Trademark registration solicitor

If you want to register a trademark in the UK, I can do it for you. I search the register, advise on which classes you need, draft the specification and file the application at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), and then I deal with whatever comes back. My fee is fixed at £750 plus VAT per mark for one class, plus the IPO’s own fee.

(The legislation spells it “trade mark” as two words, although most people type it as one, and I’ve used two words for the rest of this page.)

You can file an application yourself on the IPO website and plenty of people do. What you get from me is advice before anything is filed, on whether the mark is registrable at all, whether somebody else already has the same or a similar mark, and whether the wording of what you claim will protect what you actually sell.

Why register a trade mark

A registered trade mark gives you the exclusive right to use the name or logo for the goods and services it’s registered for. If someone uses the same or a confusingly similar mark, you have a statutory claim for infringement. Without a registration you’re left with a claim for passing off, where you have to prove that you have goodwill in the name, that there has been a misrepresentation by the other side and that you’ve suffered damage, which is harder, slower and more expensive.

Registration also acts as a deterrent, because sensible businesses search the register before choosing a name and will steer clear if they find yours on it. A registered mark is also a piece of property which can be licensed, franchised or sold, and that matters if you ever sell the business. There’s more on that side of things on my intellectual property page.

A word mark, a logo, or both

A word mark protects the name however it’s written, whereas a logo mark protects that particular design. They’re separate applications with separate fees, so most small businesses start with the word, as the name usually outlasts the logo. If the logo is distinctive in its own right then it’s worth registering as well. I’ve covered the detail in trademarking your logo.

How registration works

I start with a search of the UK register for marks that are the same as or similar to yours, for the same or similar goods and services. If there’s a conflict, you need to know about it before you spend money on an application that will be opposed.

The next step is choosing the classes, as goods and services are divided into 45 classes, and within each class you list what you want protection for. If the list is too narrow there will be gaps in your protection, and if it’s too wide you pay for classes you don’t need and invite a challenge. Claiming far more than you ever intend to use is risky since the Supreme Court’s decision in Sky v SkyKick, which I’ve written about. I’ll tell you which classes fit the business now and which are worth adding if you have firm plans to expand.

Once you’ve agreed the classes and the specification, I file the application. The IPO examines it and sends its report within two to three weeks. If there are no objections, or once they’ve been resolved, the application is published in the trade marks journal for two months so that anyone can oppose it, and if nobody does then the mark is registered. The IPO says the whole thing usually takes three to four months. A registration lasts ten years and can be renewed.

If someone opposes the application

Most applications aren’t opposed, but where one is (usually by the owner of an earlier mark) I’ll tell you how strong the objection looks and what your choices are, which are generally to defend it, to agree to coexist, or to narrow the specification so that the two marks don’t overlap. A sensible limitation is often enough to settle it.

A fully contested opposition or an infringement claim is contentious work, and I pass that to a Nexa colleague who does it day to day; see intellectual property disputes. If you’d like to see how these arguments go in practice, I’ve written up the Cambridge Rowing case and Dryrobe v D-Robe.

Protection outside the UK

A UK registration covers the UK only, so if you sell abroad you can extend protection through the Madrid Protocol, which uses your UK application as the base for filings in other countries, or by filing directly in the countries that matter to you. Since Brexit an EU trade mark is a separate application, and a UK business needs a representative based in the EEA to deal with the EU office, so I arrange that through overseas agents and don’t file it myself. I’ll advise on which route makes sense and quote for it separately.

What it costs

My fee is £750 plus VAT per mark, which covers the search, advice on classes, the application and seeing it through to registration in one class. Each additional class is £75 plus VAT.

The IPO’s fees are on top and carry no VAT, and when I checked the IPO fee table on 5 October 2026, an online application was £205 including one class, with £60 for each further class. So one mark in one class costs £750 plus VAT plus £205, and one mark in three classes costs £900 plus VAT plus £325.

Responding to an opposition, and applications outside the UK, are quoted separately if they arise. The fee is agreed in writing before I start.

What I need from you

• the name you want to protect, and the logo file if there is one
• what you sell now, and what you realistically plan to sell in the next few years
• who should own the mark, which will be either you personally or the company

Send me the details and I’ll confirm the fee and get the search under way.