UK trademark registration is important to consider when starting a new business or launching a new brand. Registering a trademark in the UK is not only important for businesses based within the UK but can also be important for businesses based worldwide.
A UK trademark is highly sought after because it’s one of the fastest territories to register in and has a great deal of credibility. This can be beneficial strategically for companies trading in different territories, or companies that want to trade in the UK market regardless of where the company is based.
One of the most important things to work out is what your objective and what will a UK trademark registration cost. There are many elements that can affect the cost of registering your brand or business name as a trademark. Let’s look at 4 things to consider.
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Registering your name, logo or both?
You will need to decide whether to register your name, logo or both. It’s important to get this right in order to get the trademark protection you need. Many businesses register just their business or brand name believing that this gives full protection since their name is incorporated in their logo.
The problem is that if another company starts using a logo with the same design, colours and font you will not have direct protection. A company with a similar logo, or a similar word that used your specific font and colour scheme will not be protected with a simple word mark.
On the other hand, some companies just register a logo assuming that since the logo includes the name, the name will have full protection. It will not. However it would help protect against a company using a similar looking logo which could include the word, colours, shapes and fonts.
There are situations where simply registering one or the other is good enough. But, in most cases, for full protection a word and logo needs to be registered.
Will you use a professional filing service?
There are many occasions where businesses try to register their own mark only to have the application declined by the IPO. This can be due to using the wrong classes, wrong descriptions, not understanding what the IPO considers to be unacceptable trademarks. Not any name or logo can be registered and there are various reasons for this. If you try to file your own application and make a mistake which causes the application to be declined, you will not get a refund.
It often makes sense to use a filing company or seek the help of an attorney. These specialists can perform a full review of your proposed trademark, run searches and many filing companies will offer some kind of refund if the application is declined by the IPO.
An attorney can also run checks pre filing and help with your application however attorneys often have a fee regardless of the outcome. It’s best to look around and see what prices, services and guarantees you can find.
You may require an attorney if your application is opposed
You should factor in that in rare cases an opposition is made to an application and you may seek the advice or services of an attorney. This is a situation where another company feels that your trademark conflicts with theirs. An opposition does not mean that your trademark can’t be registered, it depends how both you and the company/person making the opposition proceed. In this case it’s often a good idea to seek the assistance of an attorney either to consult with or to manage the process.
Where do you want to register your trademark?
If you’re a UK based business and primarily trading within the UK, a trademark in the UK is often all that is required or a good territory to start with. If you’re planning to trade in more territories worldwide you may choose to register your trademark in more territories which can dramatically increase the costs.
A UK trademark can also be a good choice for businesses based outside of the UK that want protection in the UK or are selling on platforms like Amazon and want to benefit from Amazons Brand Registry program. Amazon accepts registered UK trademarks for Brand Registry and given the fact that the UK application is one of the fastest it’s often the first choice for companies worldwide.
