Trademark registration by country: routes, fees and timing for a product brand
Offices, official fees, timing and representation rules for the countries where product brands most often file, checked against each office’s own pages in November 2026.
How to register a trademark for a product brand internationally
There is no worldwide trademark. To protect a product brand internationally you register it country by country, through three kinds of route: a national application with each office (USPTO, UKIPO, CNIPA and so on), a regional right such as the EU trade mark, which covers all EU Member States in one filing, or an international application under WIPO’s Madrid System, which designates many countries from one home application but leaves each office to decide under its own law. Most brands combine them: a strong home filing first, then direct filings where local control matters and Madrid designations for the rest.
The order matters as much as the route. File first where you manufacture and where you launch, because several key markets, China among them, protect whoever files first. Within six months of a first filing, priority can generally be claimed for later filings abroad. Most offices outside your home country also require a local agent or address for service, so the attorney network is part of the plan. How Madrid works, and its five-year dependency on the home mark, is explained in our Madrid guide.
These guides are general information, not legal advice. When trademark filing is part of a project, it sits inside our compliance stage and follows the naming work; licensed attorneys file in your company’s name, and no one can honestly promise a registration.
Trademark registration by country: the comparison
Official fees only, without attorney costs; checked on the offices’ websites on 3 November 2026. Timing is what the office states or its legal deadlines, not a promise.
| Country | Office | Route | Official fee basis | Typical time to registration | Local agent needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | EUIPO | EU trade mark, or EU designation via Madrid | €850 first class, €50 second, €150 each further (online) | Not before the 3-month opposition period ends; longer if opposed | Yes after filing, for applicants without an EEA domicile or establishment |
| United States | USPTO | National, or Madrid; use in commerce required | $350 per class plus surcharges; maintenance fees at years 5–6 and 10 | 10.4 months on average to registration or abandonment (Oct 2026) | Yes: foreign-domiciled applicants need a US-licensed attorney |
| United Kingdom | UKIPO | National, or Madrid; not covered by an EU mark | £205 first class, £60 each further (online, from April 2026) | About 3–4 months without objections | UK, Gibraltar or Channel Islands address for service required |
| India | Trade Marks Registry (IP India) | National (form TM-A), or Madrid | ₹9,000 per class e-filing for standard applicants | No official figure; 4-month opposition after advertisement | Address for service in India, usually the agent |
| Japan | JPO | National, or Madrid | ¥3,400 + ¥8,600 per class to apply; ¥32,900 per class to register (10 years) | 7.8 months average total pendency (fiscal 2024) | Yes for non-residents (representative in Japan) |
| China | CNIPA | National, or Madrid; first-to-file | CNY 270 per class for up to 10 items, CNY 27 per extra item (online) | Examination within 9 months, then 3-month opposition (2 months from 2027) | Yes: a Chinese trademark agency for foreign applicants without a domicile in China |
| Saudi Arabia | SAIP | National, or Madrid since 8 Oct 2026 | 1,000 SAR application, 500 SAR publication, 5,000 SAR registration | 90 days stated service time; 60-day publication | Agents must be on SAIP’s Agent Registry; foreign owners normally use one |
| UAE | Ministry of Economy and Tourism | National, or Madrid | AED 750 examination, AED 750 publication, AED 5,000 registration | Certificate within 30 days after the 30-day objection period | Yes for owners located outside the UAE |
| Kazakhstan | Kazpatent (NIIP) | National, or Madrid | 117,812.50 tenge filing and examination (up to 3 classes) plus 37,849.64 tenge registration, legal entities, incl. VAT | Full examination within 7 months of filing | Can act directly or via representative; foreign owners usually use a Kazakh patent attorney |
General information, not legal advice. Fees change; confirm them on the office’s current schedule or the WIPO fee calculator before filing.
Guides by country
EU
Search, classes, official fees, opposition period, timeline, and when national marks or Madrid make more sense.
USA
Use and intent-to-use, classes, official fees, the foreign-applicant attorney rule, timeline and maintenance.
UK
Classes, official fees, examination and opposition, timeline, and why an EU mark no longer covers the UK.
India
The Trade Marks Registry, TM-A filing, official fees, examination, objections, opposition and realistic timing.
Japan
Search, classes, application and registration fees, examination time, and filing through a Japanese attorney.
China
First-to-file, subclasses, Chinese-character marks, fees, timing and protecting a brand before manufacturing there.
Saudi Arabia
Classes, Arabic transliteration, official fees, publication and timing for a product brand.
UAE
Classes, fees, publication, timeline and Madrid coverage.
Kazakhstan
Classes, fees, examination, timing and the Madrid route.
The sequence that works in most countries
Each office has its own rules, but the decisions come in the same order.
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1
Search before you fall in love with the name
Screen identical and similar marks in every launch and manufacturing country, in Latin script and in local scripts. A conflict found now costs a rename; found later, it costs stock.
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2
Choose classes and write the goods list
Nice classes set the fee, but the wording sets the protection. Cover what you will sell in the next few years, no more.
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3
Set the filing strategy
Which country first, which by national filing, which by EU or Madrid, and which local-script versions to file. Use the six-month priority window to line them up.
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4
Examination
Offices check distinctiveness and, in most countries, earlier marks. Objections are answered by the local attorney within the deadline.
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5
Publication and opposition
From 30 days in the US and UAE to four months in India; in Japan, opposition comes after registration. Watch the gazettes for conflicting marks too.
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6
Maintenance
Diary renewals, use declarations and non-use risks. The US asks for proof of use at years 5–6; Japan and China allow cancellation after three years of non-use.
Frequently asked questions
Can I register one trademark for the whole world?
No. Trademarks are territorial. The Madrid System lets you file one international application for many member countries, but each office decides separately, and countries outside the system need national filings.
How much does international trademark registration cost?
It depends on the countries and classes. Under Madrid, WIPO charges a basic fee of CHF 653 (CHF 903 for a colour mark), plus a complementary fee of CHF 100 or an individual fee per country, and CHF 100 per class beyond three. Individual fees vary widely, from CHF 83 per class for India to CHF 1,420 per class for the UAE.
Which country should I file in first?
Usually your home market or main launch market, so the filing can serve as the base for priority and Madrid. If you manufacture in China, file there early as well, because China protects the first applicant; see the China guide.
Do I need a local attorney in each country?
Often yes. The US, Japan, China and the UAE require a local representative for foreign owners, and the UK and India need a local address for service. Even under Madrid, a refusal is answered through a local attorney.
How long does trademark registration take?
From about three to four months in the UK to around a year in China and the US for a clean application. Objections and oppositions add months or years.
Should the trademark be in my name or my company’s?
In the name of the company that will own and license the brand. Filing in a founder’s, distributor’s or factory’s name creates a transfer problem later.
Have a product idea? Check it before you buy stock.
Send a short brief. We tell you what we think, including when we think you should not do it.
Tell us about your brand
A few lines are enough: what you want to sell, where and to whom. We reply with an honest view of feasibility, the stages you need and the next step.
- No obligation: the first review of your idea is free
- If we think the idea will not pay back, we say so
- Your idea stays confidential; we can sign an NDA
What happens next
- 1We review your briefand may ask a few questions
- 2A short callabout goals, budget and limits
- 3Written proposalstages, scope, fees and timing
- 4First stage startswith a decision gate at its end
- usually 300–1 000 units per product in a first order
- usually 6–12 months from brief to first sales
- EU company, contract under Polish law