For a small or medium-sized company, trademark and design protection in Latin America can be planned as one package: the Madrid System for the brand and the Hague System for the product’s appearance, both administered by WIPO. The catch is that the two systems do not cover the same countries, and neither reaches Argentina or Peru. This guide is for Latin American SMEs expanding within the region or into Europe, and for European SMEs entering Latin America, who want one strategy rather than a string of separate filings.
Key takeaways
- Mexico, Brazil, Belize and Jamaica are in both systems; Colombia and Chile are in Madrid but not Hague; El Salvador joins Hague on 7 October 2026 but is not in Madrid.
- Madrid needs a home trademark as its basis and depends on it for five years; Hague needs no prior filing.
- Madrid lets you add countries later; Hague does not, so the designation list for designs must be right from day one.
- A company can use each system only if it is a national of, domiciled in or established in a member.
- The European Commission’s Latin America IP SME Helpdesk offers free first-line guidance; filings and responses to refusals still need professional handling.
Why combine trademark and design protection in Latin America?
A trademark protects the name and logo; a design protects the shape, pattern or packaging of the product. Copycats rarely stop at one. On 14 September 2026, WIPO announced a webinar with the Latin America IP SME Helpdesk for 23 September on exactly this: the trademark and design registration routes open to businesses expanding into Latin America and the Caribbean, and how the Madrid and Hague systems support cross-border protection.
Planning both together has practical advantages: the same launch calendar, the same priority dates, one owner name across every register and one budget.
How do the Madrid and Hague systems differ?
| Point | Madrid (trademarks) | Hague (designs) |
|---|---|---|
| Prior filing | A basic trademark application or registration at the home office | None needed |
| Dependency | Five years on the basic mark (Protocol, art. 6(3)) | None |
| Adding countries later | Yes, by subsequent designation (art. 3ter(2)) | No; a new application is needed |
| WIPO basic fee | CHF 653 (black and white) or CHF 903 (colour) | CHF 397 for one design plus CHF 50 per additional design, and CHF 17 per reproduction |
| Duration | 10 years, renewable indefinitely | 5 years, renewable up to each member’s maximum |
Fees come from the Madrid schedule of fees (in force since 1 February 2023) and the Hague schedule of fees (in force on 1 July 2026); each designated country adds its own fee. The rules on dependency and later extension are in the Madrid Protocol; the Hague position is set out in WIPO’s Hague System Q&A.
Which Latin American countries are in Madrid, Hague, both or neither?
Based on the WIPO Lex lists of contracting parties for Madrid and Hague:
| Situation | Countries | Practical route |
|---|---|---|
| Both systems | Mexico, Brazil, Belize, Jamaica | One Madrid and one Hague application can cover them |
| Madrid only | Colombia, Chile, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Cuba | Madrid for marks, national filings for designs |
| Hague only | El Salvador (from 7 October 2026), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname | Hague for designs, national filings for marks |
| Neither | Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic | National filings for both |
For Cuba, check the sanctions position with an adviser before filing, particularly if your company has US links.
Can a Latin American SME use both systems from home?
Only if its own country gives it access. Under WIPO’s Madrid FAQ, you must be a national of, or domiciled or have a business in, a Madrid member, and have applied for or registered the mark at that member’s office. Hague requires nationality, domicile, habitual residence or a real and effective establishment in a Hague member.
- Mexican and Brazilian SMEs: both systems are available from home.
- Colombian and Chilean SMEs: Madrid yes; for designs, national filings or a qualifying establishment in a Hague member.
- Argentine, Peruvian or Uruguayan SMEs: neither system from home; national filings, including direct filings at the EUIPO (the EU Intellectual Property Office) for Europe.
- European SMEs: both systems are available, Madrid through their national office or the EUIPO and Hague usually directly with WIPO, covering Mexico and Brazil in each, plus Colombia and Chile for marks.
Where can SMEs get free support?
The Latin America IP SME Helpdesk, a European Commission service managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, describes itself as a first-line IP assistance service for SMEs from the EU and associated countries. Its services are free: a confidential helpline that answers within three working days, training, country materials and an IP cost tool for Latin America. It is a good starting point for orientation; the filing strategy, the applications themselves and any refusal still require a representative.
What this means for your business
- Map products and markets: which brands and which product designs matter in each country.
- Secure the home base first: the basic trademark for Madrid, and a filing date for the design that can serve as priority.
- File the design before any launch, trade show or online listing, and keep the six-month priority window in view.
- Build the Hague designation list completely at filing; you cannot add members afterwards.
- Run national filings in parallel for Argentina, Peru and the other countries outside both systems.
Our industrial design registration team and our international trademark team work from the same plan, so priority dates and owner details stay aligned.
Where SMEs go wrong with Madrid and Hague
- Protecting the brand and forgetting the product. A competitor can copy the shape or packaging under a different name.
- Relying on a weak basic mark. If it falls within five years, the Madrid designations fall with it.
- Showing the product before filing the design. Grace periods differ by country and are not a safe plan.
- Letting the distributor file. A mark or design registered in a partner’s name is hard to recover.
- Assuming Hague covers South America. Most of it requires national design filings.
Each mistake usually comes from handling marks and designs in separate silos; one coordinator for both avoids it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I protect my brand and product design in Colombia through WIPO?
Partly. Colombia is a member of the Madrid System, so your trademark can be designated through an international application based on your home mark. It is not a member of the Hague System, so the design needs a national application with the Colombian office, ideally within six months of your first design filing.
Do I need a registered trademark before using the Hague System?
No. The Hague System requires no prior national or regional filing, unlike Madrid, which is always based on a trademark applied for or registered at your home office. You only need to be a national of, or domiciled or established in, a Hague member.
Is the Latin America IP SME Helpdesk enough to file my applications?
It is a free first-line service of the European Commission that answers questions, trains and publishes country guides, and it is very useful for orientation. The applications themselves, the strategy across offices and any response to a refusal still have to be prepared and filed by your representatives.
Can IP Global Guard prepare a combined Madrid and Hague strategy?
Yes. We prepare and coordinate Madrid and Hague applications, directly where our professionals are entitled to act and otherwise through qualified representatives, and coordinate local correspondents for national filings in Argentina, Peru and the rest of Latin America, with one point of contact for marks and designs.
How IP Global Guard protects your brand and products together
A combined plan only works if one team sees both sides: the marks and the designs, Madrid and Hague, and the national filings that fill the gaps. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, manages trademarks and designs in more than 25 jurisdictions across Europe, Latin America and Africa with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Tell us which brands and products you want to protect and in which countries you sell or plan to. We will map the Madrid, Hague and national routes and coordinate every filing from a single point of contact. Send us your list of markets.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its publication date.
Sources
- WIPO, Helping SMEs protect brands and designs in Latin America and the Caribbean (14 September 2026)
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol contracting parties (database)
- WIPO Lex, Hague Agreement contracting parties (database)
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol (as amended on 12 November 2007)
- WIPO, Madrid System FAQ (updated September 2026)
- WIPO, Hague System: Questions and Answers (latest revision January 2025)
- WIPO, Madrid schedule of fees (in force on 1 February 2023)
- WIPO, Hague schedule of fees (in force on 1 July 2026)
- WIPO Lex, Hague Notification No. 155, El Salvador (7 July 2026)
- European Commission, Latin America IP SME Helpdesk
