FAQ - Trade marks

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

A word, image, shape, trade name, slogan, logo or, where appropriate, sound, smell or colour can be registered as a trade mark.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

Trade mark owners can prevent others from using or registering their identical or a similar trade marks in the countries where they have a valid registration. Trade mark owners can stop third parties from using an identical or a similar mark, for identical or similar goods and services if there is a risk of confusion on the part of the general public in the countries where they have a valid registration.

A valid registration of your trade mark is also a defence to infringement in the UK of a third party's registered trade mark rights.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

The normal registration procedure in the UK takes about six months from the date of application. If all the formal filing requirements are complied with, the application is published for opposition purposes. The registration certificate is issued three to four months later. The application procedure can be delayed for a number of reasons such as objection to the application by the UK Intellectual Property Office or if there is an opposition to the application by a third party.

In some countries, the registration process may take several years!

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

Yes, the UK Intellectual Property Office will refuse a trade mark if:

• the trade mark has no distinguishing characteristics
• the trade mark offends public decency or is a danger to public order
• the trade mark could mislead the public
• the trade mark consists of a flag or an emblem, which is protected under the Paris Convention

A trade mark can also be refused if a third party successfully opposes the application.

Similar objections may be raised in other countries, although the process may vary from country to country.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

An opposition enables the owner of an older trade mark to lodge an objection with the UK Intellectual Property Office against the registration of a younger, identical or similar, trade mark. The opposition procedure in the UK comprises a series of stages which can be summarised briefly as:

• the filing the opposition,
• the filing of a counterstatement by the applicant,
• the filing of evidence in support of the opposition by the opponent,
• the filing of evidence by the applicant
• the filing of evidence by the opponent
• issuance of a decision either in writing or following an oral hearing with the UK IPO

Depending on the nature of the opposition, the process can be both time consuming and complex. During the opposition process, it is usually the case that the parties attempt to negotiate an amicable settlement and there are procedures such as the"cooling off" period to give parties time to conduct such negotiations.

It is possible to object to registration of a trade mark in most countries, although the procedure varies from country to country.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

A certification trade mark indicates that the products and/or services of different companies have certain common characteristics. The users of these trade marks must satisfy certain criteria. When an application for a certification trade mark is filed, the way in which the trade mark is to be used and monitored must also be specified. The certification mark owner is not allowed to use the certification trade mark.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

As part of the UK examination process, the examiner conducts a search of the UK Trade Marks Register to determine whether a new trade mark is available for registration. The major difference is that a search done by the UK IPO simply states the marks currently on the UK Register or which have been applied for and that the examiner believes are identical or similar to the new trade mark. A Novagraaf availability search will review all the identical and potentially similar trades marks and will be accompanied by a complete legal opinion on their validity as potential objections. Furthermore, our searches can be conducted for marks that are not registered or the subject of pending applications.

Official searches are also conducted in many other countries as part of the examination process, although the procedure varies from country to country. Novagraaf can conduct availability searches for you and provide our advice and opinion in a single standardised format with, if required, local advice on the registrability and availability of your trade mark in each country.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

Once a trade mark has been accepted by the UK IPO, it is advertised in the UK Trade Marks Journal. Third parties then have a two month period to file an opposition if they have a reason to object to the application.  An opposition can be based on many different grounds including the existence of an earlier registered trade mark, pending applicaiton or even an unregistered trade mark with sufficent reputation and goodwill.

It is possible to object to registration of a trade mark in most countries, although the procedure varies from country to country.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

All goods and services for which a trade mark may be protected are organised into an internationally accepted classification system of 45 classes, 34 classes devoted to goods and 11 classes devoted to services. Most countries, including the UK, use the classification system to organise goods and services in a trade mark application. It is important when filing a trade mark application to ensure that not only does the application cover all the goods and services for which you wish to protect your trade mark but also that those goods or services are sorted into the correct classes. The UK IPO will object if the goods or services in an application are not correctly classified. 

The classification system is used primarily to organise goods and services to aid in the search for relevant prior trade marks, but the number of classes included in an application will normally affect the cost of filing the application, as official fees are usually based on the number of classes included in an application.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.

As of 1st January 1996, a trade mark owner can apply for a Community Trade Mark. A Community Trade Mark registration grants protection in all member states of the European Union. The registration is a uniform right for all EU countries and is not a collection of national rights as is the case with International Registrations. The Community Trade Mark is covered by the Community Trade Mark Regulation, dated 20th December 1993 (as amended). National trade mark legislation and trade mark registries continue to exist alongside the Community Trade Mark system. Community Trade Marks are valid for ten years and can be renewed for subsequent ten-year periods.

For more information or an introductory appointment, without any obligation, please use the contact form below or call to speak to one of our professionals.