Where to file foreign trademarks

Want to take your business international and considering where to file foreign trademarks? Let S&Z’s Trademark Country Selection Direct help you make an educated choice.

How to decide where to file foreign trademarks:

Step 1 – Tell S&Z about your primary TM

Enter your primary trademark’s class and goods. This enables Trademark Country Selection to select trade, manufacturing and customs data for your select goods.

Next, enter your home country. Trademark Country Selection uses this to analyse exports.

Choose whether to file foreign trademarks through regional systems (e.g. Madrid Protocol, ARIPO) or through national offices.

Step 2 – Choose your weightings

Weighting are used to rank the countries, and are generally linked to your select goods. Customise the weightings to suit your preferences. Alternatively, leave them as is – they are well-considered.

The weightings include:

• Your exports – foreign countries to which your home countries export your select goods.
• Net imports – The net import of your select goods into foreign countries. Net imports = Imports – Exports. Note: This does not mirror consumption, as it excludes domestic manufacturing; and trading hubs are thereby accounted for.
• Affordability – The relative cost to file and secure grant of a trademark in foreign countries.
• Foreign filing demand – The total number of trademarks that are filed in foreign countries. Highlights where others generally choose to file trademarks.
• Counterfeit risk – Foreign countries where your select goods are made and exported.
• Import growth – Change in importation of your select goods into foreign countries. Highlights countries where your goods are gaining traction.
• Market size – Foreign countries’ GDP.
• Population – Foreign countries’ population.
• Sector strength – The degree of development of foreign countries’ economies that buy your select goods.
• Specialisation – The importance of your select goods in a foreign country’s imports.

Step 3 – Select countries

The country ranking table covers 140 countries, ranked according to your weightings (based on your select goods). Expand the total cost cell for estimated filing, acceptance and office action response costs.

Step 4 – Let the graphs tell the story

Each country’s score is the product of a complex analysis. See the graphs to understand the weightings’ contributions to the overall score and the countries’ comparative strengths:

Understand how the weightings contributed to the total score and the countries’ relative total trademark costs:

The value map highlights the high-scoring – low-cost countries in the top-left quadrant. This is where you want to be:

See the relative cost-GDP and cost-population coverage of the top countries – lower scores are better:

See where trademark coverage plateaus (i.e. where further foreign trademark spend yields little additional benefit).

Easily choose the best African trademark option:

Step 5 – Download report & Select law firms

Download a comprehensive pdf report covering the top 25 countries and select law firms for each country.

For each selected country, email a law firm directly for an accurate quote. The referral is “free” – S&Z charges neither you nor the law firm, and remains “out the loop”.

If you are a law firm, customise the report by:

• substituting S&Z branding with your firm’s name and logo;
• adding a surcharge per trademark filing
• adjusting the weightings;
• removing countries;
• limiting the number of countries shown; and
• selecting tables and graphs included in the report.

Then, save your customised settings to easily download reports for future clients.

Country highlights

Delve deeper into your countries of interest and see their highlights:

Understand their leading markets, leading exports and fastest growth areas: