Trademark registration UK
Register your trademark in the UK online in 3 steps…
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Over 150,000 researches
We have researched availability for more than 150,000 brands and verified that they met all requirements to trademark them.
1500+ trademarks per year
Every year we register more than 1500 trademarks in all countries in the world, with objections being lodged in less than 1 percent.
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How to register a trademark in the UK
What are the costs of a trademark registration in the UK?
The costs of trademark registration in the United Kingdom depend on the number of Nice classes that are relevant to the trademark. Most marks need 1 to 3 classes, but it is possible to get protection in all of classes 1 through 45 of the Nice classification.
Registration
- Includes all fees
- extra class
Watch
- Includes all fees
- up to 3 classes
extra class
Renewal
- Includes all fees
- extra class
Register your trademark online?
What does a trademark application procedure in the UK look like?
You can get a trademark registration in the UK in various ways. This can be done via the national registration with the Intellectual Property Office and the international registration of the Madrid Protocol.
Filing a trademark in the UK is for the most part the same as in other countries that are part of the Madrid system, but each country that is affiliated with it has its own trademark and that is why it is important to know exactly how to register a trademark in the UK.
The national filing process in the UK takes about four months and has five steps, namely:
- Application via TM3 or eTM3 Form
- Assessment of formal requirements, absolute grounds and classification
- Publication of the trademark application
- Opposition period of 2 months
- Registration of trademark
What are your trademark filing options?
It should be noted that a registration takes longer if a trademark is refused or if an older trademark objects and opts for opposition.
If you want to register in several countries worldwide, international registration is easily the most advantageous depending on the type and number of countries. If you only want to register your trademark in the UK, this is done via the national registration. The costs are relatively low and the chance of objection is relatively low as well.
From 2020, an EU trademark application is not an option anymore if you need protection in the UK due to Brexit.
What are the requirements for trademark application in the United Kingdom
The most important requirement for brand registration in the UK is that the brand must be unique. It can then consist of the following characters:
- words
- sounds
- logos
- colors
- combination of the above.
In addition, the requirements state that the trademark in the UK may not be in conflict with good morals. For example, it can not be a pornographic image, be offensive or contain bad words.
Also, as in most other countries worldwide, it may not describe the goods or services for which it is registered. Nor should it be misleading.
A brand that takes the three-dimensional shape of the brand is also not accepted, just like a name that says something about the quality of the service. The English government gives the example “We lead the way”.
Finally, it is a requirement that a brand should not resemble shields, flags or labels.
What is the cheapest way to register a trademark in the UK?
The cheapest way to register in the United Kingdom is to do this yourself, at least that is the way it seems at first sight. For example, it is very often the case that a trademark is refused or opposition procedures run because no trade mark agent is used and therefore no proper investigation has been done.
Also, very often companies that have registered their trademark themselves, but now can not act against another brand that they think infringes trademark law, because the classification is not accurately drafted and submitted.
How does registration guarantee work?
If your trademark is refused for distinctive character, you will normally lose the costs incurred. Our 100% registration guarantee ensures that this is not the case and you will receive a new registration for the goods and services free of charge in the same jurisdiction and class(es) if the trademark is refused on absolute grounds. This guarantee does not exist at the UKIPO.
This promise applies if we have not warned against refusal on distinctiveness and the trademark is nevertheless refused.
How long does it take to register your trademark in the United Kingdom?
After you submitted the trademark, you will receive an answer within 20 days via an ‘examination report’. You will then have 2 months to solve the problems described therein.
If the researcher does not find points for the depot to be adjusted, the brand is published and older brands are given 2 months to object. If no objection is made, the trademark is registered.
So in total it takes 4 months and 20 days before a trademark is registered in the UK, but generally it takes a maximum of 2 months and 20 days.
What are the benefits of a trademark in the UK?
In order to answer the advantages of trademark application in the UK, we may first have to look at the answer to the question of what can happen if you do not register.
If you opt for this, someone else can register your trademark and take a considerable risk. It can ensure that you are no longer allowed to use your trademark in the United Kingdom.
But on the other hand, there are benefits. You get a monopoly on the brand name or logo and thus you can keep competitors from your market. With trademark registration you can act against parties that cause confusion by using a similar brand.
If you use trademark monitoring, you can also object in time to others who submit similar trademarks for similar goods or services. You can do this during the opposition period of two months and it ensures that a new trademark can not be registered.
Why should you register a trademark in the United Kingdom?
A trademark registration in the United Kingdom gives you a ten-year monopoly on the name or logo you register. After ten years you can of course always renew this each time so that you can in theory be eternally protected. This is one of the major advantages over trademark law and design law, whereby the protection expires at a certain moment.
Incidentally, you can link the best trademark monitoring to a brand, so that you can keep an eye on whether others file similar trademarks and you can object to them in time.
The combination of trademark monitoring and trademark registration provides the most complete protection against trademark infringement.
Based on the monopoly on the brand you obtain after registration, you can therefore act against other parties that cause confusion by using the same or a similar brand.
This way you can prevent competitors from entering your market and ensure that this can not happen with confusing names or logos if they do. A trademark registration therefore actually provides proactive and reactive resources.
The judge also takes the trademark and trademark protection high, which creates a super strong case if it ever comes to court.
Fortunately, this does not happen often, because in general a registration with opposition is withdrawn or a settlement is made before you have to go to court.
How long does a trademark last in the UK?
A trademark registration in the United Kingdom lasts ten years and can then be renewed each time for periods of ten years. It is very important that you renew on time, otherwise the rights will expire and the trademark registration will expire.
You can renew the brand from 6 months before its expiry. If you forget to renew on time, then you still have a Grace Period of six months in which you can still extend. After these six months there’s still a second term of six months, but if you do not renew, then the brand really expires. You will have to pay an increased tax within this Grace Period to be able to renew.
