A practice manual for renewing Madrid international trademark registrations. Things rarely go wrong at the renewal itself, which is a simple payment procedure with no examination. They go wrong just after it, when "the international registration has been renewed" is read as "everything is safe". Several designated countries run clocks of their own that have nothing to do with the renewal, and missing one of those kills the right in that country even though the international registration is alive.
1. At a glance
- System type
- Ten-year renewal cycle, handled centrally by WIPO
- Anchor date
- International registration date
- Due date rule
- Tenth anniversary of the international registration date
- Renewal window
- 6 months before expiry
- Grace period
- 6 months at 50% of the basic fee (CHF 326.50) Flat, regardless of class or country count
- Examination
- None — renewal is by payment alone
- Country selection
- Available — renew country by country
- Limiting the list
- Cannot be done through renewal — separate request
- Separate clocks
- United States §71, Philippine DAU, Mexican use declaration
- Risk level
- Caution — renewal is easy, the country clocks are not
2. Anchor date and due-date calculation
The anchor is the international registration date. It is not the filing or registration date of the basic mark at home, and not the date on which any designated office granted protection. Renewal falls due on the tenth anniversary of the international registration date, and each renewed term runs ten years from that same date.
Worked example
For an international registration dated 2020-06-15, the first renewal runs as follows.
| Item | Formula | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Window opens | Expiry − 6 months | 2029-12-15 |
| Renewal due | International registration + 10 years | 2030-06-15 |
| Grace ends | Due date + 6 months | 2030-12-15 |
| Next due date | Every 10 years thereafter | 2040-06-15 |
3. The renewal window
- The window opens six months before expiry. Fees received earlier are treated by WIPO as arriving on the day the window opens.
- The due date is the anniversary itself: the fee must reach WIPO by that day.
- WIPO sends an unofficial reminder six months before expiry, but it carries no legal obligation and non-receipt does not reopen the deadline. Reminding is our responsibility.
- The holder can file online, so no local agent is required for the renewal itself. National documents filed with a designated office do require an agent in that country.
4. Grace period and surcharge
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Grace period | 6 months from the due date |
| Surcharge | 50% of the basic fee — a flat CHF 326.50 |
| Basis | Independent of the number of classes or designated countries |
| Effect | Payment within grace is still recorded as of the original expiry date |
5. Lapse and restoration
Once the six-month grace period expires the international registration ceases. The Madrid system has no procedure for restoring a missed renewal deadline. The only route left is a fresh international application, and if a third party filed the same mark in the meantime, that application comes first.
6. The separate country clocks — the reason this manual exists
The three countries below run clocks of their own, independent of the international renewal. However diligently the international registration is renewed, missing one of these clocks ends the right in that country. Each country's detail is in its own manual.
| Country | What | When | If missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | §71 declaration of use, filed directly with the USPTO | Years 5-6 from the US registration date, and the final year of each ten-year cycle (each with a 6-month grace) | Cancellation — no restoration |
| Philippines | Four declarations of actual use | 3 years from the international registration; 5th anniversary of protection + 1 year; renewal + 1 year; 5th anniversary of each renewal + 1 year | Removal on the office's own motion |
| Mexico | Declaration of use | Within 3 months following the 3rd anniversary of protection (no extension), and with each renewal | Automatic lapse, without notice |
7. Official fees
The renewal fee is the basic fee plus an amount for each designated country. Where a country has declared an individual fee, that amount replaces the supplementary fee.
| Item | Amount (CHF) |
|---|---|
| Basic fee | 653 |
| Each class beyond three | 100 |
| Supplementary fee per designation | 100 |
| Grace surcharge | 326.50 (flat) |
Individual fees for the main declaring countries are as below, as at 2026-08-01. These amounts track the exchange rate between the national currency and the Swiss franc and are revised frequently, so always check the current schedule when quoting.
| Designation | Individual fee (CHF) |
|---|---|
| United States | 249 per class |
| Japan | 218 per class |
| China | 441 + 220 per additional class |
| European Union | 789 + 48 for the 2nd class + 144 per class from the 3rd |
| Republic of Korea | 172 per class |
| United Kingdom | 261 + 64 per additional class |
8. What can and cannot ride on a renewal
- Selective renewal by country is available: designations can be chosen individually.
- Limiting the list of goods and services cannot be done through renewal; a separate request is required.
- A change of ownership cannot ride on a renewal either — it is a separate request.
- Where a partial refusal has narrowed protection in a designated country, the fee is calculated on that narrowed scope and may be lower.
9. Management checklist
- The international registration date, from which every renewal deadline is calculated.
- For US designations, the US registration date in a separate field, because the §71 clock runs from it.
- For Philippine and Mexican designations, each declaration deadline as a separate docket item, so that a renewal flag never covers those reminders.
- The list of designated countries and the class count, which together produce the quotation.
- Begin client confirmation when the window opens six months before expiry, including whether any designation should be dropped this cycle.
- Check for designations recorded as invalidated or renounced; they fall out of the renewal and change the amount.
- Reconfirm the amount before remitting, since individual fees are revised as exchange rates move.
Sources, cut-off date and disclaimer
This manual is based on iphere's August 2026 survey of country-by-country overseas maintenance rules, together with values produced by the deadline engine that runs on those same rules. Official fees and deadline rules change by office notice, so please confirm against the official source and your local agent before any actual payment or filing.