Which Latin American and African countries can you reach through the Madrid Protocol? In Latin America, the main markets in the system are Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Chile, plus Belize and five Caribbean states; Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay and most of Central America still require national applications. In Africa, 23 countries and the regional office OAPI are members, while Nigeria, South Africa and several large East African markets are not. This guide sets out the 2026 map for brand owners planning protection across both regions, because that map decides the budget.
Key takeaways
- Latin American Madrid members: Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Belize, Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and, since March 2026, Grenada.
- Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay are outside Madrid, as are Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Central America except Belize.
- In Africa, one OAPI designation covers its 17 member states; Morocco, Egypt, Kenya and Ghana are among the 23 individual members.
- Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda are not members and need national filings.
- Most corridor portfolios end up mixing one international registration with several national applications.
How does the Madrid Protocol work?
The Madrid System, administered by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization), lets you file one international application through your national or regional office, the “office of origin”, based on a mark you already have there (the “basic mark”), and designate other member countries. A Spanish company can use either the OEPM or the EUIPO, since the European Union is itself a member.
Four rules shape the decision:
- Fees are paid in Swiss francs. The WIPO schedule of fees sets a basic fee of CHF 653 (CHF 903 for a colour mark) plus a fee for each designation: a standard complementary fee of CHF 100 or an individual fee set by the country.
- Each designated office examines the mark under its own law and normally has one year to refuse it; countries may declare 18 months (Article 5(2) of the Madrid Protocol).
- For five years the international registration depends on the basic mark (Article 6(3)). If the basic mark falls, so do the designations, although they can be converted into national applications within three months (Article 9quinquies).
- Applications can be filed in English, French or Spanish, and renewals and changes of owner are recorded once at WIPO.
Madrid Protocol in Latin America: which countries are in?
According to the WIPO Lex list of Madrid Protocol contracting parties, these are the members in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the date the Protocol entered into force for each:
| Country | Member since | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Cuba | 26 December 1995 | Check sanctions rules before filing or paying |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 17 March 2000 | Caribbean |
| Colombia | 29 August 2012 | Andean Community member |
| Mexico | 19 February 2013 | Individual fee |
| Brazil | 2 October 2019 | Individual fee |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 12 January 2021 | Caribbean |
| Jamaica | 27 March 2022 | Caribbean |
| Chile | 4 July 2022 | Individual fee |
| Belize | 24 February 2023 | Only Central American member |
| Grenada | 15 March 2026 | Newest member in the region |
Colombia also charges an individual fee. Check current amounts in the WIPO fee calculator.
Who is out in Latin America?
Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela do not appear in the list. Each requires a national application, usually through a local agent. Argentina may move: under the trade agreement signed with the United States in February 2026, it must submit the Madrid Protocol to its Congress before the end of 2027, according to Marval (13 February 2026). That is a commitment to start the parliamentary process, not membership, so an Argentine launch today still needs a national filing.
Madrid Protocol in Africa: who’s in and who’s out
Africa has two regional trademark organisations. OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization) grants a single title for 17 member states in West and Central Africa and the Indian Ocean, and has been a Madrid member since 5 March 2015. ARIPO, the other regional office, is not a Madrid member. The individual African members are:
| Region | Madrid members (in force since) |
|---|---|
| North Africa | Morocco (1999), Egypt (2009), Sudan (2010), Tunisia (2013), Algeria (2015) |
| West Africa | OAPI for its 17 states (2015), Sierra Leone (1999), Ghana (2008), Liberia (2009), Gambia (2015), Cabo Verde (2022) |
| East Africa and Indian Ocean | Kenya (1998), Madagascar (2008), Rwanda (2013), Mauritius (2023) |
| Central Africa | Sao Tome and Principe (2008); the rest of the region through OAPI |
| Southern Africa | Eswatini (1998), Mozambique (1998), Lesotho (1999), Zambia (2001), Namibia (2004), Botswana (2006), Zimbabwe (2015), Malawi (2018) |
Not in the list: Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Libya, among others. OAPI states cannot be designated one by one: Senegal, for example, signed the Protocol in 1989 but never became a member in its own right, and is covered through OAPI.
How does the map change the budget?
The same brand can cost very different amounts depending on how many target countries sit inside Madrid. This is how the two routes compare:
| Point | Madrid designation | National application |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | One application through the office of origin | One application per country, usually through a local agent |
| Official cost | WIPO basic fee plus a fee per country | Each office’s fees plus local professional fees |
| Management | Renewal and changes recorded once at WIPO | Separate renewals and recordals in each country |
| Independence | Depends on the basic mark for five years | Stands on its own |
| Objections | Answered before the local office, usually with local counsel | Same |
For a European company with a Spanish or EU mark entering both regions, a typical plan has two blocks: an international registration designating, for example, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, OAPI, Morocco and Kenya, and national applications in Argentina, Peru, Nigeria or South Africa. The proportion between the two blocks drives the cost far more than any single fee.
What this means for your business
- List the target markets by launch date, not by region, and mark each one as Madrid or national.
- Check the basic mark: its owner and goods and services must match what you want to protect, because the international registration cannot go beyond it.
- Run clearance searches in each target country before filing; Madrid does not search for you.
- File first in non-Madrid countries where distributors or competitors are active, since in most of these countries the first to file has the stronger position.
- Diary the dependency period and the refusal deadlines of each designation.
Our international trademark registration team for Latin America and Africa can turn your market list into a filing plan that combines both routes.
Where companies get the Madrid map wrong
- Assuming Latin America is one Madrid block. Leaving out Argentina or Peru until a problem appears is one of the most common and expensive gaps.
- Trying to designate an OAPI country separately. Only OAPI as a whole can be designated, and its title covers all 17 states.
- Waiting for Argentina to join. A commitment to send the treaty to Congress is not a date, and a national filing today protects you now.
- Building on a fragile basic mark. If it is refused or cancelled within five years, every designation is affected; transformation is possible but costs more.
- Ignoring sanctions. Before designating countries subject to sanctions regimes, such as Cuba, check the rules that apply to your company and your payments with an adviser.
These problems usually arise when the Madrid filing, the national applications and the local responses sit with different advisers. A single coordinated plan keeps dates, owners and specifications aligned.
Frequently asked questions
Is Argentina a member of the Madrid Protocol?
No. Argentina does not appear in the WIPO Lex list of contracting parties, so protection there requires a national application. Under its February 2026 trade agreement with the United States, Argentina committed to submit the Madrid Protocol to its Congress before the end of 2027, but there is no accession date yet, so planned launches should rely on a national filing.
Can I designate Nigeria or South Africa through Madrid?
No. Neither Nigeria nor South Africa is a member of the Madrid Protocol, and the same applies to Angola, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. Protection in those markets requires national applications, usually filed through local agents. Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt and OAPI, by contrast, can all be designated in an international application.
Does one OAPI designation cover all its member states?
Yes. OAPI is a regional office that grants a single title for its 17 member states in West and Central Africa and the Indian Ocean, and it has been a Madrid member since 2015. Its member states cannot be designated individually; designating OAPI is the Madrid route to all of them at once.
Can IP Global Guard handle both Madrid and national filings in Latin America and Africa?
Yes. We prepare and coordinate the international application through the OEPM or the EUIPO, directly where our professionals are entitled and otherwise through qualified representatives, and coordinate national filings and refusal responses through local correspondents, so the whole portfolio runs from a single point of contact.
How IP Global Guard builds your Madrid and national filing plan
The Madrid map is the first decision in any trademark plan for Latin America and Africa, and it changes as countries join. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, works the corridor across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship, and can fit the plan into a wider cross-border IP strategy.
Send us the list of markets you plan to enter and the marks and classes that matter. We will split them into Madrid designations and national filings, check the basic mark and coordinate every filing from a single point of contact. Share your market list with our team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its publication date.
Sources
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol contracting parties (database)
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol, as amended on 12 November 2007
- WIPO, Madrid System schedule of fees (since 1 February 2023)
- Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal, El Protocolo de Madrid como eje del acuerdo con EE. UU. (13 February 2026)
- OAPI, official website (member states)
