Trademark Registration in UK

The United Kingdom allows trademark rights to the first business or individual to file a trademark application. While you may have some rights to your mark simply by using it in the UK, those common law rights are very limited and may be challenging to prove in court. The UK follows the First-to-file registration system. These occur when a person with ill intent files for trademark registration with the intent to ransom the mark of its rightful owner at a much higher price. Because of this, it is wise to consider filing your mark with the UK Intellectual Property Office as soon as possible. It is important to note that in the United Kingdom, it is possible for a person to obtain registration for a mark, even if a similar mark exists. During the registration process, an examiner at the IPO will review the trademark application and notify owners of similar marks of its status. Those owners, then, may choose to ignore the notification, allowing the new mark to obtain registered status, or to file an opposition with the IPO. These oppositions, however, can be both costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it is wise to complete a comprehensive trademark search before filing with the IPO, to ensure that a similar mark has not already been registered in the UK.

Responsibilities of trademark owner :

• As a trademark owner, it is your responsibility to actively monitor and police the use of your mark within the United Kingdom.

• This can be a tedious task, but many trademark attorneys offer monitoring services for trademark owners, to make the process more manageable.

• If possible infringement is found, you must take the legal action granted to you as a trademark owner. Also, if you are contacted by the IPO about a similar mark’s registration, file an opposition as soon as possible to ensure you maintain exclusive control of the mark.

• As long as you continue to use your trademark in the UK, the registration will not expire. However, to maintain ownership of the mark, you must renew your registration every 10 years.

What Can Be Trademarked?

• Name

  A name including personal or surname of the applicant or predecessor in business or the signature of the person e.g, the name Dhirubai Ambani can be trademarked.

• Word

  A word which is not being directly descriptive of the character or quality of the goods / service. For example Google is a word which has been trademarked.

• Numbers

  Alphanumeric or Letters or numerals or any combination thereof. For example 555 brand.

• Images

  Image, symbol, monograms, 3-dimensional shapes, letters etc. For example the tick in Nike logo.

• Sound

  Sound marks in audio format. For ex the sound in the ad jingle.

Who Can Apply For Trademarked ?

Any person or business claiming to be owner can apply for a trademark including :

• Individual

• Corporation

• Limited Liability Company

• Partnership

• Limited Partnership

• Joint Venture

• Sole Proprietorship

• Trust

It is preferable that you apply for the trademark as an individual. In a case of a proprietor or company, if you close or change the name of the business, your trademark will become invalid. However, in a case of an individual, this problem won’t arise.

Trademark Law in UK

The United Kingdom trademark law protects the use of trademarks in the UK. A trademark is a way for a person to distinguish themselves from another. In the world of business, a trademark gives a product or organization with an identity that cannot be imitated by its competitors. In UK law, as in most common law countries oIn the United Kingdom, the relevant legislation is the Trademarks Act 1994. This Act implements European Directives that create a uniform framework for Trademarks across the European Union. The owners of a trademark can rightfully defend their mark against infringements. To do so, the trademark must either be registered or have been practiced for a while so that it has received local distinctiveness (Prior Rights).

The extent to which a trademark is defendable depends upon the similarity of the trademarks included, the similarity of the products or services included and whether the trademark has gained distinctiveness.

A registered trademark is comparatively simple to defend in a court of law. An unregistered trademark relies on the law of passing off.

The Trade Marks Act 1994 says that “a person infringes a registered trademark if he/she uses in the area of trade a sign which is identical with the trademark about goods or services which are same with those for which it is registered”. A person may also infringe a registered trademark where the sign is the same and the goods or services are the same to those for which the mark is registered and there is a possibility of confusion on the part of the public as a result.

Procedure For Trademark Registration

• Complete our trademark Form

  You need to fill our simple online trademark application form & submit documents.

• Conduct your trademark search

  To make sure that unique logo name filed is available or not, Trademark Search is executed by experts.

• Select Appropriate Class

  Depending on nature of your products, we shall suggest the appropriate class of the 45 classes.

• Trademark Application filed

  We create your Trademark application in 3 days and get your TM number.

• Trademark registration completed

  Your trademark is registered in 1.5 2 years if no competitor objects to your trademark application.

Steps to Register Trademark in UK

• Step 1: Search

  Before filing a trademark application form, a search must be done online to see if there are any existing or alike logos or names.

• Step 2: Filing your application

  To file your UK trademark application the application must include a Trademark name, copy of the logo, Name, and Address of company, List of the goods and services used by your trademark.

• Step 3: Examination

  Your UK trademark application is being examined and your application is examined. The Examiner circulates a notice if there any objections from the office.

• Step 4: Publication

  The trademark is published in the online UK Trade Mark Journal where it is given 2 months for an opposition period.

• Step 5: Registration

  The UK IPO circulates a registration certificate 2 weeks after the end of the opposition period. Once the UK trademark process is completed the ® symbol is applied to indicate your trademark is registered.

What Is Included In Our Package?

• Consultation

• Application Preparation

• Name search & approval

• Application Filing

• Same day Filing

Service	Cost
Trademark Search	Free
Trademark Consultancy on Class and Availability	Free
TM Application Filing + Drafting (Our Fees)	$ 499
Total Cost	$ 499 + Govt. Fees

Trademark Search in UK

Trademark search must be met before filing a trademark application to find possible disagreements with existing trademark applications or registered trademarks. You can do a trademark search by providing the word mark and the class under which the search is to be done. Trademark application is organized under 45 different classes as per the NICE classification for trademark. All of the trademark class describes a different set of goods and services. In case you need to find the trademark class for a good or service, you can use our trademark class finder tool. Trademarcart will offer an easy way to perform a trademark search through this online tool

Search you trademark in 3 simple steps:

• Step 1

  Complete our trademark form.

• Step 2

  We will generate your Trademark application

• Step 3

  Final Wrap-Up of your Trademark Order.

UK Trademark Infringements

The following trademark violations are cited in the Trade Marks Act 1994:

• Section 10(1) Trade Marks Act

  An unauthorized third party utilizes a mark that is identical to a registered trademark and placed on like-for-like goods and services. It must be printed without modification – even minor modifications unnoticeable from the common consumer’s perspective will be viewed identical for trademark infringement.

• Section 10(2)(a) & (b) Trade Marks Act

  Where an unauthorized third party places an identical registered trademark on similar goods and services or a similar trademark on identical goods and services, thereby creating confusion as to the origin of the goods or services and the possibility of an association between the two trademarks.

• Section 10(3) Trade Marks Act

  Where an unauthorized third party uses an identical or similar trademark on goods or services which are not similar, benefitting from the registered trademark’s existing UK reputation and gaining an unfair advantage; and operating to the detriment of the registered trade mark’s character.

Registered & Unregistered Trademarks Rights

Basis	Registered Design Rights	Unregistered Design Rights
How do I protect my design?	You will need to submit an application prior to your design coming onto the market	No formal registration procedure is required (or possible), it comes into existence automatically upon creation of the relevant design
What type of protection will I have?	Protection is given to the overall appearance of the design, excluding features dictated by technical function	Exclusive rights against anyone copying your design which includes both functional and aesthetic aspects
How long will I be protected?	Protection for 25 years from the date of filing, at most	15 years protection, or 10 years from when the product is first put on sale – whichever is the shortest
Do I need to renew?	Yes, every 5 years up to a maximum of 25 years	No
Protection rights	In order to enforce rights, there is no need to prove that your design was exactly similar.	You must prove your design was directly copied in order to enforce rights and to prove that you are the owner, keep all records and documentation from when you created the design.
What about protection in other countries?	UK protection can extend to certain countries	Protection is only available in a very small number of countries

Check trademark registration in more countries

• Trademark Registration in Nepal.
• Trademark Registration in Australia.

FAQs on Trademark Registration