Trade Mark FAQs

What Can Be Registered As a Trade Mark?

The most common types of registered Trade Marks are words, numerals, logos, or pictures; however, the shape of goods, colours, sounds or even smells can, in certain circumstances, be registered as Trade Marks too. Essentially, any sign capable of being represented graphically, and which is able to distinguish the goods or services from those of other traders, may be registered so long as it is not purely descriptive of the goods or services, or confusingly similar to any existing Trade Mark.

How Long Does the Trade Mark Registration Last?

An initial period of 10 years. The registration can then be renewed indefinitely for additional 10 year periods. The possibility of indefinite renewal of the Trade Mark registration is a significant feature of registered Trade Marks.

Can I Get a Worldwide Trade Mark Registration?

There is no such thing as a worldwide Trade Mark registration. It is possible to file individual applications in each country of interest; however, this can be done after the first six months from filing the UK application in most countries. Alternatively, there are certain centralized procedures which are useful if you wish to register the Trade Mark in several countries; ask us about the “Madrid Protocol” Procedure and the “Community Trade Mark Procedure” if you wish to find out more about this.

How Much Does it Cost?

Cameron Intellectual Property’s charges are competitive. The costs of many stages of the procedure are time based and so the eventual costs are partly dependent upon the complexity of the matters involved and the corresponding amount of time spent dealing with those matters. It is often possible to fix costs for dealing with certain Trade Mark matters and we would be happy to discuss this. Contact us now to obtain a personalised cost estimate or ask about our fixed fee filing packages.

How Long Does the Process Take?

We often recommend a clearance search prior to filing an application to register a Trade Mark; this can usually be completed and reported to you within a week or two of receiving your instructions.

Within a month or two of filing the application to register the Trade Mark, an examination report will be issued by the UK Intellectual Property Office which we will forward to you with our advice. Once any objections have been overcome, the application is then publicly advertised. If no opposition is raised the Trade Mark is registered and a registration certificate is issued (this typically occurs around three to four months after filing the application).

What Classes of Goods and Services Should be Covered?

Trade marks are categorised into different goods / services. There are 45 trade mark classes, which makes the trade mark classification system very complicated. The trade mark classes can be viewed here.

Each Class covers an umbrella category of goods / services that are considered to be in the same or similar area of trade. However, some classes closely relate to one another (e.g. a drinks company may want trade mark protection for whisky (covered by class 33) and may also want protection for beers (covered by class 32).

The trademark classification system is a necessary yet rather blunt tool which attempts to cover all possible goods and services. As a result categorising goods and services correctly is a skilled task and is in fact the part of filing a trade mark application which takes the most professional time. Furthermore, since the terms used in a trade mark classification define the scope of protection of a registration it is incredibly important that the trade mark specification is correctly drafted. This is something which we have a great deal of experience in getting right.<