Trademarking the logo of your new business will ensure you have a unique signature for your brand. It’s important to secure the identity of your business as your own intellectual property, so you’ll need a logo you trade mark effectively.
So how do you go about it? Here are the essential steps:
1. **Check if your logo is eligible to trademark**. Trademarking covers various creative aspects, such as the words, style and symbols used for your logo. Under protection law, you can trademark a word or combination of words, phrases, images or even specific corporate colours as part of your design.
However, it’s essential your logo represents a distinct identity for your business, differentiating your products or services from anyone else’s.
You can trademark unique and invented words as brand names, but you can’t register something that’s merely descriptive of the goods or services you offer or a geographical location.
You also won’t be able to register your trade mark if it represents something that’s customary in your line of business, if it’s offensive, if it promotes something illegal, or if it is deceptive regarding the products or services you offer.
It’s worth remembering that registering a company name at Companies House does not necessarily mean it will be acceptable as a trade mark by the Intellectual Property Office, because company law is different from trademark law.
Another potential obstacle is if your trademark infringes on someone else’s – so you need to do your research. There are three different registers you can check for potential likenesses:
• The UK Trade Mark Register, managed by the UK Intellectual Property Office (check online at www.ipo.gov.uk);
• The Community Trade Mark Register (CTM), managed by the Office for Harmonisation of the Internal Market (check online at www.oami.europa.eu);
• The International Trade Mark Register, managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (check online at www.wipo.int).
2. **Choose the type of trade mark you want**. You need decide on the territory in which you want your trademark protected, and the relevant goods and services for which it will be used.
If you register your trademark with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), it will be protected in the UK only.
To extend the protection to the European Union, you’ll need a Community Trade Mark registered with the Office for Harmonisation of the Internal Market (OHIM).
You can also apply for wider international registration via the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
You need to specify the goods and services you will be using your trade mark for when applying with the IPO. They divide these into 45 classes, which you can view by visiting http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-class-guide.htm.
3. **Apply for a trade mark**. It’s a relatively simple process to apply for a trade mark with the IPO - you can do it online (visit www.ipo.gov.uk/types/tm/t-applying.htm) and the application takes around ten to 15 minutes. There are two options:
* Standard examination is £170, paid in full to cover one class of goods or service. You won’t be eligible for a refund if your trade mark can’t be registered.
* Right start is £200 for one class of goods or services. You pay 50% on application, which is not refundable but you only need to pay the balance if you decide to proceed with the application.
An additional £50 is payable for each extra class.
Following application you’ll receive an examination report in approximately 15 working days. If your trade mark meets the relevant criteria, it’s then published in the Trade Marks Journal to allow third parties to view the application and object if necessary. If there are no objections your trade mark will be registered in around three months.
If you want help with the whole process of trademarking your logo, you could enlist the help of a legal professional. You can search for a local trade mark expert on the website of The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys at http://www.itma.org.uk.
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