On 1 October 2026, WIPO's Madrid e-Filing platform became the only route for outbound international trade mark applications filed through the USPTO. The USPTO's TEASi system, which US-based applicants and their representatives had used for years to file Madrid Protocol applications and subsequent designations, has been retired for that purpose.
For WebTMS users this matters well beyond the United States. Many firms outside the US file international applications on behalf of US clients, or receive instructions from US associates who are now working through an unfamiliar interface. A change in the filing route is a change in how instructions arrive, how confirmations look and where the errors appear.
What has changed
Madrid e-Filing uses a different submission sequence from TEASi, so the order in which applicant details, goods and services, designated contracting parties and fees are entered is not the one US filers are used to. The platform also runs validation checks that TEASi did not perform. In the first weeks since the cutover, filers have reported errors being flagged at submission that would previously have passed through and been raised later by WIPO or the office of origin. That is a good thing in the long run, but it slows down a queue that was built around the old workflow.
Practical steps
If your team handles outbound Madrid work that originates in the US, or receives it from US associates, a few things are worth doing now. Review any internal checklists or templates that reference TEASi screens or field names and bring them in line with the new sequence. Build a little extra time into deadlines for filings in the first few months, because validation failures are most likely while people are still learning the interface. Make sure the WIPO reference numbers and filing receipts coming back from Madrid e-Filing are being captured in your records in the same place TEASi confirmations used to go, so reporting and deadline calculation are not interrupted. The underlying international application and designation records in your portfolio system do not change; only the source of the confirmation does.
Learn more from WIPO directly
Our colleagues at Alt Legal are hosting a free webinar, Crossing Your TEASi: Replacing the Platform with Madrid e-Filing, on Thursday 19 November 2026 at 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT). The speakers are Anna Manville, Madrid Registry Expert Consultant (USA) at WIPO and a former USPTO Examining Attorney, and Olivier Pierre, Associate Public Education Officer in WIPO's Brands and Designs Sector. They will walk through what changed on 1 October, the Madrid e-Filing interface and submission sequence, the most common errors filers are hitting since the cutover and how to keep filing queues and client deadlines on track. Registrants receive a link to the recording afterwards, sign up even if you cannot attend live.