Saudi Arabia
joins
Madrid System
Saudi Arabia
joins
Madrid System
by
The Madrid System for international trademarks now also covers Saudi Arabia. Starting October 8, 2026, the country can be designated in a single international trademark application, in one language and with a single set of fees. For companies doing business in the Gulf region, this eliminates the need for a separate national application in Riyadh.
What Will Change on October 8, 2026
Saudi Arabia has acceded to the Madrid System, the system for the international registration of trademarks administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The relevant Madrid Protocol will enter into force for Saudi Arabia on October 8, 2026. Starting on that date, you can designate the country in a new international application or retroactively extend an existing international registration to include Saudi Arabia.
How the Madrid System Benefits Your Business
The practical advantage lies in consolidation. Previously, anyone seeking trademark protection in Saudi Arabia had to file a separate—and often costly—national application with the Saudi Trademark Office. Going forward, the country can be covered alongside other target markets in a single procedure. You file an application in one language, pay a single set of fees in one currency, and manage your entire portfolio centrally. If you already hold an international registration, you can extend protection to Saudi Arabia through a subsequent designation without having to rebuild your portfolio.
Why the Gulf Region Is Strategically Important
With this accession, five of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are now accessible through the Madrid System: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Only Kuwait remains outside the system so far. For a coordinated filing strategy in the region, the peninsula’s most important market can now be included in the same international registration as the other Gulf states.
Deadlines and Fees
Protection obtained through the Madrid System is not a uniform global right. The Saudi trademark office examines each designation under national law and may provisionally deny protection. Saudi Arabia has announced that it will extend the standard period for such a provisional refusal of protection from one year to 18 months. If the refusal is based on an opposition filed by a third party, the office may even issue the refusal after these 18 months have expired. You should therefore not jump to the conclusion that protection is guaranteed simply because the office has been silent for an extended period.
A separate fee applies for the designation of Saudi Arabia—at the time of filing, for a subsequent designation, and for renewal. WIPO has not yet published the exact amount of this fee; it will be announced in a separate notice. Therefore, it is not yet possible to provide a definitive estimate of the cost of an international trademark application for Saudi Arabia.
When drafting the application, there is one important point to note. Saudi law does not recognize either the division or the consolidation of a registration. If a partial refusal of protection applies only to certain goods or services, the uncontested portion cannot be separated. This makes a precise list of goods and services all the more important.
Conclusion
Accession simplifies trademark protection in Saudi Arabia. This makes it easier to file trademark applications in Saudi Arabia, and existing international registrations can be extended to cover Saudi Arabia.
One fundamental characteristic of the system must be taken into account here. During the first five years, an international registration depends on the continued existence of the underlying base trademark. If the underlying trademark is canceled, the extension to Saudi Arabia is also at risk. Whether it is worth pursuing the Madrid System or filing a direct national application is therefore a matter of the specific case and the portfolio strategy.
One fundamental characteristic of the system must be taken into account here. During the first five years, an international registration depends on the continued existence of the underlying base trademark. If the underlying trademark is canceled, the extension to Saudi Arabia is also at risk. Whether it is worth pursuing the Madrid System or filing a direct national application is therefore a matter of the specific case and the portfolio strategy.
We’d be happy to
you on
trademark law!
