Saudi Arabia After Madrid: National Filing or International Designation?
Since 8 October 2026 foreign brand owners can protect a trademark in Saudi Arabia by national SAIP filing or Madrid designation. Fees, timing and which route suits whom.
A foreign brand owner can now protect a trademark in Saudi Arabia in two ways: a national application at the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), or a designation of Saudi Arabia under the Madrid Protocol, which entered into force for the Kingdom on 8 October 2026. Madrid suits owners who already hold an international registration and can wait; a national filing is still better for a near launch, a new home filing or an Arabic mark.
Last checked: November 2026 against WIPO Information Notices 35/2026 and 37/2026. By Hashim Wafa, Trademark Attorney.
A second route into the Kingdom
Saudi Arabia deposited its instrument of accession with WIPO on 8 July 2026 and became the 117th member of the Madrid Union (WIPO Information Notice 35/2026). We covered the announcement in our earlier note on the accession. This article looks at the practical choice it creates.
The change matters most to companies that already hold an international registration. They can now add the largest GCC market by a subsequent designation, without a fresh national filing. Kuwait is now the only GCC state outside the system.
Madrid is an additional route, not a replacement. SAIP still examines every designation under Saudi law, and the choice between the two routes turns on cost per class, timing and how much local control the owner wants.
National filing and Madrid designation compared
| Point | National filing at SAIP | Madrid designation |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is filed | Directly at SAIP, through a Saudi-licensed agent | Through WIPO, from the owner’s home office or by subsequent designation |
| What it rests on | Nothing; it stands alone | A home application or registration, on which it depends for five years |
| Classes | One class per application | Several classes in one designation |
| Official fee | SAR 6,575 per class (about USD 1,753) | An individual fee of CHF 1,397 per class, plus WIPO’s own fees |
| Time to a decision | Typically 6 to 9 months to registration without objections | SAIP has up to 18 months to notify a provisional refusal |
| Documents | Power of attorney, notarised and then apostilled or consular-legalised | None at filing |
| Local agent | From the start | Usually needed if SAIP raises a refusal or an opposition is filed |
| Renewals and changes | Recorded at SAIP | Recorded centrally at WIPO |
Saudi Arabia made three declarations on joining. It takes an individual fee in place of a share of the standard Madrid fees. It replaced the one-year refusal period with 18 months, and refusals based on an opposition may arrive later still. Its office will also not pass on requests to divide an international registration or to merge divided ones. The fee amounts are set out in WIPO Information Notice 37/2026: CHF 1,397 per class for a designation, and CHF 1,719 per class for collective and certification marks.
When does a Madrid designation suit?
A Madrid designation suits an owner who:
- already holds an international registration and wants to add Saudi Arabia;
- is filing in several Madrid countries at once and wants one renewal date;
- needs several classes and has a settled, clean home registration;
- can wait up to 18 months for certainty.
When is a national filing still the better choice?
A national application at SAIP is still the better choice when:
- the launch is close and the owner needs a decision sooner than the 18-month window allows;
- the home registration is young or under attack, because a Madrid designation falls with it during the first five years;
- the mark is an Arabic version or a transliteration that the home registration does not cover;
- the goods need adapting to Saudi practice, which is easier to settle directly with the examiner;
- the owner expects to divide the registration later, which the Saudi office will not process under Madrid.
Cost does not point one way. At CHF 1,397 a class, a Madrid designation saves the agent’s filing work but is not automatically cheaper than a national application, and a refusal usually brings a local agent back in.
What does not change
Four points apply whichever route is chosen.
- Saudi law decides. SAIP examines a Madrid designation on the same grounds as a national application, including conflicts with earlier marks and marks contrary to public order.
- Clear the mark first. Saudi Arabia is a first-to-file country. A search of the Saudi register before filing costs far less than answering a refusal.
- Think about Arabic. A Latin-script registration does not automatically protect the Arabic rendering of the brand. Owners trading in the Kingdom usually need both.
- Watch the deadlines. The 18 months is SAIP’s time to notify a refusal. The owner’s time to respond to one is separate and much shorter.
Five questions before choosing
- Do you already hold an international registration that could be extended to Saudi Arabia?
- How soon do you need to know whether the mark is safe to use in the Kingdom?
- Is your home registration more than five years old, and free of pending challenges?
- Does the brand appear in Arabic in the Saudi market?
- How many classes do you need, and will the goods list need tailoring?
An owner who answers yes to the first and third questions, and has time, will usually find Madrid the simpler route. An owner with a near launch, a new home filing or an Arabic mark should start with a national application. Our step-by-step guide to trademark registration in Saudi Arabia covers the national route in detail.
This article is general information, not legal advice on a particular mark.
