally. If it does, you deal with that country's office, usually through a local attorney.
- The international registration lasts ten years and is renewed centrally at WIPO. Changes of owner or address are recorded once, for every country.
The six-month priority window
Under the Paris Convention, an application filed in another member country within six months of your U.S. filing date can claim the U.S. filing date as its own. If Loopwell files in the United States on March 1 and in three other countries on August 20, each foreign application is treated as if filed on March 1, ahead of anyone who filed in those countries in between.
The window matters most in first-to-file countries, and it is the reason the U.S. filing date is worth fixing early even if foreign filings are months away. It runs from the U.S. filing date, not from registration, so a pending U.S. application is enough to open it. After six months you can still file abroad; you simply cannot reach back to the U.S. date.
When to think about it
Most small U.S. businesses do not need foreign registrations, and paying for them before there is a foreign market is money that could clear more classes at home. The signals that it is time:
- You sell or ship to customers in another country, or a marketplace or app store makes you visible there by default.
- You manufacture there. Factories, agents and distributors are the most common first-to-file registrants of a foreign brand's name, and a registration in their name can block your own exports at their border.
- You are about to appoint a distributor, licensee or franchisee abroad. Own the mark before the contract, or the contract may end with the mark in someone else's hands.
- You are about to announce. A launch, a trade show or press coverage abroad tells the world about a name you have not claimed there.
- You have just filed in the United States. The six-month window is open and it does not reopen.
The sequence is usually: clear and file the U.S. mark first, decide within six months which countries matter, and use the priority window for those. Countries that matter later can be added to a Madrid registration by a later designation, at the cost of a later date.
How Trademarky fits
Trademarky files U.S. trademark applications. The flat fee covers the search, the free call, the U.S. application and responses to non-technical office actions; it does not include Madrid Protocol or foreign filings, which carry their own fees. What the U.S. application does is give you the basic mark that every Madrid filing rests on, and the filing date that the six-month window runs from.
If you already sell abroad or plan to, raise it on the free call. Your attorney can tell you whether the timing matters for your situation, what the Madrid route would involve for your goods, and when a direct filing through a local attorney makes more sense. If you are based outside the United States and want a U.S. registration, the direction reverses: the USPTO requires a U.S.-licensed attorney to represent you, and Do I need a trademark attorney? explains that rule.
Selling in more than one country, or about to? Bring the list to the call and leave with a sequence. Book a free attorney call
Questions about this topic
Do I need a U.S. registration before filing under the Madrid Protocol?
No, a pending U.S. application is enough to serve as the basic mark. The international application must match it in mark, owner and goods, and it stays dependent on it for five years, so a U.S. application that is later refused takes the international registration down with it unless you convert it into national applications within three months.
What happens to my international registration if my U.S. application fails?
For the first five years the international registration depends on the U.S. basic mark. If the U.S. application is refused or the registration is cancelled, in whole or in part, the international registration is cancelled to the same extent. You then have three months to convert it into direct national applications in each designated country, keeping the original dates, at each country's national fee.
Can someone in another country register my brand before I do?
Yes, and in first-to-file countries it happens regularly, often by a manufacturer, distributor or opportunist who saw the brand online. Some countries have bad-faith provisions that let a true owner challenge such a registration, but the proceedings are slow and expensive and the outcome is uncertain. Filing in the countries that matter within the six-month priority window is the reliable answer.
Related guides
- Does a small business need a trademark?: What federal registration adds to the rights a small business already has, when filing becomes urgent, what a trademark does not do, and what it costs.
- Do I need a trademark attorney?: When a U.S. trademark applicant must use an attorney, what an attorney changes, when filing yourself is reasonable, and how Trademarky's flat fee works.
- How long does a trademark take?: A realistic U.S. trademark timeline: the wait for the first USPTO review, the 30-day publication, when the certificate arrives, and what slows it down.
This guide is general information to help you understand the process. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice on your own mark, talk to an attorney on a free call.
Contact
Trademarky, LLC, 78 SW 7th St, 5th FL, Miami, FL 33130. (305) 562-6800, hello@trademarky.io. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm ET. Available by appointment.
This free check is an AI-assisted preliminary screening against known U.S. trademark records. It is not a comprehensive clearance search and not legal advice. Only a licensed attorney can advise you on whether to file.