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How It Works
December 2003

Briefly, the process for submitting an application in the United States for an International Registration includes the following steps:

1. When an international application is filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), it is processed and verification is made that the mark and the applicant are the same as those in the underlying application.
2. Applicants may designate any or all of the Protocol member countries on the international application.
3. USPTO will forward the application to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
4. WIPO determines whether all filing requirements have been met and that the goods and services are correctly classified.
5. Applicants have three months to resolve irregularities or WIPO will abandon the application.
6. WIPO will issue an international registration and notify the designated national trademark offices.
7. Each national office may examine the request the same as it would a national application and subject it to customary evaluation procedures.
8. The application date on the international registration will be the same date on the application filed with the Office of Origin, provided the International Bureau receives the application within two months of the original filing date.
9. Designated countries have 12 or 18 months from the international registration date to refuse or limit protection of the mark.
10. Under the Protocol, recording changes such as ownership, change of address or name requires only one document, filed in one office, with one registration number and one fee in one currency. The same is true for renewal.