Your U.S. Trademark Counterpart
Su corresponsal de marcas en Estados Unidos.
Trademark firms abroad can hand us their clients' U.S. matters and keep the client relationship. Since August 2019, every foreign-domiciled applicant and registrant must act at the USPTO through a U.S.-licensed attorney, so every firm with a client entering the U.S. needs a U.S. counterpart. We are that counterpart, from Miami.
Foreign filers at the USPTO
Non-resident applicants accounted for 38% of the USPTO's 795,337 trademark class counts in 2024. WIPO recorded 26,471 designations of the United States in 2025, and the USPTO notified 27,795 provisional refusals, roughly one for every designation it received.
USPTO trademark filings, total and non-resident
Class counts in applications filed at the USPTO, direct and via Madrid.
View data table
| Year | Total | Non-resident | Non-resident share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 672,646 | 212,442 | 32% |
| 2020 | 870,282 | 320,866 | 37% |
| 2021 | 899,494 | 347,730 | 39% |
| 2022 | 767,237 | 273,022 | 36% |
| 2023 | 739,189 | 261,901 | 35% |
| 2024 | 795,337 | 301,922 | 38% |
Madrid designations of the U.S. and USPTO refusals
Designations of the United States recorded by WIPO, and provisional refusals the USPTO notified to WIPO, by year.
View data table
| Year | Designations | Refusals |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 26,808 | 25,385 |
| 2021 | 30,745 | 19,443 |
| 2022 | 29,519 | 22,410 |
| 2023 | 26,887 | 32,497 |
| 2024 | 27,141 | 29,539 |
| 2025 | 26,471 | 27,795 |
U.S. applications from the markets we serve, 2021–2025
USPTO applications naming an owner with an address in each market.
Market summary
National office volume (2024 class counts) and Madrid traffic with the U.S. (2025).
| Market | Office | Madrid | Office class counts | U.S. designated by market | Market designated by U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | CIPO | Yes (2019) | 134,699 | 501 | 6,938 |
| Mexico | IMPI | Yes (2013) | 214,894 | 59 | 3,979 |
| Brazil | INPI Brazil | Yes (2019) | 468,667 | 109 | 2,475 |
| Colombia | SIC | Yes (2012) | 52,885 | 56 | 1,032 |
| Argentina | INPI Argentina | No | 98,518 | – | – |
| Chile | INAPI | Yes (2022) | 61,098 | 18 | 978 |
| Peru | INDECOPI | No | 46,763 | – | – |
| Venezuela | SAPI | No | 14,239 | – | – |
| Caribbean | Several offices | Some members | – | 14 | 752 |
How we counted. WIPO IP Statistics Data Center (May 2026 update) for USPTO class counts and Madrid figures through 2025; a refusal count can include more than one refusal for the same designation. Market totals are USPTO applications by filing date, from USPTO records retrieved October 27–28, 2026.
What we handle in the U.S.
| Matter | What we handle |
|---|---|
| Direct U.S. filings | Applications based on use, intent to use, a home-country registration (Section 44(e)), or a priority claim within six months of the home filing (Section 44(d)) |
| Madrid designations of the U.S. | Responses to USPTO provisional refusals; the U.S. requires its own specific identification of goods and services, so broad class headings accepted abroad are a common refusal |
| Post-registration | Section 8 and Section 71 declarations of continued use, Section 9 renewals, and docketing for every U.S. deadline |
| Ownership records | Recording assignments, mergers, and name changes with the USPTO |
| Disputes | TTAB oppositions and cancellations, letters of protest, and expungement or reexamination petitions against blocking registrations |
| Enforcement | Cease-and-desist letters, CBP recordation, Amazon Brand Registry, and coordination with litigation counsel |
U.S. rights depend on use
A registration based on a home filing or a Madrid extension can issue without U.S. use. Keeping it does not work that way. The Section 8 or Section 71 declaration between years 5 and 6 must show use in U.S. commerce, the USPTO audits declarations and deletes goods not in use, and three consecutive years of nonuse is evidence of abandonment.
This is the most common way foreign-owned U.S. registrations are lost. We docket the use deadline from the day the registration issues and ask for evidence a year in advance, so you can raise it with your client in time.
Five reasons U.S. filings from abroad get refused
- Indefinite goods and servicesClass headings and broad terms accepted at home, such as 'clothing' or 'software', need U.S. ID Manual wording. This is the most common refusal of Madrid designations.
- Likelihood of confusionThe USPTO searches its own register. A mark that cleared at home can collide with a prior U.S. registration for related goods.
- Descriptive foreign wordsUnder the doctrine of foreign equivalents, a non-English word that describes the goods is treated like its English translation.
- Geographic termsPlace names are refused as geographically descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive unless the mark has other distinctive matter.
- Missing domicile or translation detailsForeign-domiciled applicants must give a street address of domicile and translate or transliterate every non-English word.
Built for the instructing firm
We also send work the other way: when our U.S. clients need protection in your jurisdiction, we instruct the firms that instruct us.
- Conflict checkWe clear conflicts before any substantive work, usually within one business day.
- Associate agreementA short written agreement sets reporting, billing, and client-contact rules.
- InstructionsBy email, in English or Spanish, with Portuguese and French through qualified translators. We confirm receipt and the deadline the same day.
- ReportingWe report to your firm, not to your client, unless you ask us to copy the client.
- FeesFixed fees for standard actions, invoiced in U.S. dollars with wire instructions; government fees at cost.
Instruction checklist
- Client name, entity type, and country of organization
- Full address of domicile (street address, not a P.O. box)
- The mark as filed at home, with any color claim and translation
- Home filing or registration number and date (for priority or Section 44(e))
- Goods and services, ideally already in U.S. ID Manual wording
- U.S. use dates and a specimen, if the client already sells in the U.S.
- For Madrid refusals: the WIPO notification and the USPTO refusal
- The response or filing deadline you are working to
Associate resources
- Associate fee schedule (PDF), with fixed fees for standard actions
- Instruction checklist for each type of filing
- Guide: five reasons U.S. trademark filings from abroad get refused
- Written associate agreement covering reporting, billing, and client contact
Pages for counsel in each market
Each page covers the rule as it applies to that market, the filing data, and the problems we see most often in its U.S. filings.
Canadian Counsel
For Canadian Clients
MadridCBCaribbean Counsel
For Caribbean Clients
MadridMXMexican Counsel
For Mexican Clients
MadridPEPeruvian Counsel
For Peruvian Clients
Direct filingCOColombian Counsel
For Colombian Clients
MadridARArgentine Counsel
For Argentine Clients
Direct filingBRBrazilian Counsel
For Brazilian Clients
MadridVEVenezuelan Counsel
For Venezuelan Clients
Direct filingCLChilean Counsel
For Chilean Clients
MadridFrequently asked questions
Why does my foreign client need a U.S. attorney?
Since August 3, 2019, the USPTO has required applicants, registrants, and parties domiciled outside the United States to be represented by an attorney licensed in a U.S. state. That covers new applications, responses to refusals, TTAB proceedings, and post-registration filings.
Will you take over the client relationship?
No. We report to the instructing firm, and contact the client directly only when you ask us to. Our associate agreement says so in writing.
Can a Madrid registration of the U.S. issue without U.S. use?
Yes, but keeping it requires use. The Section 71 declaration between years 5 and 6 must show use in U.S. commerce, and three consecutive years of nonuse is evidence of abandonment.
What languages do you work in?
Our attorneys work in English and Spanish. Portuguese, French, German, and Italian documents and correspondence are handled through qualified translators.
How are your fees structured for associate work?
Standard actions, such as a new application, a response to a routine refusal, or a Section 71 declaration, carry fixed professional fees, listed in our associate fee schedule. Contested work is billed by the hour or on a quoted budget. Government fees are passed through at cost, and invoices are in U.S. dollars.
How quickly do you act on an instruction?
We confirm receipt and the deadline the same business day and clear conflicts before substantive work. For urgent deadlines, tell us the date in your first email.
Request our associate fee schedule
Tell us your firm, your jurisdictions, and the U.S. work you expect to send. We will send our fee schedule, instruction checklist, and associate agreement.
- Direct USPTO applications
- Madrid provisional refusals
- TTAB oppositions and cancellations
- Section 8 and Section 71 declarations