Does a U.S. Trademark Registration Protect a Trademark in a Foreign Country?Trademark Protection Outside the U.S.

No, a U.S. trademark registration will not protect your trademark in a foreign country. Trademarks are territorial and must be filed in each country where protection is sought. However, if you are a qualified owner of trademark application pending before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), or of a registration issued by the USPTO, you may seek registration in any of the countries that have joined the Madrid Protocol by filing a single application, called an "international application," with the International Bureau of the World Property Intellectual Organization (WIPO), through the USPTO.  As of April 2014, U.S. applicants can concurrently seek protection in up to 92 countries. For more information on filing an international application, see the Madrid Protocol.

To file with a specific country, check WIPO’s list of international trademark offices. Make sure to consider registering transliterations (representations of words in the corresponding characters of another alphabet) when making trademark decisions. For example, foreign entities may trademark the name of your company written in their alphabet to make a transliteration of you trademark that they then trademark for themselves.  In addition, IP Attaché program posts attachés at U.S. missions around the world.  Find an Attaché in the region of your interest here.

The WIPO Madrid Protocol Fee Calculator is a helpful tool for estimating filing costs using the Madrid Protocol.