Saudi Arabia Joins Madrid Protocol for Trademarks on October 8
Saudi Arabia's accession to the Madrid Protocol comes into effect on October 8, becoming the 117th member, with an individual fee of CHF 1,397 per class.
Saudi Arabia deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol on July 8, 2026, and it enters into force on October 8, 2026.
This makes the Kingdom the 117th Contracting Party to the Protocol, and the fifth among the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This means trademark owners in the Kingdom can protect their marks in member countries with a single application instead of submitting a separate application in each country.
The Kingdom's declarations include an 18-month provisional refusal period, which is the time limit given to the trademark office to review the application before acceptance, granting the competent authority time to evaluate the application against previously registered marks.
An individual fee of CHF 1,397 per class is set upon filing applications, subsequent designations, and renewals, CHF 1,719 for collective or certification marks, and CHF 1,612 for renewal during the grace period.
What Do These Terms Mean?
Madrid Protocol: An international system that allows submitting a single trademark application that protects the mark in dozens of countries instead of submitting a separate application in each country.
Individual Fee: An additional amount specified by a country for each class of goods and services, added to the basic fee of the international system.
Classes of Goods and Services: An international classification dividing products and services into 45 classes, where the application is registered for each class individually.
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