How-to guide: How to register a trademark (UK)

Introduction

This guide provides practical steps for in-house counsel and private practice lawyers on how to register and maintain trademarks in the United Kingdom. It explains the legal requirements, key stages of the process, and common pitfalls, helping to establish or expand UK trademark portfolios efficiently and avoid costly mistakes.

This guide covers:

The legal framework for registering trademarks
Requirements for registrability
Preparing a specification of goods and services
Key stages of the application process
Official fees and cost considerations
Renewing trademark registrations and recording changes
Working with trademark representatives
Avoiding trademark scams

This guide can be used in conjunction with the following Quick view: Introduction to trademarks.

Section 1 – The legal framework for registering trademarks

The law in relation to registering UK national trademarks is primarily set out in the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA) and the procedures are further detailed in the Trade Mark Rules 2008 (TMR).

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) is responsible for examining applications to register a mark and maintaining the UK’s register of trademarks.

The UKIPO publishes a Manual of trade marks practice, which provides detailed guidance on how its examiners handle trademark applications (as well as opposition, invalidation, and revocation proceedings).

Trademarks with effect in the UK can also be registered through the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) and its Madrid System for international trademarks, but this How-to guide focusses on UK national trademarks.

In addition to standard trademarks, it is also possible to register collective and certification trademarks in the UK. These, however, also fall outside the scope of this How-to guide.

Section 2 – Requirements for registrability

Anything that can distinguish the goods and services of one business from those of another in the minds of the public can potentially function as a trademark.

However, for the purposes of registration a trademark:

must meet certain formal requirements – known as the ‘absolute grounds’ for refusal (see Sections 2.1 to 2.3 below); and
should not conflict with earlier trademark registrations or other earlier rights – known as ‘relative grounds’ for refusal (see Section 2.4 below).

You should keep these requirements in mind when selecting a new trademark or deciding whether to apply to register an existing trademark.

2.1 Clear and precise

To be registered as a trademark, in accordance with section 1 and section 3(1)(a) of TMA, a mark has to be a sign that is capable of:

being represented in the register of trademarks in a manner that is clear and precise; and
distinguishing the goods and services of one undertaking from those of another.

Registered trademarks can take a variety of forms, such as words, designs (also referred to as devices or logos), letters, numbers, numerals, colours (single or in combination), sounds, or the shape of goods or their packaging.

For word and device marks, representing them in a clear and precise manner is normally straightforward – it can be done by typing out the word in the application, providing a digital image of a logo in JPEG format or another generally available form, or providing a copy of the logo on paper (A4 size).

It is typically best to represent a word mark in block capitals, as notional and fair use of a mark registered in block capitals is taken to include use in different typefaces and in upper- and lower-case letters.

Marks consisting only of one or more colours must be represented in the form of an image, together with a written description of the colour(s), and an identification of the colour(s) using an internationally recognised colour identification system, such as Pantone®.

A sound mark can be represented by submitting an audio file (in MP3 format), or if it is a tune or melody, it can alternatively be submitted in the form of accurate musical notation (this must include all the elements necessary to interpret the melody).

Motion marks can be represented in the form of a video file (in MP4 format) or a series of still sequential images (in a JPEG file or on a single A4 sheet of paper), accompanied by a description of the moving image (what the image is, what the change in appearance is, how many images are involved, the sequential order of the images, and confirmation that there is a single sequence of movement).

UK registered trademarks cannot validly take the form of a smell, as there is no widely accepted method of permanently representing a smell in a manner that is sufficiently clear and precise (prior to the European Court of Justice’s decision in Sieckmann v Deutsches Patent und Markenamt (case C-273-00), issued in 2002, the UK permitted the registration of a small number of smell marks based on a written description of the smell, but this is no longer the case).

2.2 Distinctive not descriptive

A sign will not be registered as a trademark if it is devoid of distinctive character (section 3(1)(b) TMA). This is to ensure that a registered trademark can fulfil its core function of allowing the public to distinguish the goods and/or services of one business from those of another.

In addition, a sign will not be registered (section 3(1) TMA) if it:

consists exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, the time of production of goods or of rendering of services, or other characteristics of goods or services; or
consists exclusively of signs or indications which have become customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade (ie, something that has become a generic term, even if it may originally have been a trademark).

Word marks have different degrees of inherent distinctiveness, which can be split into several broad categories.

Fanciful – marks consisting of words that are invented and have no meaning other than as a trademark. They have a high level of inherent distinctiveness, for example, Xerox™ and Pixar™.
Arbitrary – marks consisting of words that may have a meaning but are registered and used in relation to goods and/or services that are not connected to that meaning. They also have a high level of distinctiveness, and include:
- marks consisting of the names of founders of a business, such as: Sainsbury’s™, Marks & Spencers™, and Dyson™; and
- marks consisting of words that have a well-known ordinary meaning that is not directly associated with the goods and/or services covered by the marks, such as Apple™ and Shell™.
Suggestive – marks that suggest a quality that may be associated with goods and/or services, but do not directly describe them. Their degree of inherent distinctiveness depends on how readily they are associated with a quality of the goods or services concerned. Examples include EVEREADY™ and always™.
Descriptive – marks that identify the goods or services or a quality that is obviously associated with them. They have minimal, if any, inherent distinctiveness and are unlikely to be registered unless they have acquired distinctiveness in the minds of the public (ie, have become associated with the goods or services of a particular business in the minds of the public).
Generic – terms that are associated with particular types of goods and services, including terms that may once have been trademarks, but are not associated with goods or services from a particular business. They have no inherent distinctiveness, for example, escalator and aspirin.

If a word mark lacks distinctiveness character, it may still be possible to register it in logo form, as an accompanying design can add distinctiveness, or in the form of an abbreviation, such as IBM™ (International Business Machines) or BT™ (British Telecommunications).

Other types of marks may also lack distinctiveness. For example, a mark consisting of a shape that is commonly associated with a type of product or its packaging or a sound that is associated with the type of product concerned.

Objections based on section 3(1) can be overcome if, prior to an application to register a mark has been filed, the mark has acquired distinctiveness in the minds of the public in the UK as a result of its use. Establishing that a mark has acquired distinctiveness can, however, be very difficult and requires substantial supporting evidence.

2.3 Additional absolute grounds for refusal

In addition to the grounds for refusal in section 3(1) there are additional absolute grounds that are considered by the UKIPO when examining an application, which cannot be overcome by acquired distinctiveness. These include:

signs consisting exclusively of the shape or another characteristic:
- which results from the nature of the goods;
- is necessary to obtain a technical result; or
- gives substantial value to the goods (other than as a result of acting as an indicator of origin); and
trademarks that are:
- contrary to public policy or accepted principles of morality; or
- of such a nature as to deceive the public (eg, as to the nature, quality, or geographic origin of the goods or services).
if or to the extent the use of the trademark is otherwise prohibited by law;
if the registration is prohibited by laws concerning designations of origin, geographical indications, traditional terms for wines and other specialities;
if the trademark consists of an earlier registered plant variety denomination, and is in respect of relevant plant varieties;
if the trademark is or includes a specially protected emblem (such as the Royal arms of the UK’s monarchy or, in certain circumstances, a national flag of the UK); and
if or to the extent the application to register the trademark was made in ‘bad faith’.

The term ‘bad faith’ is not strictly defined in UK law, but includes two main categories:

the applicant had an intention to undermine the interests of a third party – for example, where the applicant’s sole intention is to prevent a third party from using or registering the trademark, not to use it themselves; and
the application constitutes an abuse of the UK trademark system, such as:
- where the applicant does not have a genuine intention to use the trademark in relation to some or all of the goods and services covered by the registration; or
- where an application was filed to try and avoid the UK’s rules requiring proof of use of trademark registrations that are more than five years old (‘evergreening’).

2.4 Relative grounds for refusal

The UKIPO only considers the absolute grounds for refusal referred to above when initially examining an application. A third party can, however, raise one or more ‘relative grounds’ for refusal as part of an opposition to an application.

The relative grounds for refusal, as set out in section 5 TMA, concern:

the existence of an earlier trademark registration or other legal right (including rights in passing off, copyright, and/or design right) that would conflict with the use of the mark applied for; and
circumstances where a representative of the proprietor of a trademark applies for the registration in their own name, not the proprietor’s, without the proprietor’s consent.

It is important that you conduct a trademark clearance search prior to applying to register a mark to try and identify any potentially conflicting earlier rights that may be relied on to oppose an application. At a minimum, you should check the UK register of trademarks to see if any identical marks have been registered in relation to identical goods and/or services, but a more comprehensive clearance search covering similar trademarks, similar goods and/or services, rights in passing off, registered company names, and domain names is often sensible.

For further information on the relative grounds for refusal, see Quick view: Introduction to trademarks.

2.5 Series marks

As of December 2025, the UK permits the registration of a series of trademarks (see section 41(1) and (2) TMA). These are trademarks that resemble each other and only differ in ways that are not distinctive. They can be protected by way of a single application that includes up to six marks, which must substantially look, sound, and mean the same. For example, an identical word with the first letter capitalised and not capitalised, a logo with one representation in greyscale and another in colour (provided the shading of the colour version corresponds to the greyscale version), or a sound mark with one version represented in the form of a musical score and another by an audio file.

However, the UK government announced in 2025 that it intends to terminate the service for applying for series marks (while allowing existing series mark registrations to remain in force). The UKIPO has not yet confirmed the date when this service will cease.

Section 3 – Preparing a specification of goods and services

Trademarks are registered in relation to particular goods and/or services, which must be listed in an application – referred to as the ‘list of goods and services’ or ‘specification’.

For registration, either:

the trademark must already be in use in relation to the goods and/or services; or
the applicant must have a bona fide intent to use the trademark in relation to the goods and services.

Once a trademark is registered, it is only possible to delete goods or services from the registration – it is not possible to add them. As a result, particular care needs to be taken when you are selecting and defining the goods and/or services, so that your registered trademark provides a scope of protection that matches your commercial needs as far as is possible, without creating grounds for an objection to your application or resulting registration on the basis of bad faith.

3.1 Nice classification of goods and services

The UKIPO uses the Nice classification system, which groups similar goods and services into 45 different classes. The more classes that are covered by a mark, the higher the UKIPO’s fees in relation to the application and any subsequent renewals.

Details concerning the Nice classification can be found on the World Intellectual Property Office’s website. In addition:

the UKIPO has a search service to help applicants and owners identify which class goods and services fall within and descriptions of goods and services that have previously been accepted; and
the EU Intellectual Property Office provides the TM Class tool that can be used to identify terms that have been accepted in the UK and other jurisdictions around the world, which is particularly helpful when planning to register a trademark in multiple countries.

You should use these resources to identify terms that accurately describe the goods and/or services that the mark is currently used in relation to and/or those that you intend to use the mark in relation to within the next five years.

3.2 Bona fide intent to use and broad specifications

As mentioned above, a trademark application can be refused in whole or part on the grounds of ‘bad faith’. One example of this is where the applicant did not have a genuine intent to use the mark in relation to some or all of the goods and/or services in the specification. This can be a particular issue if you apply to register a trademark in relation to a broad range of goods and services and/or use broad terms to describe the goods and services.

The UK’s Supreme Court confirmed in SkyKick UK Ltd & Another v Sky Ltd & Others [2024] UKSC 26 that:

if a trademark is applied for in relation to a broad specification of goods and/or services, this can result in an inference of ‘bad faith’, but it depends on all the circumstances of the case – for example, the size and nature of the business of the applicant;
if a specification includes a broad description of goods or services, such as ‘computer software’, that includes distinct categories or sub-categories of goods and services, the applicant may be found to have acted in bad faith if they did not intend to use the mark in relation to one or more of those; and
if the applicant had a genuine intent to use the mark in relation to some of the goods and/or services, the registration can be allowed in relation to those goods and services.

Following the SkyKick decision, the UKIPO issued Practice Note 1/25 in 2025, which confirmed that trade mark examiners will consider whether a specification is so manifestly and self-evidently broad that a bad faith objection should be raised. If you use broad terms, like ‘computer software’ or ‘financial services’, this may be challenged by the UKIPO, and you may be required to explain the commercial rationale for the use of the terms concerned and provide evidence to justify their use.

As a result, you should use specific terms or a combination of specific and broader terms to establish a sensible scope of protection. If the broad terms are challenged during the examination process, and their use cannot be readily justified, they can be deleted from the specification or narrowed.

Where a trademark is not yet in use in relation to some or all of the goods or services applied for, you should preserve evidence pre-dating the application that supports your genuine intention to use the trademark in relation to them in the near future (eg, board minutes and business plans). This should help overcome any objection during the application or subsequent challenge to the registration by a third party on the grounds of bad faith.

3.3 Restrictions

It is possible to include a restriction in a specification to exclude certain goods or services that may otherwise fall within the scope of a term that is used or to narrow a broad term. This may be needed to help overcome an objection raised during an application by an examiner or opposition by a third party, or included in an application from the outset to avoid or reduce the risk of an objection or opposition by a third party.

Any restriction has to be clear and precise. It should identify a sub-category of the goods or services concerned and not a characteristic (eg, ‘clothing, not including socks’ may be acceptable but ‘bags, all displaying images of cartoon characters’ would not be). For more information on restrictions, see the UKIPO’s Tribunal Practice Notice 1/2024.

Section 4 – Key stages of the application process

4.1 Application

Trademark registrations constitute property under UK law. As a result, an application to register a trademark can only be made by someone who is entitled to hold property, such as a natural person or a legal entity (including companies, limited liability partnerships, partnerships, and certain trusts).

The application can be made either by the proposed owner of the trademark registration or by a representative acting on their behalf (such as a trade mark attorney, solicitor or barrister) – see Section 7 below for more information concerning representatives.

The proposed owner must provide an address for service in the UK or appoint a representative with an address in the UK.

You can file an application to register a trademark with the UKIPO online or on paper, using Form TM3. You must provide the following details:

the full name of the proposed owner;
the type of owner (eg, person or company);
the owner’s address;
the owner’s email address (optional);
if relevant;
- the company registration number (for companies and LLPs incorporated in the UK); or
- country of incorporation;
the representative’s name, address, email address (optional), and representative type;
the trademark type (if it is for a standard trademark or certification or collective mark);
the number of trademarks in the series (if applying for a series mark);
a representation of the trademark(s) (this can be provided in the application form, on a separate A4 sheet of paper, or for online applications, submitted with the application in the form of an accepted file format such as a JPEG, MP3 or MP4 file);
a list of goods and services;
optionally:
- a description of the trademark (if it is not a traditional trademark, such as a word, logo, picture, or letters);
- any limitation (eg, if the rights are to be limited to part of the UK); and/or
- a disclaimer (if you want to disclaim any rights to part of the mark);
whether you a claiming priority based on an application to register the same trademark outside the UK within the previous six months;
a declaration that:
- the applicant is entitled to hold property;
- the terms used to describe the goods and/or services listed are to be given their ordinary and natural meaning;
- the trademark is being used by the applicant, or with their consent, in relation to the goods or services shown or there is a bona fide intention that it will be used in this way;
- that the applicant accepts that they cannot change the trademark applied for or add more goods or services once the application is submitted and that any application fees paid are non-refundable; and
details of how the fees for the application will be paid.

The UKIPO’s fees for examining the application must be paid at the time of the application or shortly afterwards (see Section 5 below for more information on fees).

4.2 Examination

After you have submitted your application and paid the required fees, the UKIPO will carry out an initial review to ensure that it meets the basic formalities for filing an application.

If the UKIPO has any concerns these will be raised with you, and you will be given an opportunity to address them. For minor issues, the UKIPO may contact you by telephone to resolve them. Otherwise, it will send you a letter stating why the application is not acceptable and provide a one-month period to remedy the deficiency. This one-month period is not extendable and if the deficiency is not remedied the application will either be deemed never to have been made or treated as withdrawn.

If there are no filing deficiencies, or once they have been remedied, the UKIPO will assign a filing date to the application and conduct an examination. This will consider whether the application should be refused on any of the absolute grounds referred to in Sections 2.1 to 2.3 above. The UKIPO will send you an ‘examination report’ identifying any issues with the application (known as ‘objections’) within two to three weeks. If any objections are raised, you will be given two months in which to resolve them.

To overcome an objection, you may need to amend your list of goods and/or services (eg, where there is an objection based on the use of broad terms in the specification of goods and services) or file evidence in support of your application (eg, where there is an objection that your mark lacks distinctive character, you must prove that your mark has acquired distinctiveness). Evidence has to be filed in the form of a witness statement with supporting documents. It is important to note that any evidence filed will be made publicly available unless you provide detailed reasons why it is confidential and should not be open to public inspection – in which case, the UKIPO will consider the request for confidentiality.

You can also request a hearing if you think your application has been dealt with unfairly or you disagree with the objections.

Although the UKIPO will not refuse a trademark application on absolute grounds at this stage, it will conduct a search for identical or similar registered trademarks, and if it identifies any, notify their owners.

4.3 Publication, opposition, and observations

If the application is accepted by the UKIPO, it will be published in the trade marks journal.

Third parties will then have a two-month period in which to file an opposition to the trademark or a notice of threatened opposition, which extends the period for filing an opposition to three months (section 38 TMA and rules 16 and 17 TMR).

If an opposition is filed, you may be able to reach an amicable resolution with the opponent or successfully defend it. If necessary, you can also withdraw the application.

For further information on opposition proceedings, see Quick view: Introduction to Trademarks.

Third parties can also file observations with the UKIPO during this period (section 38(3) TMA), in relation to absolute grounds for refusal. For example, a third party may file an observation that a mark is descriptive or commonly used in a relevant trade. The UKIPO will consider any third-party observations and write to you indicating whether or not it believes, in light of the observations, that the mark does not meet the requirements for registration. If it considers that the registration should be refused, you will be given an opportunity to comment on the observation(s).

4.4 Grant

If your application is not opposed and no objections are filed, it will be registered by the UKIPO within two weeks of the end of the opposition period. Alternatively, it will be registered if and when any opposition to your application or new objection based on an observation has been resolved.

The UKIPO will then send you a certificate confirming the registration of the trademark.

If no objections are raised to your application and no oppositions are threatened or filed, it will typically take about three to four months from the date of application for your registered trademark to be granted. The registration lasts for an initial period of 10 years.

Section 5 – Official fees and cost considerations

Details of the UKIPO’s current fees for handling applications to register trademarks can be found at gov.uk.

As of November 2025, the UKIPO’s fee for an online application to register a trademark in relation to one class of goods or services is £170 (£200 for a paper application), with an additional fee of £50 for each additional class. However, in November 2025, the UKIPO announced that its fees will increase from April 2026, with the fee for an online application increasing to £205, a paper application to £250, and the fee for each additional class to £60.

The UKIPO’s fees can be paid by debit or credit card, bank transfer, or (if you will be filing a large number of applications) by setting up a deposit account with the UKIPO and crediting it with the required amount.

It is important that you pay any fees payable to the UKIPO promptly, otherwise you risk the withdrawal of your trademark application.

Section 6 – Renewing trademark registrations and recording changes

6.1 Renewals

A trademark registration can be renewed indefinitely for 10-year periods (section 42 TMA), subject to the payment of a renewal fee, unless the validity of the mark is successfully challenged. It can be renewed online or by submitting Form TM11, within the six-month period prior to the expiration of the registration (see section 43(1) TMA and rule 35 TMR).

As of October 2025, the renewal fee for a trademark in relation to one class of goods and/or services is £200, with an additional fee of £50 for each extra class. From April 2026, the renewal fee will increase to £245, with an additional fee of £60 for each extra class.

If you do not renew a trademark within a 10-year period of registration, there is a six-month grace period in which it is possible to renew it by submitting Form TM11 and paying an additional fee of £50 (£60 from April 2026) (see rule 36 TMR).

If a trademark registration is not renewed during this grace period, it is removed from the register. It is possible to request the restoration of a trademark registration within six months of its removal from the register, but reasons must be provided why the registration was not renewed in time (typically in the form of a witness statement) and it will only be restored if the UKIPO is satisfied that the failure to renew was unintentional (see rule 37 TMR). When a registration is restored, the restoration is published in the trade marks journal.

If a trademark is registration is restored, it is not possible to bring an action for infringement against a third party who, in good faith, uses a sign that is identical or similar to the trademark in the period from its expiration until the date of publication of the restoration.

6.2 Recording changes

You should ensure that any changes to the name or contact details of the owner of a registered trademark are recorded with the UKIPO to ensure that correspondence from it can be delivered correctly (such as objections, renewal reminders, and notices of applications to register potentially conflicting marks). A request to make a change can be made on Form TM21 (rule 52 TMR). As of November 2025, there is no UKIPO fee for recording such a change.

Section 7 – Working with trademark representatives

In the UK, a trademark owner can use a representative to apply for a registration and/or manage a registration on their behalf. If a representative is named on an application or subsequently appointed, communications from the UKIPO will be sent to the representative rather than the trademark owner.

For UK national marks, the representative must have an address in the UK, but there are currently no other formal requirements to act as a representative. It is sensible, however, to use a representative who is subject to professional regulation, such as a law firm, chartered trade mark attorney, solicitor, or barrister, who is regulated by the Intellectual Property Regulation Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, or the Bar Council.

Details of leading trademark professionals and firms in the UK can be found in World Trademark Review’s WTR 1000.

Section 8 – Avoiding trademark scams

Unfortunately, as result of trademark owners’ contact details being published on the UK’s register of trade marks, they are frequently targeted with unsolicited, misleading, requests for payments. These typically take the form of invoices requesting payment in relation to trademark services, such as renewals, that are not performed or requesting high fees for services that are available at a lower price or for free. The sender may use names and logos on the invoice designed to imitate the UKIPO, a law firm, or otherwise suggest that they have some official status.

If you have any concerns that an invoice you receive in relation to trademark registration or renewal services may be a scam, you should contact the UKIPO.

Further information on misleading invoices can be found on the UKIPO’s website.

Additional resources

UK Intellectual Property Office, Manual of trade marks practice
World Trademark Review, WTR 1000

Filed under

Laws

Trade Marks Act 1994 (UK)