Can you register trademarks globally?

The short answer is: No, you can't. Like in other areas of law, country sovereignty also exists within trademark law, and the protection granted in one country doesn't extend to another.

You could try registering every national trademark separately, but that wouldn't be advisable for a couple of reasons:

• First is the price, as the individual trademark costs simply add up,
• Second is the time required to manage all trademark applications, respond to legal notices during the process, etc.
• And the third is the necessity of finding a law firm to file the trademark in most countries outside your domicile.

It is possible to file in multiple countries at once through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which is generally cheaper if you want to register in five or more countries; however, WIPO doesn't allow you to get a global trademark, it just makes multi-filing easier.

However, that doesn't mean brands shouldn't seek legal protection at an international level. It means only that business owners with global aspirations should consider limiting the selection of countries and adding new territories only with further growth. You can learn more about planning for growth in our article on optimal trademark strategy.

You can also check our international packages, which include country combinations most commonly sought by other business owners. Selecting a package has the additional benefit of all your trademark applications being handled by a single provider.