Home / Protecting your business: applying for a UK trade mark registration
27th July 2026
Helen Harmel, Associate
Your brand is one of your most valuable business assets, but without the right protection, it could be vulnerable to exploitation.
Registering a trade mark provides protection of your brand. Trade marks distinguish your goods and services from other businesses and if necessary allow you to take legal action against third parties who use your brand without your permission.
There are various types of trade marks that can be registered, the most common being word marks or figurative/ logos.
Other trade marks can include shapes, colours, sounds and motion marks. A trade mark must be distinctive and not descriptive of the goods or services to which it will relate.
It cannot be offensive, misleading or make use of emblems or national flags that you do not have permission to use.
Trade mark applications proceed through the following stages:
Your trade mark can either be filed in paper or online and will set out the details of the mark that you wish to apply for together with a detailed specification of the goods and services that you to intend to use the mark in relation to.
Generally, examination can take around 14 days and this process will include examining your application for formalities ensuring that the information provided meets the requirements under the Trade Marks Act 1994. The Examiner will also undertake a search of the Trade Mark Register to check if there are any identical or similar registered trade marks. You will receive correspondence from the IPO to advise of any discrepancies in your application or identical/ similar trade marks and will be given a period of 2 months to decide how you wish to proceed. If your application meets the necessary requirements, your application will proceed to publication.
Once your application has been accepted by the UKIPO your application will proceed to publication. Within this time your application will be published in the Trade Marks Journal and any parties who were identified during the examination process will be notified of your application. There is then a 2 month period in which third parties can file an opposition to the application (this period can be extended to 3 months if a notice of intended opposition is filed).
If no oppositions to your trade mark application are received within the 2 month publication period, your application will proceed to registration. You will be issued with a Certificate of Registration and will be able to add the ® symbol to your branding. Your trade mark must be renewed every 10 years to stay in force.
If you need assistance with applying and registering for a UK trade mark, please contact our intellectual property team on [email protected], or at 0161 832 3434.