Should I register my business name as a trademark?

If you are already using a business name then, generally, the only way in which you can protect that name is to register it as a trademark. Many people assume that by simply registering a company name with Companies House (through the formation of a company) or registering a domain name with a registrar (through the formation of a domain name) that will be sufficient protection. Unfortunately, it is not enough.

You can only obtain legal exclusivity through registration of your trademark. If you choose not to protect your trademarks (which can include company names and domain names) by registration you run the risk that someone else will register the name. If this happens all of your hard work in establishing a brand and goodwill may be diminished (or even lost entirely).

Similarly, your name may already belong to someone else (as a registered trademark) without you knowing it. If that is the case then you will run the risk of generating goodwill in a trademark that you do not even own. Have you ever checked to see whether you are infringing an existing registered trademark? The last thing you would want is to be sued for trademark infringement. Not only could this expose you to unwelcome legal fees and court costs but you might also be saddled with the cost of having to change your company name and rebrand your goods and services.

UK Trademark Registration - Step by Step Guide

We make trademark registration simple and affordable.

Step 1

You submit your details to us together with a description of your intended trademark via the Register Your Trademark link

Step 2

One of our IP team will contact you usually within 3 to 24 (working) hours to discuss your application and provide the necessary advice and cost estimate.

Step 3

In most cases we would advise you to undertake a thorough search against your intended trademark. If you decide to use our Premium Search services for these purposes, then as soon as we have received and confirmed your instructions as correct we will ask you to submit a payment on account to cover our search fees. Once the payment has been received your instructions will be forwarded to one of our IP team for processing. Once we have completed a full and detailed search against your intended mark we will forward a report of our findings to you. This usually takes about 10 working days.

Step 4

Depending upon the outcome of any search report, if you then decide to proceed with our Trademark Registration services, then following receipt of your instructions we will contact you to:

• check and confirm your instructions;
• supply you with a copy of the terms and conditions which will govern our supply of services (and we will ask you to confirm your acceptance of these);
• we will request a payment on account to cover our fees and the registry fees.

Step 5

Upon confirmation of your initial instructions and receipt of your acceptance of our terms and conditions, together with receipt of the payment on account your instructions we will:

• send you a trademark specification sheet setting out the particular classes of goods / services against which you have chosen to register your trademark; and
• once you have confirmed your agreement to the wording of the application the IP team will then prepare and file your application together with the relevant fee at the Trademark Registry.

Step 6

You should expect the Trademark Registry to issue its examination report within approximately 2 months following submission of your application form. We will notify you as soon as we receive this report. The examiner can refuse registration if he considers that your mark is not sufficiently distinctive. However, he will not refuse your mark simply because of an earlier conflicting mark, unless the owner of that mark has successfully opposed your application. If the examiner considers that there may be potential earlier conflicting marks already on the register, you will then have the choice of:

• either continuing with your application as it stands; or
• trying to avoid the potential conflict by restricting the list of goods and services to which your application relates (i.e. limiting the classes); or
• agreeing to withdraw your application.

If you choose to proceed with an application where the examiner has raised the potential of conflicts with earlier marks then the examiner will notify the holders of the earlier marks of this fact and it will be left to the discretion of those notified mark holders (or other third party objectors) as to whether they will oppose your application. This is why undertaking a Premium Search service can be so important.

Step 7

If your mark has not been rejected by the Trademark Registry you can expect it to be published in the Trademark Journal approximately 3 weeks after the examination report has been issued. If the Trademark Registry receives no opposition to your mark within 3 months of the date of publication they will then issue you with a trademark certificate. We will notify you as soon as the certificate is issued.