An international trademark renewal is never one deadline: each office counts the ten-year term from a different date, opens the renewal window at a different time and charges its own grace-period surcharge, and some ask you to declare use. The Madrid System lets you renew an international registration for all its designated countries in one request to WIPO, but national and regional marks still have to be renewed office by office. This guide sets out the rules in the main offices of the Europe, Latin America and Africa corridor for companies managing portfolios across several jurisdictions.
Key takeaways
- Most offices allow renewal in the six months before expiry and a further six-month grace period with a surcharge; Brazil opens the window a full year ahead.
- The term runs from the filing date in the EU, Spain and Cuba, and from grant or registration in Mexico, Brazil and the Andean Community.
- Mexico requires a declaration of use with every renewal; the Andean Community expressly does not.
- A Madrid international registration is renewed centrally at WIPO: basic fee CHF 653, plus fees for each designated country.
- WIPO received more than 43,000 renewal requests for international registrations in 2025.
How does an international trademark renewal work?
There are two kinds of rights in a typical cross-border portfolio. National or regional registrations (an EU trade mark, a Spanish, Mexican or Brazilian mark) are renewed at the office that granted them, under its own law and in its own currency. International registrations under the Madrid Protocol, the WIPO treaty that bundles several national protections into one registration, are renewed once at WIPO for every country designated. According to the Madrid Yearly Review 2026 (13 May 2026), there were more than 943,000 international registrations in force and more than 43,000 renewals in 2025.
Renewal deadlines and grace periods by office
| Office | Term runs from | Renewal window | Late renewal | Use requirement at renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WIPO (Madrid) | International registration date | From 6 months before expiry | 6 months; surcharge of 50% of the basic fee | None at WIPO level |
| EUIPO (EU trade mark) | Filing date | 6 months before expiry | 6 months, with an additional fee | None |
| OEPM (Spain) | Filing date | 6 months before expiry | 6 months; surcharge of 25% (first 3 months) or 50% (next 3) | None |
| IMPI (Mexico) | Grant | 6 months before expiry | 6 months after expiry | Declaration of real and effective use |
| INPI (Brazil) | Registration | Last year of the term | 6 months, with an additional fee | None stated |
| Andean Community (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia) | Grant | 6 months before expiry | 6 months’ grace; surcharge where national law provides | No proof of use required |
| OCPI (Cuba) | Filing date | 6 months before expiry | 6 months, with a surcharge | None |
Sources: WIPO renewal guidance; Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, arts. 52 and 53; Spanish Trade Marks Act 17/2001, arts. 31 and 32; Mexican Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property, arts. 178 and 237; Brazilian Law 9.279/1996, art. 133; Andean Decision 486, arts. 152 and 153; Cuban Decree-Law 103/2025, arts. 35 to 37.
Countries where renewal is tied to use
Mexico is the clearest case. Under article 237 of its law, the owner must declare real and effective use when renewing, and protection continues only for the goods and services declared. If the declaration is missing, IMPI asks for it; if it is not provided within two months, the registration lapses by law. Since the reform of 3 April 2026, IMPI must decide on a renewal within three months. In Argentina, the regulation of the trademark law (Decree 242/2019) links renewal to the mid-term declaration of use: a renewal is not processed until that declaration is on file.
Regional systems in Africa
The Banjul Protocol of ARIPO (the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization), which covers a group of African states through one filing, charges renewal fees per class and per designated country. The 2026 edition of the Protocol (EU IP Helpdesk, 1 March 2026) sets USD 200 for one class per country, USD 100 for each additional class and a 20% surcharge per class for late renewal. For a mark in several classes and many countries, the per-country structure multiplies the cost quickly.
Madrid central renewal: what it solves and what it does not
For an international registration, one request to WIPO renews every designation. The Madrid fee schedule (in force since 1 February 2023) sets a basic fee of CHF 653, a complementary fee of CHF 100 per designated country and a supplementary fee of CHF 100 per class beyond three, except where a country charges its own individual fee. Renewal is possible from six months before expiry, or within six months after it with a surcharge of 50% of the basic fee. WIPO sends an unofficial reminder before expiry, and requests can be filed online through eMadrid.
What it does not solve:
- National and regional marks: an EU trade mark or a Brazilian registration filed nationally still needs its own renewal.
- Countries outside Madrid: Argentina, Peru and Uruguay are not Madrid Protocol members, so marks there are always renewed locally.
- Local use rules: renewing at WIPO does not remove national obligations to use the mark, or the risk of non-use cancellation.
- Individual fees: some countries charge their own renewal fee, which can be well above the standard complementary fee. Check the WIPO fee calculator before renewing.
What this means for your business
- Build one docket for all rights, with the correct start date for each: filing, grant or international registration.
- Set alerts at 12 months for Brazil and 6 months for everyone else, and never plan on using the grace period.
- Collect evidence of use before Mexican renewals, and check Argentine use declarations well in advance.
- Use renewal to prune: drop classes, goods or countries you no longer need, where the office allows it.
- Check that the owner on the register is still the right group company before you renew, and record changes first.
If your marks are spread across several offices and calendars, our international trademark portfolio management team can centralise the docket and coordinate each renewal.
Where companies get renewals wrong
- Counting from the wrong date: the EU, Spain and Cuba count from filing, Mexico and the Andean Community from grant, Brazil from registration.
- Relying on reminders: office and WIPO notices are a courtesy, and failing to receive them does not extend the deadline.
- Assuming Madrid covers everything: national marks and countries outside the system still need local action.
- Renewing a mark owned by the wrong entity, which carries the title problem forward for another ten years.
- Missing the Mexican use declaration, which can make a renewed registration lapse.
A lost renewal usually means refiling, with a new filing date and the risk that someone else has filed in between. A single coordinated docket avoids that.
Frequently asked questions
When can I renew an international trademark registration?
Under the Madrid System, from six months before the ten-year term expires. If you miss the date, WIPO accepts renewal within a six-month grace period with a surcharge of 50% of the basic fee. One request renews the designated countries, with fees calculated per country and, where applicable, per class.
What happens if I miss the renewal grace period?
The registration expires and protection is lost in that office. You would normally need to file a new application, which gets a new filing date and can be blocked by marks filed by others in the meantime. Some offices offer restoration of rights in limited cases, but it should never be part of the plan.
Do I need to prove use to renew a trademark in Latin America?
It depends on the country. Mexico requires a declaration of real and effective use with each renewal, and protection continues only for the goods and services declared. Andean Decision 486 states that no proof of use is required at renewal, and Brazil’s law does not list use as a renewal condition.
Can IP Global Guard manage my trademark renewals across several countries?
Yes. We centralise the docket for national, regional and international registrations, prepare Madrid renewals and coordinate qualified local correspondents for national renewals and use declarations, acting before EUIPO and OEPM directly where our professionals are entitled and through qualified representatives otherwise, with one point of contact and one billing relationship.
How IP Global Guard can help you keep every renewal on time
IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, manages trademark portfolios in more than 25 jurisdictions across Europe, Latin America and Africa from a single point of contact, with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Send us your portfolio list or a registry export, even if it is incomplete. We will rebuild the renewal calendar, flag what is due in the next 18 months and tell you where Madrid can simplify the work. Ask our team for a renewal review.
This article is general information, not legal advice; official fees and deadlines should be checked before each renewal.
Sources
- WIPO, Madrid Yearly Review 2026 (13 May 2026)
- WIPO, Madrid System: renewal of international registrations
- WIPO, Madrid System schedule of fees (in force since 1 February 2023)
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the EU trade mark (14 June 2017)
- BOE, Spanish Trade Marks Act 17/2001 (consolidated text)
- Cámara de Diputados, Mexico, Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (last amended 3 April 2026)
- WIPO Lex, Brazil, Industrial Property Law No. 9.279 (14 May 1996)
- Andean Community, Official Gazette No. 600, Decision 486 (19 September 2000)
- WIPO Lex, Argentina, Decree 242/2019 (1 April 2019)
- Gaceta Oficial de Cuba No. 50, Decree-Law 103/2025 and Resolution 71/2026 (9 June 2026)
- EU IP Helpdesk, ARIPO launches 2026 edition of the Banjul Protocol (1 March 2026)
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol contracting parties (database)
