The 24th Session of the Working Group on the Legal Development of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks was held in Geneva from 5 to 9 October 2026.

Members of the MARQUES International Trade Mark Law and Practice Team (Gavin Stenton, Paola Tessarolo, Jessica Le Gros, Tove Graulund, Robert Rauther, Manuela Bruscolini, Joseph Sarmiento and Igor Alfiorov) attended the session remotely and in-person. They summarise the key decisions and discussions.

Continued discussions regarding the proposed introduction of a requirement for Contracting Parties to issue national or regional registration/renewal certificates and indicate certain relevant dates (namely, the date on which protection was granted as well as the date from which the use requirement starts) in Statements of Grant of Protection

The Working Group discussed these significant topics in considerable detail, having regard to the findings of the survey that the International Bureau (IB) had conducted on the need for and practical advantages of national or regional certificates.

Although many delegations, in particular MARQUES and other user organisations, expressed strong support for these material improvements, a number of delegations raised queries and practical concerns that require further elaboration and clarification.

Moving forward, the IB has been tasked with preparing a new document that provides the necessary elaboration and clarification, and proposes further amendments/refinements to the Regulations where appropriate.

Continued discussions regarding Option A of the proposal by the delegation of Moldova

Discussions continued in respect of the Republic of Moldova’s proposed amendments to the Regulations that would allow Contracting Parties to certify international applications filed by two or more applicants who jointly own the basic application/registration, when only one of them has a qualifying connection with the Contracting Party of the Office of origin, and the other has a qualifying connection with a distinct Contracting Party.

Following a lack of consensus, discussions on this proposal will continue in the 25^th Session, and the IB has been tasked with preparing proposed amendments to the Regulations reflecting the discussions that took place.

Continued discussions regarding the proposal by the delegation of the United Kingdom

Further discussions took place regarding the UK’s proposal that primarily aims to enhance user experience of the Madrid System, including the possible introduction of partial renewal of IRs (vacating the current need for partial renunciation prior to renewal), a centralised filing procedure for replacement via the IB and the faster allocation of IR numbers, particularly in the context of adding subsequent designations to pending IR applications where an IR number is yet to be generated.

Regarding partial renewal, delegations agreed in principle with the practical approach put forward by the IB whereby holders would be able, in the context of renewal, to request the cancellation or limitation of entire designations and potentially whole classes of goods and services.

The IB has been tasked with undertaking the necessary technical and operational work to implement the agreed approach on partial renewal, to provide further information on its practical operation, and to report on progress at the 25^th Session Roundtable.

Regarding centralised replacement and the faster allocation of IR numbers (or use of the IB's Unique Reference Number), while delegations supported further consideration of the proposals, they also raised legal, procedural, operational, technical and practical questions and concerns requiring additional consideration and investigation that the IB has been tasked with conducting and then reporting back on in a comprehensive document at the 25^th Session.

Dependency

In the continued absence of consensus, the Working Group agreed to continue discussions at the 25^th Session.

Possible introduction of new languages

The proposals to introduce new official languages into the system, including Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese and German, continued to be discussed in light of further studies and research conducted by the IB.

The Working Group continued to highlight the need to promote multilingualism and inclusivity while balancing feasibility and costs.

Discussions will continue during the 25^th Session.

Photos provided by Team member Joseph Sarmiento