WIPO Information Notice No. 44/2026, dated 5 November, lowers the individual fee for designating Syria under the Madrid Protocol from 215 to 199 Swiss francs per class of goods or services, as from 5 December 2026. The new amount applies to international applications, subsequent designations and renewals alike: 16 Swiss francs less per class, or 160 Swiss francs less for a ten-class designation.
Syria's office has not repriced anything.
The notice relies on Rule 35(2)(d) of the Regulations under the Madrid Protocol: where a Contracting Party indicates its individual fee in a currency other than Swiss francs and, for more than three consecutive months, the United Nations official exchange rate is at least 5 per cent lower than the rate last applied, the Director General must set a new Swiss franc amount. The threshold fell from 10 to 5 per cent on 1 November 2025. When the rate moves the other way by 5 per cent or more, it is the Office concerned that may ask for a recalculation under Rule 35(2)(c); the Director General does not recalculate unprompted.
Which date decides
- International applications: the date the Office of origin receives the application. Those received on or after 5 December pay 199 Swiss francs.
- Subsequent designations: the date the Office of the holder's Contracting Party receives the request, or the date WIPO's International Bureau receives one filed directly with it.
- Renewals: the date the international registration is renewed. Renewals on or after 5 December pay the new amount.
J&C notes that for international applications designating Syria and filed around early December, the amount due depends on when the Office of origin receives the application, not when WIPO does, and budgets should be worked out on that basis.
Source: www.wipo.int | www.wipo.int
