A trademark helps to protect the name of your product or service. If you register a trademark for your business, you’ll be able to:
- Take legal action against anyone who copies or uses your brand without you saying they can.
- put the ® symbol next to your brand - to show that it’s yours and warn others against using it.
- sell and license your brand.
Before you can get a trademark you must check if anyone has already registered an identical or similar trade mark for the same or similar goods or services.
https://www.gov.uk/search-for-trademark
You must also check the EU trade marks register on the European Union Intellectual Property Office website for any EU applications that were ‘pending’ on 1 January 2021. These applications have priority over yours.
https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/
How to get a Trademark
Your trade mark must be unique. It can include:
- words
- sounds
- logos
- colours
- a combination of any of these
Your trademark cannot:
- be offensive, so no swear words or naughty pictures.
- describe the product it is like the word ‘cotton’ cannot be a trademark for a cotton textile company.
- Tell lies like using ‘organic’ if they’re not.
- be too common and non-distinctive, for example be a simple statement like ‘we lead the way’
You’ll need:
- details of what you want to register, for example a word, illustration or slogan.
- the trade mark classes you want to register in, for example food and drink services (class 43) or chemicals (class 1)
The Cost
You pay £100 initially, plus £50 for each additional class. You’ll then get a report telling you if your application meets the rules.
If you want to continue, you must pay the full fee within 28 days of getting your report.