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What are multi-country jurisdictions?

Senior Trademark Attorney

Multi-country jurisdictions are regional trademark systems where a single trademark application covers multiple countries within a given area or region.

The most significant is the EU trademark system, administered by the EUIPO, which grants protection across all 27 EU member states through a single application and registration. Other regional systems include the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) covering multiple African states, and the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) covering French-speaking African countries.

These regional systems are distinct from the Madrid System, which is an international filing mechanism rather than a single regional jurisdiction. Through the Madrid System, designating the EU counts as a single designation but results in an EU trademark covering all 27 member states.

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