Characteristics of the Madrid System:

(1) Procedures are convenient. Applicants need only use one language to submit a single application and pay a set fee to the original jurisdiction, allowing them to file a trademark registration application with any trademark authority outside their own country.
(2) Global Coverage. Available in 116 countries, the Madrid system allows trademark registration and management across 100 member territories that cover over 80% of global trade.
(3) It saves the applicant time and money, especially the fees for proxy agencies in various countries; and allows for one-click registration and unified management. All registration name and address changes, transfers, or renewals in all countries can be completed through a single application.

Common countries and regions in the Madrid System

China, South Korea, Japan, the United States, the European Union, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines have all joined the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks.
In the 10 member states of ASEAN, all except Malaysia and Myanmar have joined the Madrid Trademark System.
In Western developed countries, Canada has not yet joined the Madrid Trademark System.
In the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—neither Brazil nor South Africa have joined the Madrid Trademark System.
Madrid Application

(1) Conditions: Trademarks that have been registered or for which registration applications have been submitted and accepted in our country are eligible for international registration.
(2) Application Qualification Requirements
Applicants must have a genuine and valid business establishment in our country; or have a residence within our national borders; or possess Chinese nationality. (Legal entities or individuals in Taiwan can apply, while legal entities and individuals from the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions are currently unable to apply.)
(3) Application Materials
Madrid Trademark International Registration Application
2. Foreign application forms, MM2 form, **U.S.-based**, along with the submission of MM18 form.
3. Qualification documents for applicants, such as copies of business licenses, ID cards, etc.
(4) Name and Address Change and Transfer Application
Multiple international registered trademarks under the same registrant name, with identical registrant names and addresses recorded in the international register, can be changed simultaneously by submitting a single change application.
When transferring a Madrid International Trademark Registration, if a registrant wishes to transfer multiple international registrations under their name to the same transferee, and the registrant's name and address are identical in the international register for all these registrations, a single transfer application can be submitted to transfer multiple international trademarks at once.

Tianrun Company's Madrid Trademark Application Receipt Notice

In addition to the aforementioned changes in name, address, and transfer applications, the next section introduces more common application items:
(1) Post-application
Basic Concept: Post-registration refers to the territorial extension of an international trademark registration, where the trademark registrant applies for the extension of the registration to cover goods and/or services in one or more countries after the international registration is obtained.
Application Documents: Madrid Trademark International Registration Post-Application Form, MM4, MM18 (if applicable in the U.S.), Power of Attorney (if handling through an agency).
(2) Reduction Application
Basic Concept: Reduction refers to the applicant's goods or services being partially or entirely reduced by the Contracting Party.
Application Materials: Madrid商标International Registration Reduction Application, Foreign Language Application (MM6), and Power of Attorney for an Agent, a copy of the Agency Power of Attorney should be enclosed.
Official fee: 177 Swiss Francs per international registration number.
(3) Withdraw Application
Basic Concept: Abandonment refers to the applicant waiving protection for all goods or services in some contracting parties.
Application Materials: Madrid Trademark International Registration Surrender Application, Foreign Language Application (MM7); if a representative is appointed, the Power of Attorney should be enclosed.
(4) Renewal Application

Basic Concept: After the expiration of the Madrid Trademark International Registration, if continued use is desired, a renewal must be processed. The Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol stipulate that the validity period of an international registration trademark is 10 years.
Application Materials: Madrid商标International Registration Renewal Application, Foreign Language Application (MM11), and if applicable, an Authorization Letter for the appointed agent.

Madrid Trademark Registration Streamlined: 1. Reduction in Proof-Based Documents
(1) When processing new application business, there is no longer a requirement for applicants to submit copies of the Trademark Registration Application Receipt Notice and copies of the Trademark Registration Certificate. The trademark review system's acceptance or registration information from the Trademark Office will be taken as the standard. For basic trademarks that have undergone subsequent procedures such as changes, transfers, or renewals, copies of proof documents are no longer required.
(2) For subsequent matters related to the Madrid trademark international registration, a copy of the international registration certificate is no longer required.
(3) If the applicant's English name has been filled out in the Chinese application, a proof of English name is no longer required. If the English name of the transferee has been filled out in the Chinese application, a proof of English name is also no longer required.
2. Streamline processes and materials
When processing a business name and/or address change, it is not a prerequisite based on the approval of the basic trademark. If the basic trademark has been approved for a change, a copy of the approval change certificate is not required; if the basic trademark has not been approved for a change, the applicant may submit a copy of the change approval document from the registration authority or relevant documents downloaded and printed by the registration authority as proof of the change.
On February 7, 2018, the Trademark Office issued a notice titled "Regarding the Simplification of Application Materials, Optimization of Work Procedures, and Shortening of Review Periods," in which the third point addressed the Madrid International Registration business: "When applicants are handling name and address changes for multiple Madrid International Registration trademarks under their name, they can process these changes through a single change application. Similarly, when applicants are handling transfer transactions for multiple Madrid International Registration trademarks under their name, and the transfers are to the same transferee, they can process these through a single transfer application."