Filing a Madrid International Trademark from India: MM2(E) via IAOI

How-To · International Trademarks

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

You have an Indian trademark and a customer, a distributor or a marketplace in another country. You need protection there, and filing separately in each country means different lawyers, different forms and different currencies. The Madrid system lets you file once, through India, and ask for protection in many countries. This guide shows the steps from India, the time limits that can hurt you, and how to keep track after you file. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the Madrid route

The Madrid system is run by WIPO in Geneva. India joined the Madrid Protocol in 2013. An Indian business can now file one international application, in one language, and pay one set of fees to WIPO, instead of filing national applications one by one.

The trade-off is simple. It is cheaper and easier to start, but your international registration depends on your Indian mark for five years. If the Indian mark falls, the international registration can fall with it. We explain this below.

02Before you file: what you must have

Check these four things first. Most failed filings go wrong here.

• A basic mark in India. You need an Indian trademark application or registration. This is called the basic mark. Your international application must match it in the mark itself, the owner name and the goods and services.
• Right to file. You must be an Indian national, or domiciled or have a real and effective business in India. India is your office of origin.
• Target countries that are members. Check each country is a Madrid member on the WIPO site. Some countries need extra things, such as a declaration of intent to use.
• A clean search. A refusal in one country is common if a similar mark is already there. Search before you pay.

Goods and services in the international application cannot be wider than the Indian basic mark. If your Indian application is narrow, your international one will be narrow too.

03Steps to file Form MM2(E) through IAOI

An international application from India is called an IAOI, short for international application originating from India. The form is Form MM2(E). It is filed online with the Indian Trade Marks Registry, which checks it and sends it to WIPO.

1. Pick your basic mark. Note the Indian application or registration number, the mark, the owner and the goods and services.
2. Choose your countries. Select the members where you want protection. Remember that fees rise with every country and every class.
3. Fill Form MM2(E). Use the e-filing page on the IP India site. Give applicant details exactly as in the basic mark. Add the goods and services in English, French or Spanish as the form allows. Colour claims must match the basic mark.
4. Pay the handling fee in rupees. This goes to the Indian Registry for certifying and sending your application.
5. Registry certifies and forwards. If the application is in order, the Registry certifies it and sends it to WIPO within two months. If there are defects, you get a notice and must fix them.
6. Pay WIPO in Swiss francs. WIPO collects its own fees separately. It will send an invoice or payment request.
7. WIPO registers and notifies. WIPO examines the form, records the international registration, and tells each country you chose. Each country then examines the mark under its own law.

For the official instructions, read the IP India note on Form MM2 and the WIPO notes for filing MM forms. Both are linked in Sources.

04Fees in CHF and INR (checked October 2026)

There are two fee streams. One is paid to India in rupees. The other is paid to WIPO in Swiss francs. Do not mix them up.

Individual country fees are the part that surprises people. Some members charge a standard small fee and others charge their own higher fee per class. The total depends on your countries and classes. Use the official WIPO Madrid fee calculator for the real figure before you decide.

For a rupee estimate, convert the Swiss franc total at the rate your bank gives you on the day of payment. We do not publish a fixed rupee conversion because the rate moves daily.

05Time limits that matter

Refusal period: 12 or 18 months

After WIPO notifies a country, that country has 12 months to send a provisional refusal. A country can choose a longer period of 18 months. If it sends nothing in time, the mark is protected there. Check the WIPO member profile for each country you chose. India has made its own declaration on this, so check it on WIPO if you also designate India from abroad.

A provisional refusal is not final. You can answer it through a local agent in that country. Most countries need a local agent for this.

Dependency: 5 years

For five years from the date of the international registration, it depends on your Indian basic mark. If the basic mark is cancelled, refused, or lost in that period, the international registration is cancelled to the same extent. This is called central attack. It also applies if a challenge to the Indian mark was started before the five years end and it succeeds later.

Transformation: 3 months

If the international registration is cancelled because the basic mark failed, you can convert it into national applications in the countries you chose. You must apply within 3 months of the cancellation. You keep the original date in many cases. Miss the 3 months, and you lose that option.

Renewal: every 10 years

An international registration lasts 10 years and is renewed with WIPO, not with each country.

06Tracking after you file

Filing is only the start. After filing, five things need watching:

• WIPO status. Check the Madrid Monitor on the WIPO site for your international registration number. It shows notifications, refusals and grants by country.
• Provisional refusals. Note the date of each refusal. Your answer deadline is set by that country, not by WIPO.
• Your Indian basic mark. Watch the Trade Marks Journal for marks that conflict with yours and watch hearings and oppositions on your Indian file, because they affect the five year dependency.
• Disputes in court. If someone challenges your Indian mark in a High Court, or you sue for infringement, the outcome can affect the international registration. See IP litigation and registry in one workflow.
• Renewal dates. Keep the 10 year renewal and the Indian mark renewal in the same calendar.

A spreadsheet works for a handful of marks. It breaks when you have many marks across many countries, because each date comes from a different source.

07Common mistakes to avoid

• Filing before the Indian mark is safe. A weak or opposed basic mark puts everything at risk for five years.
• Mismatch with the basic mark. Owner name, mark image or goods that differ from the Indian record cause a defect notice and delay.
• Choosing too many countries. Fees add up with each country. Start with markets where you have real sales.
• Ignoring local agents. A provisional refusal usually needs a local representative to answer.
• Missing the 3 month transformation window. Put a reminder the day the Indian mark is lost or cancelled.
• Reading only court orders for risk. Orders in a case on your mark matter. If you want to read them quickly, see AI court order summarisers.

08Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

The five year dependency means a dispute over your Indian basic mark is a risk to your international rights, so the court side is worth watching. Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, holds 30 crore+ judgments, covers Supreme Court records from 1950 and High Court records from 1990, and returns results in under 5 seconds. Claw does not use customer documents to train AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to watch for suits and orders that could affect your basic mark, and to run case search across Indian courts.

09Sources and further reading

Primary sources used for this guide, last checked October 2026:

• WIPO Madrid System: wipo.int/madrid
• WIPO Madrid fee schedule: WIPO schedule of fees
• WIPO notes for filing MM forms: Notes for filing Form MM2
• IP India Form MM2 information: MM2 info sheet
• IP India: ipindia.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This guide is general information and not legal advice. Fees and forms change, so confirm on the official pages before filing.

10Frequently asked questions