Are you ready for Madrid – not for a holiday or a football match, but for your trade mark protection journey.
When we mention “Madrid”, we are referring to the Madrid System for International Trade Mark Registration. This system allows individual or businesses to apply for trade mark protection in multiple countries through a single, streamlined filing—a convenient alternative to submitting separate applications in each jurisdiction.
Madrid System and Hong Kong: Where We Are Now
At the moment, you cannot use the Madrid System to cover Hong Kong, and you also cannot file a Madrid international trade mark application through the Hong Kong Trade Marks Registry. The Hong Kong Government has already passed a law (the Trade Marks (Amendment) Ordinance 2020) to allow Hong Kong to join the Madrid System in future, but this law is not yet in force. It will only start to apply after the Government finishes all the necessary preparation work and announces a start date.
The Government has said it is still working on the arrangements needed for Hong Kong to join the Madrid System. However, as at early 2026, no official starting date or target year has been announced. In other words, there is still no fixed timetable for when the Madrid System will actually become available for Hong Kong.
Although Hong Kong is not yet part of the Madrid System, it is useful to understand the basic rules so you can plan ahead.
Basic Requirements for Using the Madrid System
1. Who can use the Madrid System?
You can only use the Madrid System if you have a real link with at least one country or region that is already a member. In practice, this means you:
- are a citizen of, live in, or have a genuine business (such as an office, factory or shop) in a Madrid member; and
- have already filed or registered a trade mark (called the “basic mark”) in that place, with its local intellectual property office (called the “Office of Origin”).
2. What is the “basic mark”?
Before you file an international application through the Madrid System, you must already have a national or regional trade mark filed or registered in your Office of Origin. This earlier trade mark is your “basic mark”.
The basic mark and the international application must:
- show the same trade mark;
- have the same owner; and
- cover goods and/or services that are the same as, or narrower than, those listed in the international application.
3. What is in the international application?
Your international application must:
- be filed through your Office of Origin (you do not send it directly to WIPO yourself);
- use the official WIPO form (MM2) or an approved online system such as eMadrid or the Madrid Application Assistant;
- repeat the details of your basic mark (owner information, the mark itself, goods/services); and
- name at least one Madrid member where you want protection, and include payment of the basic fee and the extra fees for each country or class.
What Happens After Filing?
First, your Office of Origin will check and forward your international application to WIPO. The WIPO will then carry out a formal check only. It looks at things like whether the fees are paid, the goods/services are properly classified, and the documents are technically in order.
If something is wrong or missing, the WIPO will send you and your Office of Origin an “irregularity notice”, giving you a set period of time (often about three months) to fix the problems.
If everything is in order, the WIPO will:
- record your trade mark in the International Register;
- publish it in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks;
- issue a Certificate of International Registration; and
- notify each of the countries or regions you have designated.
Each of these local offices will then examine your trade mark application under the local national/regional law. They normally have 12 or 18 months to decide whether to accept or refuse the trade mark protection.
If the local office accepts the mark, you will get protection there as if you had filed directly in that country/region. If the local office refuses, you may have a chance to dispute the refusal by appointing a local trade mark lawyer there to respond to the refusal or to argue your case.
How to Protect Your Trade Mark in Hong Kong Now
As Hong Kong has not yet implemented the Madrid System, trade mark protection in Hong Kong can only be obtained by filing an application directly with the Hong Kong Trade Marks Registry.
At this stage, Hong Kong cannot be designated in an international registration under the Madrid System, and international applications cannot be filed through the Hong Kong Registry as an Office of Origin.
Where brand owners are also seeking protection in other jurisdictions that are members of the Madrid System, they will typically need to pursue two parallel routes:
- file a standalone local application in Hong Kong for protection in the Hong Kong market; and
- either file separate national or regional applications in other territories, or, where available, make use of the Madrid System via an eligible Office of Origin outside Hong Kong (for example, through an associated company or establishment in a Madrid member country).
This approach reflects the current reality: Hong Kong remains a separate, locally filed registration, while the Madrid System may be used only for those jurisdictions where it is already in force and where the applicant otherwise meets the eligibility requirements.
Getting Ready for Madrid in Hong Kong
While Hong Kong is still preparing to join the Madrid System, it is sensible for brand owners to make sure their key trade marks are already filed and registered in Hong Kong. This helps you meet the future eligibility requirements for Madrid, and also ensures your brand is protected in an important market in the meantime.
We would be pleased to help you to file and maintain your Hong Kong trade mark registrations and to plan an international filing strategy so that you are ready to use the Madrid System once it becomes available here.
