Madrid Protocol Designations of Pakistan: How They Are Examined and Protected

• In force since 24 May 2021. Pakistan deposited its instrument of accession on 24 February 2021, and the Protocol entered into force for Pakistan on 24 May 2021 (WIPO Information Notice No. 4/2021).
• An 18-month refusal period. Pakistan replaced the one-year period with 18 months, and a refusal that results from an opposition may be notified after the 18 months have run (declarations under Article 5(2)(b) and (c) of the Protocol).
• An individual fee, charged per class. WIPO’s table of individual fees (last updated 8 October 2026) lists CHF 47 for each class when Pakistan is designated and CHF 41 for each class on renewal. Individual fees change, so check WIPO’s Madrid fee calculator on the day you file.
• A declaration of intention to use. By designating Pakistan, the applicant or holder declares that it intends to use the mark in Pakistan, or that it will be used there with its consent, for the goods and services listed (Rule 7(2) notification).
• Licences are recorded in Pakistan, not at WIPO. A licence recorded in the International Register has no effect in Pakistan. To have effect, it must be recorded in Pakistan’s national register, with the formalities completed directly with IPO-Pakistan (Rule 20bis(6)(b) notification).
• No merger of divided registrations. Pakistan’s law does not provide for merging registrations, so IPO-Pakistan will not ask WIPO to merge international registrations that resulted from a division (Rule 27ter(2)(b) notification).

When WIPO notifies an international registration designating Pakistan, the Registrar records its particulars (section 92E(1)). The designation is then examined as if it were a national application under section 22: section 92E(4) applies sections 14 to 31 of the Ordinance, and sections 82 and 83 on collective and certification marks. That brings in the absolute grounds (section 14), the relative grounds based on earlier marks (section 17), publication and opposition (section 28) and the rest of the national procedure. IPO-Pakistan describes the same process on its Madrid pages: its Trade Marks Registry examines the designation “under the provisions of the Trade Marks Ordinance & Rules”.

From there the designation takes one of two paths.

If the Registrar objects

The Registrar may refuse protection, or allow it only subject to conditions or limitations, after hearing the holder if the holder wishes to be heard. The refusal must be sent to WIPO within 18 months of the date the Registrar received WIPO’s notification of the designation (section 92E(2)). WIPO records the provisional refusal and sends a copy to the holder. What to do next is set out in our guide to responding to a Madrid provisional refusal in Pakistan.

If there is nothing to refuse

The Registrar advertises the designation (section 92E(3)). IPO-Pakistan publishes it in the Trade Marks Journal, and third parties can oppose it in the same way as a national application: on Form TM-5, with a statement of grounds and the official fee. The opposition window is the national one: two months from advertisement, which the Registrar may extend by no more than two months in total (section 28(2), applied by section 92E(4)). If an opposition is filed, IPO-Pakistan sends WIPO a provisional refusal based on the opposition and runs the opposition under the national rules. The steps are in our guide to trademark opposition in Pakistan.

If the designation has not been opposed and the opposition period has expired, the Registrar must notify WIPO, within 18 months of receiving the designation, that protection is accepted. If the Registrar does not notify WIPO, protection is deemed to have been extended to the mark (section 92E(5)).

IPO-Pakistan states that where no provisional refusal was sent, and examination and any opposition are complete with no ground to refuse, it sends WIPO a notification of grant of protection. Under the Madrid Regulations this is a statement of grant of protection (Rule 18ter(1)).

Two points surprise filers who are used to national certificates:

• There is no separate Pakistani registration certificate. IPO-Pakistan states that it issues none for international designations. Designations granted protection are published in the Trade Marks Journal as a list of international registration numbers. Keep WIPO’s record and the Journal reference together; you may need both as evidence in Pakistan.
• Extracts from the International Register need no legalisation in Pakistan. In legal proceedings, the fact that a person is recorded as holder in the International Register is prima facie evidence of the validity of the international registration and of later assignments and transmissions (section 92I).

Once protected, the mark has the same protection in Pakistan as if it had been registered there, from the date of the international registration, or from the date WIPO recorded a later designation of Pakistan (section 92F(1)). The class indications given by the applicant do not bind the Registrar when the scope of protection is decided (section 92F(2)). A designation of Pakistan also enjoys the right of priority under Article 4 of the Paris Convention, without the formalities of Article 4D (section 92E(6)).

A designation reaches Pakistan through WIPO from the office of origin, so no Pakistani agent is needed to file it. Local representation becomes relevant later:

• Defending an opposition. IPO-Pakistan states that a holder who wants to defend an opposed designation must file a counter-statement on Form TM-6 and must engage a trade mark agent or attorney with an address in Pakistan, appointed by a power of attorney on Form TM-48.
• Responding to a provisional refusal. Under the Madrid Regulations, the refusal notice must indicate, where applicable, that the response has to be filed through a representative whose address is in Pakistan (Rule 17(2)(x)). In practice, a holder responding before IPO-Pakistan acts through a Pakistan-based registered trade mark agent or advocate with an address for service in Pakistan; we confirm the current requirement in each matter.
• Address for service. The Ordinance requires an applicant or opponent who does not reside or carry on business in Pakistan to give an address for service in Pakistan (section 126(1)), and provides that a Madrid application is subject to such conditions as may be prescribed (section 126(3)).
• Opposing someone else’s designation. IPO-Pakistan states that an opponent must have an address in Pakistan or act through a registered trade mark agent or lawyer with an address in Pakistan.
• Recording a licence. Because licences recorded at WIPO have no effect in Pakistan, a licence of a Pakistan designation is a national filing with IPO-Pakistan (see the first section above). Forms and fees for national recordals are covered in our guide to trademark renewal and recordal in Pakistan.

The five-year dependency

For five years from the date of the international registration, protection in Pakistan depends on the basic application or registration in the office of origin. If that basic mark is withdrawn, cancelled, expires or is finally refused within the five years, for some or all of the goods and services, protection in Pakistan ceases to have effect to the same extent (section 92E(9); Article 6(3) of the Protocol).

Transformation

If the international registration is cancelled because the basic mark fell away, the holder can apply to the Registrar to register the same mark nationally. Under Article 9quinquies of the Protocol the application must be filed within three months of the date the international registration was cancelled. Section 92H gives it the date of the cancelled international registration, and the same priority if the international registration had one.

Replacement of an earlier Pakistani registration

If the same proprietor already owns a Pakistani registration and later obtains an international registration designating Pakistan that covers all the goods or services of the national registration, the international registration is deemed to replace the national one from its registration date, without prejudice to rights acquired under the national registration. The Registrar makes the entry in the Register on request (section 92E(7); Article 4bis of the Protocol). Whether to keep the national registration alive alongside the designation is a portfolio decision to take with Pakistani counsel.

Renewal

The international registration lasts ten years and is renewed at WIPO for further ten-year periods, with a six-month grace period on payment of a surcharge (section 92G). Renewing a registration that designates Pakistan attracts Pakistan’s individual renewal fee, charged per class.

Changes of owner, name and address

IPO-Pakistan states that changes such as a change of name or address, a total or partial change in ownership, or a limitation of the goods and services can be recorded through WIPO in a single procedure. Licences are the exception noted above.

A holder whose designation is not extended to Pakistan has the same remedy as a national applicant whose application did not proceed to registration (section 92E(8)). That includes an appeal against the Registrar’s decision to the High Court under section 114. Our provisional refusal guide sets out the steps and the time limits.

• Check the goods and services against Pakistani classification practice before you file; the Registry examines the designation as it would a national application.
• Make sure the declaration of intention to use is true for every item listed.
• Budget for Pakistani counsel at three points: a provisional refusal, an opposition and any licence recordal.
• Diary the 18-month window from notification, and watch for later refusals based on an opposition.
• Keep the WIPO record and the Journal publication together, because no Pakistani certificate will issue.
• Diary the five-year dependency period on the basic mark.

Raza & Associates is an intellectual property and corporate law firm established in 2005, listed in Tier 3 of The Legal 500 ranking for Pakistan intellectual property, with its head office in Lahore and offices in London and Singapore. It assists foreign companies, overseas law firms and brand owners that need Pakistan-based intellectual property support. Its partner Hashim Raza is a Registered Trade Mark Agent with IPO-Pakistan (Trade Marks Registry), Reg. No. TM-215/20. The firm handles responses to Madrid provisional refusals, oppositions to designations of Pakistan and related recordals before IPO-Pakistan.

For the choice between a Madrid designation and a national filing, see our guides to filing IP in Pakistan from the United States and filing a trade mark in Pakistan from the United Kingdom. For what Pakistan Customs can do with a protected mark, see trademark border measures in Pakistan. To instruct on a Pakistan matter, see Pakistan IP local counsel.

The statute and WIPO material on this page was checked on 15 October 2026. WIPO’s individual fees and IPO-Pakistan’s procedures can change; confirm the position before acting.