Auntie Jane's Trade Mark Tips: No. 5 - How do I register a Trade Mark?

Jane Lambert

Probably the best advice I can give to an entrepreneur or some other business owner who wants to register a trade mark is:  consult a trade mark attorney.  In  Can I apply for a Trade Mark by myself or must I instruct an Attorney? 31 May 2017 I advised that it is possible to apply for a trade mark without an attorney, that it has been done many times before and that unrepresented applicants can expect a certain amount of practical help from the Intellectual Property Office ("IPO") but I would not recommend it. I cautioned that it is a lot of trouble to save a few hundred pounds and it could result in a lot of extra expense as there are many pitfalls in the process.

In that article, I directed readers to the "Find an Expert" section of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys' website or suggested that they might attend an IP clinic or even have a word with me. The fee that any of them would charge for taking your instructions, ascertaining your needs and preparing your application would be chickenfeed compared to the cost of your time in learning how to do all that for yourself. If you try to do it yourself there is a much higher risk of something going wrong. And in the very unlikely case that an attorney gets it badly wrong, he or she is regulated and insured against professional negligence whereas you are not.

For those who chose not to take my advice, I gave a number of tips. They are worth reading again even if you do instruct your attorney because you will find it easier to instruct your attorney and the attorney will find it easier to advise you if you know what is going on.  If you want to register an EU trade mark you should also read the EU Trade Mark fact sheet published by the IPR Helpdesk.

Your application to register a mark does not mean that it will be accepted. In tomorrow's tip, I will consider some of the things that could possibly go wrong. Theresa May will tell you all about that.

You will find my other tips indexed here.

If you are an entrepreneur, business owner or anyone else seeking guidance on UK trade mark law, I can give you up to 30 minutes of my time for initial advice and signposting. That may not be enough time to dispose of your issue but it should be enough to define it and assess what further assistance you need, what sort of professional is best placed to supply it and how and where to find such assistance.