Examining your mark

Once the application is complete and the appropriate fee has been paid, it will be sent to an examination team. When we examine your mark we will consider:

Is it acceptable?

Our examination of your application will decide whether it meets the requirements of the Trade Marks Act 1994 and Trade Marks Rules 2000 (as modified).

Earlier potentially conflicting trade marks on the register

If there are earlier trade mark registrations that are the same or similar to the one that you have applied for, we will not raise this as an objection to registration. However, we will tell you about these other earlier marks and then it’s up to you if you would like to proceed. If you do, we will write to the owners of these earlier marks and notify them of your application. Then, we publish your application in our Trade Mark Journal where your application is open to opposition for a 3 month period by any of the earlier marks we have notified, or, any other party.

Opposition could result in your mark not being registered and you having to pay costs.

In about six weeks we will contact you to reveal the results of your examination. If you do not hear from us, please get in touch.