This Madrid Protocol international trademark cost calculator estimates what a WIPO international trademark application costs, combining the basic fee, a per-country designation fee for each member you select, and per-class complementary fees — all denominated in Swiss francs (CHF), the official WIPO currency. The Madrid System lets you extend one home ("basic") trademark to dozens of countries through a single WIPO filing instead of filing separately in each nation. The official WIPO Fee Calculator is authoritative but clunky; this tool gives you a fast, friendly estimate of the basic + designation + class math so you can budget before you commit. Because individual countries charge wildly different designation fees, the totals here are directional — always confirm exact amounts in the official WIPO Fee Calculator before filing.
Estimate your WIPO international application cost in Swiss francs (CHF).
A Madrid Protocol application is priced in three layers, all in Swiss francs (CHF): a basic fee of 653 CHF for a black-and-white mark or 903 CHF for a colour mark; a complementary or individual fee for each country you designate; and a complementary fee for each class beyond the first. Because per-country fees range from a modest standard amount to several hundred francs for major markets, totals vary widely. A one-class, three-country filing might be 1,400–4,000 CHF depending on which countries you pick. The calculator above lets you set an average designation fee that matches your target markets, then converts the franc total to an approximate US-dollar figure.
| Fee component | Typical amount (CHF) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic fee (black & white) | 653 CHF | Single fee regardless of class count |
| Basic fee (colour mark) | 903 CHF | Higher because colour is claimed |
| Complementary fee per extra class | ~100 CHF | Applies to classes beyond the first |
| Standard designation fee per country | ~100 CHF | For countries on the complementary schedule |
| Individual designation fee per country | ~150–500+ CHF | Charged by EU, US, Japan, and others |
The Madrid Protocol, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), lets a trademark owner protect a brand in many countries through one international application, one currency, and one renewal cycle, instead of hiring local agents and filing separately in each nation. You file based on a "basic mark" in your home country, designate the member countries you want, and WIPO forwards the application to each. The cost saving versus dozens of national filings is real, but it is not free, and the per-country fees are where the budget lives. This calculator exists to make that per-country math fast.
WIPO is headquartered in Geneva and denominates every Madrid System fee in Swiss francs, no matter where the applicant or the designated countries are. That is why this tool calculates in CHF and offers an optional CHF-to-USD conversion: US applicants think in dollars, but WIPO bills in francs, and the dollar amount your bank charges depends on the exchange rate the day you pay. Set the conversion rate field to the current rate for a realistic dollar estimate.
The Madrid System is not a standalone filing — it is an extension of a trademark you already have or are applying for in your home office, called the basic mark. US applicants build their international application on a USPTO application or registration. For the first five years, the international registration depends on that basic mark: if the home mark is cancelled or refused, the international one can fall with it, a risk called "central attack." So the true cost of going global is your home filing (use our trademark registration cost calculator) plus the WIPO fees estimated here.
Each Madrid member country chooses how it charges. Most smaller countries use the standard complementary fee (around 100 CHF). Major economies — the European Union, United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and others — charge their own individual fee, which can be several times higher and may itself vary by class. This is the single biggest swing factor in your total. The calculator uses one adjustable average so you can model a cheap basket of standard-fee countries or an expensive basket of individual-fee markets; for precision, total each country separately in the official WIPO calculator.
Take the defaults: a black-and-white mark (653 CHF basic), one class (no complementary fee), three countries at an average 250 CHF each. The calculator computes 653 + 0 + (250 × 3) = 1,403 CHF, roughly $1,571 at a 1.12 rate. Add a second class and the complementary fee appears; designate the EU (a high individual fee) and the average climbs, pushing the total well past 3,000 CHF. The point of a friendly estimator is to see these scenarios in seconds before you wrestle with the official tool.
You submit the international application through your home office (the USPTO for US filers), which certifies it matches your basic mark and forwards it to WIPO. WIPO checks formalities, records the international registration, and notifies each designated country's office. Each country then examines the mark under its own law and can grant or refuse protection within a set time limit. The fees this calculator estimates are paid up front to WIPO; individual country refusals may require local counsel to overcome, which is an additional, separate cost.
An international registration lasts ten years and renews directly through WIPO for further ten-year terms, in Swiss francs, covering all designated countries at once, which is a genuine convenience versus tracking dozens of national renewal dates. Budget the renewal as a future WIPO cost. Your home US registration, however, renews separately on its own Section 8 and 9 schedule; keep both straight with our trademark renewal and maintenance fee calculator.
You do not have to designate every country at the start. Through a subsequent designation, you can add new member countries to an existing international registration as your business expands, paying that country's designation fee plus a handling fee at the time. This lets you start lean and scale, modeling each addition in the calculator as a one-country run. It is often cheaper and simpler than launching a brand-new application for the additional market.
Madrid shines when you want several countries at once. If you only need one or two foreign markets, filing directly in each country (a "national" filing) can sometimes cost less and avoids the central-attack dependency on your home mark. Weigh the basic fee plus designation fees from this calculator against quotes for direct national filings before deciding. For a single high-value market with an expensive individual fee, the national route occasionally wins.
If you are investing thousands to protect a brand internationally, your online footprint should match. Before filing, check and secure the .com and the key country-code domains for your target markets, because a brand you own legally but not online invites confusion and squatters. Domains cost a tiny fraction of international trademark fees, so locking them is cheap insurance; start with our domain name search and budget renewals with the domain cost calculator.
This tool is a fast estimator, not a live feed of WIPO's schedule, and individual country fees change. Before you file, confirm every figure in the official WIPO Madrid Fee Calculator, which totals the exact basic, complementary, and individual fees for your specific country selection. Use this page to plan and compare scenarios, and wipo.int as the authoritative source for the number you actually pay.
International filers stumble in predictable ways. The biggest is underestimating individual country fees: budgeting at the low standard rate when the European Union, United States, Japan, or other major markets charge several times more, which can double a total versus a naive estimate. The second is over-designating countries you do not actually need yet, when a leaner initial filing plus later subsequent designations would cost less. The third is forgetting the central-attack dependency: because the international registration relies on your home basic mark for five years, a weak or vulnerable home filing puts the whole international portfolio at risk. The fourth is ignoring local agent costs that arise when a designated country issues a refusal you must answer through local counsel, an expense the up-front WIPO fee does not include. Finally, filers sometimes overlook that fees are in Swiss francs and budget in their home currency without accounting for the exchange rate. Setting the average designation fee realistically in this calculator, and confirming exact figures in the official WIPO Fee Calculator, guards against the worst of these surprises.
Choosing between the Madrid route and separate national filings comes down to how many countries you need and how expensive each one is. The Madrid System usually wins when you want several countries at once, because one application, one currency, and one renewal cycle beat managing many separate filings and renewal dates. National filing can win when you need only one or two markets, especially a single high-value country with an expensive individual fee, where the basic fee overhead is not justified and avoiding the central-attack dependency is worth it. A practical approach is to estimate the Madrid total for your target basket in this calculator, then request quotes for direct national filings in those same countries and compare. For many growing brands, a hybrid emerges: Madrid for the bulk of markets, plus a direct filing in the one country where it is cheaper or strategically safer. Whichever route you choose, your home United States registration still renews separately on its own schedule, so keep that maintenance budgeted too.
Lock the rest of your brand stack while you are here: explore USPTO trademark cost calculator, trademark renewal fee calculator, and trademark conflict risk checker, or start from the names.center homepage for every naming and domain tool.
A Madrid Protocol international application starts with a basic WIPO fee of 653 Swiss francs for a black-and-white mark or 903 francs for a colour mark, then adds a designation fee for every country you select and a complementary fee for each class beyond the first. Because per-country fees vary enormously, a three-country, one-class filing might land anywhere from roughly 1,400 to 4,000 francs. This calculator estimates the structure; confirm exact per-country amounts in the official WIPO Fee Calculator.
All Madrid System fees are calculated and paid to WIPO in Swiss francs (CHF), regardless of where you or your target countries are located. That is why this calculator works in francs and offers an optional CHF-to-USD conversion so US filers can see an approximate dollar figure. The actual amount your bank charges depends on the exchange rate on the day you pay WIPO.
Yes. The Madrid System requires a 'basic mark' first: an application or registration in your home (origin) trademark office, such as the USPTO for US applicants. Your international application is built on that basic mark and, for the first five years, depends on it, a risk known as 'central attack.' So the true cost of going international includes your home filing plus the WIPO fees this tool estimates.
Each Madrid member country chooses either a standard 'complementary' fee or its own higher 'individual' fee, and the individual fees can be several times larger, especially for major markets. The European Union, United States, Japan, and others charge individual fees that dwarf the basic complementary amount. That is why this calculator uses an adjustable average designation fee: set it higher if you are targeting expensive markets and lower for countries on the standard schedule.
Yes. If you are protecting a brand across many countries, it is worth checking and securing the matching .com and key country-code domains before you spend thousands on a multi-country trademark, so your online presence matches your legal rights. Domains are far cheaper than international trademark fees, making them sensible insurance for any brand expanding abroad.