Thinking of self-filing your trade mark application- think again!

To register a trade mark, several criteria needs to be fulfilled and an application needs to be submitted to the UK Intellectual Property Office.

This application does not need to be made by a legal representative and can be submitted by the trade mark creator.

However, the application is technical, and a high volume of applications submitted by the trade mark owner themselves are rejected as they are not clear about what is accepted and should be included.

While it is clear we would always recommend using a trade mark expert such as The Trademarkroom, it needs to highlighted that it is in your best interests to use the experts and will save you a lot of money and hassle in the long run.

When deciding what mark you would like to register, it is important you ensure that not only is the mark free to use but it is original and not too closely linked to the products or services it represents.

Having your trade mark deemed descriptive will put a road block in your application, which you will need to resubmit and repay the fees to try again with a new mark.

In addition, if you have been using a mark for a while that has already been registered by another party, you could be hit with a claim for infringement before your application gets off the ground.

To check if your mark is available to register, you can complete a trade mark search. This, again can be done without the aid of a trade mark specialist, however without this knowledge, the results may be difficult to analyse. This analysis needs to be done to its full effect otherwise it may prevent you pursuing a good trade mark to register.

By using the services of a trade mark expert, not only will you have assistance with the above, but if any other issues arise in your application, The Trademarkroom can guide you through any additional processes that need to be completed.

You may feel that you are saving yourself and your business money by registering your trade mark yourself but the potential for issues to arise greatly increases which will be costly to you. Therefore, contact The Trademarkroom today and be save in the knowledge that your application is in the experts hands.

By Ellis Sweetenham