[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43361-43364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-14239]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-T-2026-0430; RTID 0651-XA006]
Electronic Filing Systems for Filings Pursuant to the Protocol
Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International
Registration of Marks
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Applicants will be able to file international applications
originating in the United States under the Protocol Relating to the
Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and
responses to notices of irregularity through the Madrid e-Filing system
(Madrid e-Filing) operated by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and designated by the Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office (Director) as a trademark electronic filing
system for this purpose. This new system will permit the United States
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to informally communicate with
applicants and offer opportunities to correct deficiencies in
international applications during the USPTO's certification review and
submit amendments to the international application in response to
notices of irregularities issued by the International Bureau of WIPO.
The Trademark Electronic Filing System and Trademark Center continue to
be trademark electronic filing systems as designated by the Director,
but only in the circumstances referenced below.
DATES: Madrid e-Filing will be available for filing on July 31, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Ludeman, Office of the Deputy
Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, at 571-272-7183 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
The Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the
International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol), administered by
the International Bureau of WIPO (IB), became effective in the United
States in November 2003. The Regulations Under the Protocol Relating to
the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
(Regs. Rules) set forth the procedures regarding the administration of
the Madrid Protocol, pursuant to Madrid Protocol Article (Article)
10(2)(iii). Under the Madrid Protocol, an owner of a U.S. trademark
registration or pending application (basic application or registration)
who is a national of, is domiciled in, or has a real and effective
industrial or commercial establishment in the United States may file an
international application originating with the United States, through
the USPTO.\1\ 15 U.S.C. 1141a; 37 CFR 7.4(a); Trademark Manual of
Examining Procedure (TMEP) 1902.01.
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\1\ The USPTO requires all correspondence be filed through the
trademark electronic filing system, unless an exception to the
requirement to file electronically applies. 37 CFR 7.4(a); TMEP
1902.02. If the applicant is a national of a country that has
acceded to the Trademark Law Treaty but not to the Singapore Treaty
on the Law of Trademarks, the international application may be filed
using a printed version of the official MM2 form issued by WIPO. See
37 CFR 7.4(c). If the trademark electronic filing system is
unavailable, or in an extraordinary situation, the applicant may
submit a petition to the Director under 37 CFR 2.146(a)(5) and (c)
to accept the application on paper. 37 CFR 7.4(d).
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The Madrid Protocol registration process for U.S. office of origin
applicants begins when an international application is filed through
the USPTO. 37 CFR 7.4(a), 7.11(a); TMEP 1902. The minimum requirements
for granting a date of receipt of an international application are set
forth in Sec. 7.11(a). Following receipt by the USPTO, if the
applicant has made no changes in the electronic prepopulated
international application form, the USPTO automatically certifies and
forwards the international application to the IB. This action means the
USPTO was able to verify that the information in the international
application corresponds to the information in the U.S. basic
application or registration. 15 U.S.C. 1141(b); 37 CFR 7.13(a).
If changes have been made in the electronic prepopulated
international application form or if the international application was
submitted on the free-text electronic form, the application is reviewed
by the USPTO's Madrid Processing Unit (MPU). TMEP 1902.03. If the
international application meets the requirements of Sec. 7.11(a), the
MPU certifies and forwards the application to the IB. 15 U.S.C.
1141(b); 37 CFR 7.13(a). If the requirements of Sec. 7.11(a) are not
met for any reason, including applicant error, the MPU notifies the
applicant that certification of the international application is
denied. 37 CFR 7.13(b). In such case, the USPTO retains its
certification fee; however, any international application fees paid
through the USPTO are refunded to the applicant. 37 CFR 7.13(b).
When certification is denied, the applicant's recourse is to either
file a new international application or petition the Director, for a
fee, to review the decision denying certification of the international
application under Sec. 2.146(a)(3). 37 CFR 2.146(a)(3); TMEP
1902.03(a). If the international application is ultimately certified on
petition, the date of the international registration will be the date
the international application was originally received by the USPTO,
i.e., the filing date of the international application, but only if the
international application is received by the IB within two months of
the USPTO's date of receipt. 37 CFR 7.11(a); Article 3(4); Regs. Rule
15; see TMEP 1902.03(a), 1902.04. If more than two months have elapsed,
the date of registration will be the date the international application
is received by
[[Page 43362]]
the IB. Article 3(4); Regs. Rule 15; see TMEP 1902.03(a), 1902.04.
Once the international application is certified by the MPU, it is
then forwarded to the IB and reviewed for completeness. A complete
international application that meets the requirements of Article 3 and
Regulations Rule 9 is registered. See TMEP 1902.05. If the IB
determines the international application is not complete, it will issue
a notice to the applicant and the USPTO of the irregularity. Regs. Rule
11; TMEP 1902.07. The irregularity notice will specify whether the
response must be provided by the USPTO or the applicant as well as the
consequences for not providing a timely response. See 37 CFR 7.14; TMEP
1902.07; Regs. Rule 11. If the USPTO must respond, it will issue a copy
of the response to the applicant as a courtesy. See TMEP 1902.07(a).
If the response must be provided by the applicant, the notice of
irregularity will indicate whether the submission must be made directly
to the IB or through the USPTO. See 37 CFR 7.14; TMEP 1902.07; Regs.
Rules 11, 12, 13. For instance, any additional international
application fees that are owed must be paid in Swiss francs directly to
the IB by the applicant. 37 CFR 7.14(c); TMEP 1902.07(b)(i); Regs. Rule
35(1).
With respect to the deadlines for irregularities that must be
remedied by the applicant, unless the notice indicates ``if no
response, WIPO proceeds [with the proposal in the notice],'' the
irregularities must be corrected by the deadline indicated in the
irregularity notice; otherwise, the international application may be
abandoned by the IB. See TMEP 1902.07; Regs. Rules 11(2)(b), 12(7)(a)-
(b).
Where an irregularity concerns the classification or indication
(identification) of goods and/or services, the applicant must file a
response through the USPTO. See TMEP 1902.07(f). To be considered
timely, the response must be reviewed by the MPU and forwarded to the
IB on or before the deadline in the irregularity notice. 37 CFR
7.14(e); TMEP 1902.07(f).
When a timely response to a notice of irregularity is received by
the USPTO, the MPU reviews any amendments to the classification or
identification of goods and/or services to ensure that the amendment(s)
are within the scope of the identification in the U.S. basic
application and/or registration. 37 CFR 7.14(b); TMEP 1902.07(c). If
the amendment is acceptable, the MPU will forward the response to the
IB.
If a timely response to a notice of irregularity identifies goods
and/or services that exceed the scope of those listed in the U.S. basic
application and/or registration, the MPU will notify the applicant that
(1) the proposed amendment to the goods and/or services does not
conform to the goods and/or services as identified in the U.S. basic
application and/or registration and (2) the response will not be
forwarded to the IB. TMEP 1902.07(c)(ii). As long as time remains in
the IB response period, the applicant may submit a corrected response.
Id. The MPU will forward a response to the IB only if (a) the corrected
response amends the goods and/or services to those within the scope of
the identification in the basic application and/or registration and
otherwise resolves the identification issue and (b) time remains in the
IB response period. Id. If the applicant does not submit an acceptable
amendment that resolves the outstanding issue during the response
period, the IB will proceed with the action indicated in the
irregularity notice.
B. Designation of Electronic Filing System for U.S. Office of Origin
International Applications and Responses to Notices of Irregularity
To improve the filing experience and expedite USPTO processing
times, the Director now designates the WIPO Madrid e-Filing system as a
trademark electronic filing system for submission of U.S. office of
origin international applications and responses to notices of
irregularity issued by the IB. The Trademark Electronic Filing System
(TEAS) Application for International Registration form will remain
available until at least September 2026 when Madrid e-Filing becomes
the sole platform for filing U.S. office of origin international
applications. After that time, TEAS will no longer be available for
filing U.S. office of origin international applications. However, the
TEAS Response to a Notice of Irregularity form will remain available
until all international applications filed through TEAS have reached a
final disposition.
Although Madrid e-Filing is anticipated to have little to no
downtime, in the event of an outage an applicant may submit a petition
to the Director under Sec. 2.146(a)(5) and (c) to accept the
international application or response to a notice of irregularity on
paper. 37 CFR 7.4(d).
Applicants who file the international application through Madrid e-
Filing may receive email communications from the MPU regarding any
deficiencies in the international application and may have an
opportunity to correct the application filed via Madrid e-Filing to
avoid a formal denial of certification.
If the international application is certified by the MPU and
forwarded to the IB for examination in accordance with 15 U.S.C.
1141(b), the applicant may subsequently receive email notices of
irregularity from the IB. See TMEP 1902.05, 1902.07. For irregularities
that require a response by the applicant through the USPTO, the
applicant must submit amendments to resolve the irregularities via
Madrid e-Filing. See TMEP 1902.07.
Madrid e-Filing is offered free of charge to member IP offices;
thus, the USPTO will receive cost savings in significantly reduced IT
expenditures for systems related to U.S. office of origin international
application related filings. In addition, by migrating to Madrid e-
Filing, the USPTO will be able to offer informal communications between
the MPU and the international applicant, which the USPTO anticipates
will significantly reduce the number of certification denials. This
reduction is expected to result in cost savings for those applicants
who will no longer need to file petitions to review the decisions
denying certification. The USPTO will similarly realize cost savings by
processing fewer petitions.
C. Filing and Certification of U.S. Office of Origin International
Application Through Madrid e-Filing
As a result of the designation described above, U.S. office of
origin international applicants may now file international applications
using WIPO's Madrid e-Filing platform. Applicants can access the Madrid
e-Filing version of the international application form from the USPTO's
website at [URL]. The TEAS Application for International Registration
form will remain available for filing until at least September 2026, at
which time Madrid e-Filing will become the sole trademark electronic
filing system for submitting a U.S. office of origin international
application.\2\
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\2\ Applicants who are nationals of a country that has acceded
to the Trademark Law Treaty but not to the Singapore Treaty on the
Law of Trademarks may continue to file international applications
using a printed version of the official MM2 form issued by WIPO
after Madrid e-Filing is implemented. See 37 CFR 7.4(c). If the
trademark electronic filing system is unavailable, or in an
extraordinary situation, the applicant may submit a petition to the
Director under 37 CFR 2.146(a)(5), (c) and 2.147(a) to accept the
application on paper. 37 CFR 7.4(d).
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Documents submitted using Madrid e-Filing, including the
international application and related examination records of the USPTO
and the IB, will be viewable only in Madrid e-Filing.
[[Page 43363]]
The assigned USPTO Reference Number and filing date of the
international application will be the only information posted to and
viewable in the USPTO's public-facing Trademark Status and Document
Retrieval (TSDR) database.
To log into Madrid e-Filing, all applicants will be required to
create a WIPO Account, which will be an applicant's personal online
account for accessing WIPO's digital services. Payments, including the
international application fees and the U.S. dollar equivalent of the
USPTO certification fee, will be processed in Swiss francs and can be
paid by a WIPO Current Account (an optional financial account for WIPO
fee transactions), certain accepted credit/debit cards, E-Wallet (Apple
Pay[supreg], Google Pay[supreg], Samsung Pay[supreg] and
Alipay[supreg]), or PayPal[supreg]. 37 CFR 7.6, 7.7. Information about
accepted forms of payment and how to pay fees can be found at https://www.wipo.int/en/web/paying-for-ip-services/. The certification fee is
not currently changing, and it is the U.S. dollar equivalent of the
amount listed on the USPTO fee schedule at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule#Trademark%20Fees based on the exchange rate at the time of
payment. See 37 CFR 7.6. If the applicant pays with a WIPO Current
Account, the certification fee will be charged at the time of filing;
however, the international application fees are merely authorized at
the time of filing and will not be charged until just prior to
registration. If payment is made via credit card, E-Wallet, or
PayPal[supreg], the payment of both the certification fee and the
international application fee will be transacted at the time of
submission. Regardless of the payment method chosen, the applicant will
receive an email confirming successful payment from WIPO Pay, WIPO's
online payment service.
The filing date of any electronic correspondence related to the
U.S. office of origin international application in Madrid e-Filing will
follow the guidelines established by 37 CFR 2.195. Correspondence is
considered to be submitted the date the USPTO receives the
transmission, based on Eastern Time in the United States, regardless of
whether that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday within
the District of Columbia. TMEP 303.
When using Madrid e-Filing to file an international application,
the applicant will be presented with an editable international
application form that is prepopulated with the information from one or
more U.S. basic applications or registrations. See TMEP 1902.02(a).
Once an international application is submitted, if the prepopulated
version of the form is both based on one U.S. basic application or
registration and is not edited by the applicant, it will be
automatically certified and a notice of certification will issue to the
applicant. If edits have been made to the prepopulated form or the
international application is based on multiple U.S. basic applications
and/or registrations, MPU will review the international application to
determine if it meets the requirements of 37 CFR 7.11(a). If the
requirements are met, the MPU will certify the international
application, issue a notice of certification to the applicant, and
forward the application to the IB for review. 15 U.S.C. 1141b; 37 CFR
7.13(a).
If the MPU determines that the international application does not
meet the requirements of Sec. 7.11(a), the application will not be
certified. 37 CFR 7.13(b). Instead, the MPU will issue the applicant a
pre-certification correction request stating the reason(s) the
international application cannot be certified (informal communication).
When this informal communication issues, an email notice will also be
sent to the applicant that the informal communication has issued and
will include instructions to log into Madrid e-Filing to view the
communication and take corrective action on the international
application. The MPU will issue an informal communication only if the
international application is reviewed more than two weeks immediately
prior to the two-month window for the USPTO to certify the
international application (blackout period). The blackout period is
established to give sufficient time for the applicant to petition the
Director in the event the MPU issues a decision denying certification
of the international application. See TMEP 1902.03(a).
If the international application cannot be reviewed more than two
weeks immediately prior to the blackout period and the application is
not in condition for the USPTO to certify it under Sec. 7.11(a), the
MPU then will issue a denial of certification. No informal
communication will issue.
When the MPU is able to issue an informal communication before the
blackout period, the communication will request correction(s) by the
applicant and simultaneously unlock the international application in
Madrid e-Filing for amendment. The applicant will be granted the
following time period (correction period), as appropriate, to amend the
application: (1) if more than two weeks remain prior to the start of
the blackout period, two weeks from the issue date of the informal
communication; or (2) if less than two weeks remain prior to the start
of the blackout period, then the time that remains prior to the start
of the blackout period. Unless the decision is made by the MPU to deny
certification of the international application, WIPO will not refund
any international application fees already charged and the applicant
may not petition the Director because a final agency decision has not
issued. See TMEP 1902.03(a).
If the applicant takes no action within the time period specified
in the informal communication, the MPU will deny certification of the
international application because it has not met the minimum
requirements of Sec. 7.11(a). See 37 CFR 7.13(b).
If the applicant submits corrections within the time period
specified in the informal communication, the MPU will be notified. The
applicant does not need to otherwise respond to the informal
communication or contact the MPU.
Once the MPU reviews the correction(s), if the corrected
international application meets the requirements of Sec. 7.11(a), the
international application will be certified and forwarded to the IB.
See 37 CFR 7.13(a). If the submitted corrections do not permit
certification of the international application under Sec. 7.11(a), the
MPU will issue a denial of certification to notify the applicant of the
reason(s) the application could not be certified. See 37 CFR 7.13(b).
If certification is denied and the international fees have been
paid to WIPO via credit card, E-Wallet, or PayPal[supreg], the
applicant must contact WIPO at https://www3.wipo.int/contact/en/madrid/to initiate a refund. If the fees have been paid with a WIPO Current
Account, the international application fees are merely authorized at
the time of filing and therefore no refund will be due. The USPTO
certification fee will not be refunded regardless of the payment
method. 37 CFR 7.13(b).
Following a decision to deny certification, the applicant's options
are to file (1) a new international application with new fees or (2) a
petition to the Director to review the decision to deny certification
under Sec. 2.146(a)(3), along with the petition fee. 37 CFR
2.146(c)(1); TMEP 1902.03(a). Consistent with existing procedure, the
petition should be filed immediately following denial of certification.
Applicants should include a copy of any correspondence with the USPTO
regarding the denial of certification in the petition. See 37 CFR
2.146(c)(1). If the petition is granted but international
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application is not certified and forwarded within two months of the
date of receipt in the USPTO, then the date of the international
registration will be the date the IB receives the international
application. Article 3(4); Regs. Rule 15; TMEP 1902.04.
D. Responding to a Notice of Irregularity Through TEAS
If the international application was filed through TEAS, an
irregularity that requires an applicant's response through the USPTO
must be filed via TEAS. The TEAS Response to a Notice of Irregularity
form will remain available until all international applications
originally submitted through TEAS are processed and have reached a
final disposition, at which time the USPTO will retire the TEAS form.
E. Responding to Notices of Irregularity in Madrid e-Filing
Following the launch of Madrid e-Filing, if the international
application was originally filed using Madrid e-Filing, an irregularity
that requires an applicant's response to be filed through the USPTO
must be submitted using Madrid e-Filing.
If the applicant must respond to the notice of irregularity
directly to the IB, such as for underpayment of international fees, the
notice of irregularity will provide instructions for responding. If the
USPTO must respond, the MPU will continue to issue a copy of the
response to the applicant as a courtesy. See TMEP 1902.07(a).
When a response to a notice of irregularity is submitted through
the USPTO using Madrid e-Filing, the submission date is the date the
USPTO receives the transmission based on Eastern Time in the United
States, regardless of whether that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or a
Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. 37 CFR 2.195; TMEP
303. The MPU will not review or forward the response to the IB if the
USPTO receives it after the deadline established in the notice or if a
timely response cannot be reviewed and forwarded by the deadline. 37
CFR 7.14(e).
If the IB determines that an international application is
unacceptable, the applicant will receive an irregularity notice from
the IB and may view the irregularity notice by accessing the
corresponding international application in the applicant's Madrid e-
Filing portfolio. See Regs. Rules 11(2)(b), 12(7)(a)-(b). This notice
will not be viewable in the TSDR database.
When the applicant must respond to the irregularity notice through
the USPTO, the timely response must be provided directly within the
``Answer'' section of the irregularity notice. The international
application itself is not editable. If the applicant does not provide a
timely response to the irregularity notice, the IB will proceed with
the action indicated in the irregularity notice.
Similar to current practice, the MPU will review timely responses
to irregularities. TMEP 1902.07(c)(i), (ii). If the MPU determines that
the proposed amendment is acceptable and there is time remaining in the
response period, the response will be forwarded to the IB. Id. The
applicant will be notified that the response has been forwarded. Id.
If the MPU determines that the applicant's response to the notice
of irregularity proposes an unacceptable amendment, the MPU will notify
the applicant that (1) the proposed amendment is not acceptable and (2)
the response will not be forwarded to the IB. TMEP 1902.07(c)(ii). The
notification from the MPU will issue via email and will be viewable in
Madrid e-Filing.
As long as time remains in the IB response period, the applicant
may continue to submit responses in the ``WIPO irregularities'' section
of the international application following the issuance of a new
notification from the MPU until the proposed amendment is determined to
be acceptable by the MPU. Although the MPU will review all responses
received by the IB deadline, this does not ensure an acceptable
response can be forwarded to the IB by the deadline indicated in the
irregularity notice. Therefore, applicants should continue to submit
their response as soon as possible and at least one month prior to the
IB's deadline to ensure it can be reviewed and forwarded to the IB by
the response deadline. 37 CFR 7.14(e).
Ultimately, if the MPU cannot forward the response by the response
deadline, the IB may proceed with the action indicated in the
irregularity notice and will notify the applicant and the USPTO
accordingly.
F. Subsequent Designation in TEAS
Outside of the U.S. office of origin international application
process, the holder of a U.S. Office of origin international
registration who is a national of, is domiciled in, or has a real and
effective business or commercial establishment in the United States
will continue to have the option to submit a subsequent designation
through the IB or the USPTO using the TEAS Subsequent Designation form,
which is scheduled to move into the trademark electronic filing system,
Trademark Center, in 2027. See 15 U.S.C. 1141d; 37 CFR 7.21(a)-(b).
Therefore, TEAS and/or Trademark Center will remain the trademark
electronic filing systems designated by the Director for the purpose of
filing a subsequent designation directly through the USPTO, and the
U.S. transmittal fee will continue to be required by 37 CFR 7.6 when
filed through these designated systems. 37 CFR 7.21(b)(7). No
transmittal fee is owed if the subsequent designation is filed directly
with the IB at https://madrid.wipo.int/. 37 CFR 7.21(a); TMEP 1902.08;
Article 3ter(2); Regs. Rule 24.
John A. Squires,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2026-14239 Filed 7-14-26; 8:45 am]
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