International Trademark Registration in Pakistan: The Complete Guide
There are two routes to international trademark protection touching Pakistan — filing directly in each country, or using the Madrid Protocol, which Pakistan has been a full member of since 2021. Here's how each actually works.
"International trademark registration" is a slightly misleading phrase — there is no single global trademark. What exists instead are two distinct routes for building protection across borders, and knowing which one fits a given business matters more than most first-time applicants expect.
The two routes: national filing vs the Madrid System
The first route is direct national filing: a separate application, in each country, usually through separately instructed local counsel, under that country's own law and timeline. It's the only option in countries that haven't joined the Madrid System, and it can still be the better choice even where Madrid is available — more on that below. The second route is the Madrid System, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which lets an applicant file one international application, in one language, pay one set of fees, and designate multiple member countries for protection from a single filing.
Pakistan's place in the Madrid System
Pakistan acceded to the Madrid Protocol on 24 February 2021 and the treaty entered into force here on 24 May 2021, making Pakistan the 108th member of a system that has since grown past 130 territories. Since Pakistan is also a member of the Paris Convention (since 2004), it meets the underlying eligibility requirement for Madrid membership. The framework was strengthened further by the Trade Marks (Amendment) Act, 2023, which added a dedicated chapter on international registration to the Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001 — closing a gap that existed for the system's first two years in Pakistan, when the Ordinance had no provisions expressly dealing with Madrid filings.
Costs and timeline, compared
National filing in multiple countries multiplies cost fairly directly — separate official fees, separate local agents, separate translation and legalisation requirements in some jurisdictions. Madrid consolidates most of that into a single WIPO fee schedule paid in Swiss francs, with local agents only becoming necessary if a designated country issues a refusal or the mark is opposed. Timeline works similarly: national applications proceed on each country's own schedule independently, while a Madrid filing moves through WIPO's formal examination first before being distributed to designated countries for their own substantive review — a designated country generally has up to 18 months (12 for some countries) to issue a refusal before the designation is treated as accepted by default.
Common mistakes businesses make
The most frequent one is treating Madrid as automatically registered protection rather than what it actually is — an international application that still has to survive substantive examination in every country designated, under that country's own law. A close second is filing the Madrid application before the underlying Pakistani basic application or registration is on solid footing, which matters because the international registration remains dependent on that basic mark for five years. Businesses also sometimes designate far more countries than they have any near-term commercial presence in, paying for coverage they won't use for years, if ever.
This article is general information about Pakistani law and procedure, not legal advice for any specific matter. If this touches on something you're currently facing, get in touch and we'll advise on your facts directly.