Trademark Application Process

Any individual or company can make an application to register a trademark, to protect their brand or logo from being replicated or misused elsewhere.

There is a variety of media that is capable of being trademarked, from logos and textual trademarks to audio trademarks which can protect distinctive sounds from being reproduced.
The process of trademark registration is dealt with by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and there are a number of steps in this process before a decision is made by the IPO which will determine if your trademark application has been successful. The principle steps are summarised below.

Step 1

• An application is made to the IPO for the registration of the trademark.
• Prior to submitting your application, you should check the GOV.UK trademark register to ensure that there are no existing trademarks of the same or similar nature, which increases the likelihood of your application being refused.
• You should also carefully read the guidance on the GOV.UK website which sets out types of applications that will be refused, these include trademark applications that are offensive, too generic or misleading.
• The application will require you to select appropriate use classes (areas of application) for your trademark depending on the activities of the business and brand concerned.

Step 2

• The IPO will examine your application and in the absence of an obvious defect, will publish the proposed trademark in the trademark journal. If there are no objections within 2 months of publication, then the trademark will formally be registered into the applicant’s ownership.
• If your trademark application is objected to by the owner of an existing trademark who claims that your proposed trademark is the same as or confusingly similar to the existing trademark, you will be notified by the IPO by means of a notice of intended objection. Following this, you can either withdraw your application or allow it to continue. In the latter case, the notice of intended objection may become an actual objection which could result in legal proceedings being brought against you if you proceed with your application.
• In the absence of a notice of intended objection, the IPO will register your trademark and issue you with a certificate of registration.
• You must renew your trademark every 10 years in order to prevent the registration from lapsing.

The Corporate and Commercial team at Wilson Browne can assist with lodging and managing your trademark applications to ensure that your intellectual property is properly protected. For a no-obligation initial discussion contact the Legal 500 recognised Corporate and Commercial team on 01536 218888.