How Long Does Trademark Registration Take?
“I want to register my trademark in the UK, but before that I have a doubt regarding how much time it will take to complete. I need to travel to other countries within a few months, will my mark get registered within some months, or will it take more time to get successfully registered ? I just want to ensure that my mark is legally protected before I leave the country”
If you’re thinking of registering your trademark in the UK, then you should know how to proceed with the trademark registration and how much time it will take to finish. Usually, registration may take a bit of time if any objections are raised against your mark. Therefore, always try to ensure that your mark is eligible for trademark registration so that you don’t have to be involved in such a complex process.
How to Proceed With Trademark Registration?
In UK, trademark registration can be obtained by any one of the two ways:
- Trademark applications need to be filed at the UKIPO to obtain a UK trademark registration.
- To obtain an international registration to other countries such as the US, one needs to file an application at the WIPO.
Once the application is filed successfully, a receipt will be issued and then the application will move forward for an examination that will take around 3 to 6 weeks. There will two situations that can be occurred after a thorough examination :
- If no objections are raised, then it would be published in the Trademark Journal.
- If any objections are raised regarding the trademark application which satisfies the prohibited trademarks under the Trademarks Act, 1994. For instance, if the mark is devoid of any distinctive character or is descriptive in nature, then the applicant will be given 2 months time to provide relevant documents or evidence in response to the objections.
To go through the above procedure of registration, one need to consider some other steps as following.
Pre-registration Steps to Take
The applicant must conduct a trademark search in the UKIPO before moving with the registration process. For the purpose of conducting a trademark search, the applicant can take the help of a trademark attorney for a clear trademark search report, which would mention any such trademark that is similar to the mark of the applicant.
Trademark registration can be done effectively if the applicant has the knowledge of trademark classes.
Having the knowledge of trademark classes is necessary to select the right trademark class for his mark.
Once the trademark search and selection of trademark class is completed, the owner can move forward to file an application for trademark registration.
How Long Does it Take to Register Your Trademark?
In the UK, trademark registration can take place within as short as 3-4 months, but this is the case when there are no objections raised against your mark by UKIPO or the third parties. Trademark registration is usually a time taking process if any objections are raised. However, generally it may be completed within 6 months from the date of application.
The registration process is complex and includes different steps which need time to complete without any errors. Registration of a trademark is not only about registering business names, where the only thing required to see is whether there’s any similar name as yours, but a legal process that needs to comply with every requirement of UK trademark laws.
Trademark registration provides a strong monopoly and your trademark can last forever and gives you the right to renew the trademark every 10 years. As it includes such crucial things for your beneficiary, the UKIPO cannot make any hasty decisions. Therefore, trademark registration is very competitive in nature, and it requires a lot of patience from your side for better outcomes. Trademark registration is undoubtedly an efficient process which will benefit you in the long run. Therefore, it’s advisable that you don’t delay in your trademark registration.
The time it will take to get registered may hamper your business plans, and it will be good if the trademark gets registered before the product launch.
Conclusion
Whether objections are raised, or not, affects how long it takes to register a trademark. In the UK, the registration process for a simple trademark application takes three to five months. Typically, it takes six to nine months to file a straightforward trademark application with the European Union.
Check this article for further information about the reasons of trademark business name in the UK.
