How To Register a Trademark in the UK?
How can you register a trademark in the UK?
Your business or your services require recognition. It helps you to stand out in the community as through this, more People can know you or your brand including the services that you provide. Otherwise, no one will reach out to you if you are not recognized and as the competition is getting tighter, if you do not have expansion plans, you or your business may very well not hold for long!
If you are a seller or an entrepreneur, you will need to own a name and a mark to define you. In other words, you will need to name your services and launch a trademark. Considering the business field, many people offer similar services. It becomes difficult to differentiate one from the other. For this purpose, every other brand or company should have something unique confined only to them. It is made easy by owning a trademark.
Trademarks are an excellent idea to give shape and recognition to your services. It is just like wearing different clothes. Every person prefers to look different from others. The same is the case with one’s business and trademark plays the role of clothing here; helping you to stand out on your own and define your uniqueness.
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a signature of your brand or services. It can be in the form of a sign, picture, phrase, or design. It may or may not be related to the product you are offering. Just like your hand signature is different, so is the case with your business trademark.
In order to ensure its uniqueness, and that no one copies it; a trademark needs to be registered to represent your company. It is important to have a unique trademark to differ from others with the same kind of brand or service else you may end up confusing your customers.
How does a trademark work?
Once registered, your company will be recognized by your trademark. People will know from your trademark what kind of services you are offering. It makes it easy to reach the public and deliver your message by just a logo, picture, or word.
Why is it so important?
Trademarks are a good marketing tool. Registered trademarks will help you protect your reputation. You can secure your brand and protect it from people who can claim that you are copying them.
You can also sue other people suspected to copy your trademark if yours is registered. Trademark also helps to protect the unique aspects of your business. Maybe it’s a secret ketchup sauce, maybe it’s a unique way to make shoelaces. Whatever the case may be, trademarks help to protect the unique things about your business that helps them to stand out from the crowd.
Types of trademarks:
Based on the purpose they provide or their link to the products, there are four types:
Arbitrary and Fanciful trademarks:
The strongest trademarks are the ones that are not connected to the product in any way.
Fanciful trademarks:
Fanciful trademarks are the ones that include specially made terms, words, or logos that have no meaning otherwise. They only describe your brand, and nothing else. Kodak, Exxon, and Vodafone are some of the best examples of Fanciful trademarks.
Arbitrary trademarks:
Arbitrary trademarks are those that are pre-existing words used for your brand. Like Apple or Shell.
Hire a consultant to do the hard job for you:
Consultisor is a consultant agency that helps UK businessmen/women to help register their trademark. They helped me register my trademark and I think you can better focus on other important tasks while someone else is doing legal work for you. Consultisor is one of the best legal agencies that you can outsource to help you set up a trademark for your business. Contact Consultisor here.
Suggestive trademarks:
These are the terms that give us an idea about the product. Like the trademark “Jaguar” is used for automobiles, suggesting that they are fast or AIRBUS, a passenger aeroplane company suggesting they are making a bus for passengers that flies in the air.
Descriptive trademarks:
They describe the product they offer. Like “sugar-coated apples”. They are ineligible and have poor choice trademarks.
How to register for a trademark in the UK:
Now that we have all the important knowledge about trademarks, it will be easy to learn how to register. It is an easy process and can be done online saving your time and visits to a lawyer. The following steps are helpful.
Stepwise guidelines:
- Go to the website GOV.UK. And click on the green button saying “start now”.
- The next page will ask you about who is registering the trademark. Read the options carefully and select according to your type. This should not be a problem since we have already covered the types of trademarks you can register for.
- On the next page, fill in all the required details. If you have already filed for a trademark, you can retrieve all your information by using your email address. After filling in the details, click “next”.
- Now the page will be asking for details about your trademark. It will ask whether your trademark has words, letters, or numbers. Select yes or no accordingly.
- The next page will be of detailed information about your trademark. You will be given 3 categories to choose from. Select the option that best suits your trademark and click “next”.
- Now they will ask you whether you have a single trademark or series of trademarks. Selecting a series will cost you some extra money.
- On the next page, you will be asked to select a class. Class is an industrial grouping telling more about your product. There are more than 40 classes. You can select one class or more than one. For each extra class, you will be charged.
- Now they will ask you if you want to supply a disclaimer or not. Most of the brands do not. Select your option and move to the next page.
- The next page will ask you whether you want to file priority claims or not.
- Now you will be asked to select among trademarks, certification marks, or collective marks.
- Now you will select the examination type. Two available options will be “standard” and “right start”.
- The last section will show you all the details you have entered. You will need to review them, make amends and click to submit.
After submitting:
You will be directed to a payment page. Once you have paid, you will see a confirmation page. Screenshot your application number as proof.
Total cost for registration:
The standard application fee is 170 pounds. For a right start application, it is 200 pounds. You will have to pay 50 pounds extra for each additional class you add.
Please be advised this may change depending upon inflation or government decisions.
Consult a lawyer:
If you find the hustle of online application tiering, you can consult a lawyer and pay them to register your trademark on your behalf. They will keep you updated about the process. When the work is done, they will send you the certificate of registration.
Online forms submission has made this task easy. But a lawyer could be a good option if you have insufficient knowledge of online registrations.
Summary:
Registration of your trademark is an important step for setting up a company and recognition of your brand.
The Government of the UK provides registration forms on their website. You can easily reach out to it and fill it with relevant information. You will need to pay the required amount. If all your information is adequate and genuine, you will receive an email confirming your registration.
It is an easy and time-saving process. With good knowledge of business and trademarks, you can register your mark on your own without spending money on a solicitor.
