Trade Mark Registration: How to Protect Your Brand

Registering a company name doesn’t give you trade mark protection. Neither does buying a domain. A registered trade mark protects your brand for specified goods and services. It can make it easier to challenge unauthorised use, license the brand or sell it as part of your business.

In the UK, you apply through the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Company names, domains and trade marks are different

Your company name identifies your legal business. Your domain is your website address. A trade mark protects a sign customers use to recognise your products or services, such as a name or logo.

Registration doesn’t give you ownership of a word in every context. Protection depends on the mark, the goods and services covered and the circumstances of any competing use.

Our guide to company names and trading names explains the distinction.

What can you register?

Names and logos are common choices. Other signs, including sounds, can also qualify. Your mark must be distinctive. Applications can face objections if the mark is descriptive, generic, misleading or conflicts with existing rights.

For example, “Fast Couriers” could be difficult to register for courier services because it describes the business.

A word mark can protect the wording without tying it to one particular logo design. A logo mark protects the submitted design. Which to prioritise depends on what is distinctive and commercially important about your brand.

How do you register?

1. Search before committing

Search the IPO trade marks database for identical and similar marks, then check the wider market.

Companies House availability alone isn’t enough. Businesses can also have rights in unregistered brands.

2. Choose your goods and services

Trade marks use 45 classes, with specific terms describing the goods and services covered.

Choose terms that reflect what you sell and genuinely plan to offer. You cannot add more goods or services to the application after filing.

3. Apply to the IPO

A standard online application currently costs £205 for one class, plus £60 for each additional class. Professional advice costs extra.

The IPO also offers Right Start, which provides an examination report before you decide whether to pay the remaining fee and proceed.

4. Wait for examination and publication

The IPO examines the application, and it is published so others can oppose it.

If there are no issues, registration usually takes three to four months. Objections or opposition can make it longer.

Who should own it?

If the brand belongs to your limited company, normally apply in the company’s name. If you registered personally before incorporating, arrange a proper transfer where appropriate.

For a commissioned logo, check that your company also owns—or has suitable permission to use—the underlying artwork. Paying a designer doesn’t automatically transfer copyright.

What happens after registration?

• Renew every 10 years.

• Use ® only once the mark is registered; ™ can be used without registration.

• Review protection when you add products or enter new markets.

• Keep using the mark: five years of non-use can make a registration vulnerable to cancellation.

• Check official-looking payment requests carefully; some are unsolicited offers from private businesses.

A UK registration covers the UK and Isle of Man. Overseas protection requires separate consideration.

FOUNDRS checks company-name availability during incorporation. You can store your trade mark certificate and ownership documents in your Documents.