The Twenty-Fourth Session of the Working Group on the Legal Development of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks, organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), took place from October 5 to 9, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland. The session was chaired by Natalia Mogol, Deputy Director of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) of the Republic of Moldova.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Madrid System Member States, international and regional organizations, as well as experts in the field of intellectual property. AGEPI was represented by Natalia Mogol and Ludmila Cocieru, Head of the International Trademarks Section.

Over the course of five days, the delegations examined a series of proposals aimed at refining the legal framework and simplifying the procedures of the Madrid System. Discussions also covered the system’s evolution, the expansion of its language regime, and the modernization of its IT infrastructure.

One of the session’s outcomes concerned a proposal for the partial renewal of international registrations, brought forward as part of an initiative by the delegation of the United Kingdom. The delegations agreed on a practical approach that would allow holders, during the renewal process, to request the removal or limitation of entire classes of goods and services. The WIPO International Bureau was tasked with undertaking the technical and operational work necessary to implement this approach and with reporting on the progress made at the Working Group’s next roundtable.

Regarding two other components of the same initiative, centralized replacement and subsequent designation for international applications currently under examination, the Working Group requested that the International Bureau prepare additional documents for the next session. These documents should analyze the legal, procedural, operational, and technical implications of the proposals and present potential solutions for amending the Regulations.

Another significant topic was the proposal to introduce requirements to issue national or regional protection certificates and to indicate certain relevant dates in statements granting protection. Although many delegations and all participating user organizations expressed support for the proposed amendments, certain issues requiring further clarification were raised, specifically concerning the practical utility of these new requirements, potential administrative and financial burdens on offices, language requirements, and the transition period. Consequently, the International Bureau will prepare a revised document, taking into account the observations made during the session.

During the meeting, discussions also continued on “Option A” of the proposal by the delegation of the Republic of Moldova, which concerns the conditions for filing international applications with multiple applicants. The Working Group agreed to continue examining this initiative at its 25th session and requested that the International Bureau prepare a document containing an updated version of Option A, reflecting the discussions held during the current meeting.

Regarding the mechanism of dependency of an international registration on the basic mark, as well as the possible evolution of the Madrid System, the delegations agreed to continue discussions at the next session, based on documents previously examined.

A significant portion of the deliberations was devoted to language policy and the digital transformation of the Madrid System. The meeting addressed the results of implementing the differentiated translation practice and assessing the quality of the related translations, the technical aspects of processing non-Latin characters and non-Arabic numerals, and the plan for phase II of the Madrid System’s IT platform project.

Furthermore, discussions continued on the possible introduction of new Madrid System languages ​​, including Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese and German. The Working Group agreed to continue examining these topics at the next session.

The participation of AGEPI in the work of the Working Group reaffirms the Republic of Moldova’s commitment to the development and modernization of the Madrid System, as well as its interest in promoting international trademark registration procedures that are more efficient and accessible to users.