Patent Attorney and Founder
I’m working on a trademark and honestly, it doesn’t matter which country I file it in. But wait, you might be thinking, “Shouldn’t the country matter?” You’re right, it should. But hear me out—I’m willing to pay extra to speed up the process, so I’m all about getting it done fast, wherever I can.
So, which countries handle trademarks the quickest? Turns out, it’s often Caribbean nations. But which one exactly? Good question! I’ve only done this once, a long time ago, so I can’t say for sure. But if you search online, I bet you’ll find which country is known for a fast turnaround. Larger companies, like Apple, will sometimes file in places like the Caribbean to get their trademarks in place quickly. That way, they can secure the brand while preparing for a future market launch, such as in the U.S. Later, they can move it over through something called the Madrid Protocol.
But here’s the kicker: trademark filings are public right away. That means, yes, anyone can look up what Apple has been filing, which could give competitors a clue about upcoming products. However, Apple gets around this by sometimes having subsidiaries or third parties file trademarks on their behalf. This makes it less obvious what’s going on behind the scenes, especially for products that are still top-secret.
So why would someone want to know about getting a trademark faster in another country? In the U.S., you need to use the trademark to register it—just an application number won’t cut it. But not all countries work that way, so maybe that’s the angle here.
Now, when big companies take the “fast-track” approach, there can be some downsides. For one, you might need foreign counsel to manage the trademark filing in that country. It’s easier for U.S. companies, because we can use the Madrid Protocol to move filings across borders. If you’re filing abroad, though, you’ll probably need to hire a local lawyer to handle the paperwork for you.
It’s definitely a more complicated route, but it can work if you’re trying to protect something important without everyone catching on.