Panama and the Madrid Protocol

The official list of Madrid Union members, updated to July 8, 2026, has 117 members, and Panama is not one of them. An international registration only extends to the contracting parties designated in it, so a Madrid filing cannot reach Panama.

• WIPO list of Madrid Union members

Source: WIPO, Madrid Union members, status on July 8, 2026; Madrid Protocol, article 3bis

Panama is not a party to the Singapore Treaty or to the Nice Agreement, but its law still requires goods and services to be classified under the Nice Classification in force.

• The Paris Convention, in force for Panama since October 19, 1996.
• The Trademark Law Treaty, in force since September 7, 2012, approved by Law 24 of 2012.
• The WTO TRIPS Agreement, since September 6, 1997.

Source: WIPO Lex, Panama profile, consulted on October 28, 2026; Law 35 of 1996, article 94, as amended by Law 61 of 2012

A foreign owner files a national application with DIGERPI through an attorney and gives an address in Panama for notices. A registration lasts ten years and can be renewed.

Source: Law 35 of 1996, article 102, numeral 3, as amended by Law 61 of 2012

• You have six months from your first filing in another Paris Convention country.
• You claim priority in the Panama application itself, giving the country, date and number of the earlier application.
• The priority document is a copy certified by the office of origin with its filing date. You can file it with the application or within six months after filing in Panama.
• If it is in another language, it needs a translation by an authorized public translator. It does not need legalization.
• If the document does not arrive in time, the priority is treated as not claimed and the application keeps its Panama filing date.

Source: Paris Convention, article 4; Law 35 of 1996, articles 102, numeral 6, and 103; Executive Decree 85 of 2017, articles 113 and 114

You cannot use the Madrid System through DIGERPI, because the office of origin must belong to a contracting party. You can use it if you have a domicile or a real and effective business in a member country and file the base application there. Otherwise, file in Panama first and claim that priority in each country within six months.

Source: Madrid Protocol, article 2; Paris Convention, articles 4.A and 4.C

• Whether DIGERPI charges a fee for claiming priority.
• Which edition of the Nice Classification DIGERPI applies.
• How a Panamanian priority claim works in practice in a Madrid application filed from another country.

• Requirements to file
• DIGERPI, the trademark office
• Search before you file