Brand

10 MINS

October 2025

PROTECTING YOUR BRAND: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TRADEMARKING

Building your brand becomes an exciting reality when your name, logo, and identity all start to come together to tell and embody your story. It’s the part of your journey where you begin to see your vision realised. But all of this can be put at risk if another party attempts to use or imitate your brand if you lack the proper protections.

Trademarking provides you with this much needed security. It is one of the most effective ways to protect your business identity, ensure legal ownership, and strengthen your brand’s reputation. This guide will break down the essential information you need to know about trademarks, from what they are, why they matter, and how to start the process of registering one in the UK and internationally.

So, What Is a Trademark?

A trademark is a type of intellectual property that legally protects brand identifiers such as names, logos, slogans, colours, or even sounds. It’s a legal mark that secures and distinguishes your products or services from your competitors. In simple terms, a trademark will tell consumers, “this is uniquely us”. It helps to prevent others from using or copying your brand and identity without permission, allowing you to maintain better control over your intellectual property within the marketplace.

Why Should I Trademark My Brand?

Trademarking your brand isn’t just about the legal formality. It really is an absolute business essential. Other than just being the legal preservative, there are additional benefits to undertaking this process too. The full benefits to pursuing trademarking include:

Brand Protection

Registering a trademark gives you complete exclusive rights to use your brand name, logos, slogans and/or any other branded material and intellectual property for specific goods and services.

Legal Ownership

Registering a trademark allows you to protect your brand officially and therefore take the required legal action against anyone attempting to use, replicate or imitate your brand. It is both a deterrent as well as a safety net for any potential infringements that may occur.

Credibility & Value

Registering a trademark effectively builds brand equity through consumer trust, brand recognition and overall market positioning. This all works in unison to increase the value of your brand over time. If you take your brand seriously, so will others.

Business Expansion

Registering a trademark can make it easier to license, franchise, or even sell your brand in the future. Individuals with trademarks attached to their brand are universally seen as more reliable, trustworthy and switched-on in comparison to those who don’t.

Without a trademark, your brand could be left vulnerable in more ways than one, even if you’ve been using and trading under the same name for many years. If you find yourself as someone who has been doing so, now is probably the time to get your registered trademark sorted officially.

Where Do I Register my Trademark?

Before you start the process of registering a trademark, it’s important to think about where your business operates or where it plans to grow. This will affect where and how you register your Trademark. The difference between UK and International trademarking can affect how far your brand protection truly extends.

UK Trademarks

Registering a UK trademark through the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) protects your brand within the United Kingdom only. This is ideal for businesses or individuals that operate primarily or solely within the UK markets.

International Trademarks

If you’re an individual or a business who trades primarily overseas or plans to expand their brand into international markets, you’ll want to register an international trademark. You’ll be able to do this via an application through the Madrid Protocol system, managed and upheld by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). This system allows you to register a trademark in up to 131 countries at a time with a single, streamlined application.

As long as you already own a UK trademark, you will be able to extend your trademark abroad through the Madrid Protocol System. This will see your protection expand internationally through WIPO, as long as you have your UK Trademark Registration or Application Number to hand. There will be more on this later.

You’ll next want to understand the types of trademarks that are on offer.

What Types of Trademarks Are There?

The next big decision that now needs consideration is the type of trademark that you are applying to register. There are several types of trademarks available depending on the brand assets that you want to protect. These are:

Word Marks: These protect brand names, slogans, or taglines
Figurative Marks (Logos): These protect symbols or images that identify your brand.
Combination Marks: These protect both words and logos together.
Shape Marks: These protect unique product shapes or packaging.
Sound Marks: These protect distinctive sounds associated with your brand (such as jingles).
Colour Marks: These protects a specific colour or combination used to identify your brand.

You’ll need to decide on the type of trademark your application will fall under before starting your process. You’ll also then want to identify what your trademark Class or Classes will be.

What are Trademark Classes?

All trademarks are categorised into 45 distinct classes, with each representing a different type of product or service.

Classes 1-34 cover Goods (For example, Clothing, Food, Electronics etc.)
Classes 35-45 cover Services (For example, Advertising, Legal, Education etc.)

Choosing the right class (or multiple classes) ensures your trademark is protected where your business actually operates. A complete list of the trademark classes can be found in full as follows:

Class 1: Chemicals used in industry, science, and photography, as well as in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry.
Class 2: Paints, varnishes, lacquers; preservatives against rust and deterioration of wood; colorants and dyes; inks.
Class 3: Cleaning, polishing, scouring, and abrasive preparations; soaps; perfumery; essential oils; cosmetics; hair lotions.
Class 4: Industrial oils and greases; lubricants; fuels and illuminants; candles and wicks.
Class 5: Pharmaceuticals, medical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations; dietetic food and substances; disinfectants.
Class 6: Common metals and their alloys; metal building materials; transportable buildings of metal; metal hardware; safes.
Class 7: Machines and machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles); agricultural implements; incubators for eggs.
Class 8: Hand tools and implements; cutlery; side arms; razors.
Class 9: Scientific, research, and audio-visual equipment; computers and software; recorded media; fire-extinguishing apparatus.
Class 10: Medical and veterinary apparatus and instruments; prosthetics; orthopaedic items; suture materials.
Class 11: Apparatus for lighting, heating, cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, and water supply.
Class 12: Vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air, or water.
Class 13: Firearms; ammunition; explosives; fireworks.
Class 14: Precious metals and jewellery; watches; chronometric instruments.
Class 15: Musical instruments.
Class 16: Paper, cardboard, printed matter, stationery, and office supplies; teaching materials; packaging materials.
Class 17: Rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos, mica; plastics in extruded form; packing, stopping, and insulating materials.
Class 18: Leather and imitations of leather; luggage; handbags; umbrellas; walking sticks; harnesses and saddlery.
Class 19: Non-metallic building materials; rigid pipes (non-metallic); asphalt; pitch; bitumen.
Class 20: Furniture; mirrors; picture frames; goods made of wood, cork, reed, cane, wicker, or substitutes.
Class 21: Household or kitchen utensils and containers; cookware; combs and sponges; glassware and porcelain.
Class 22: Ropes, string, nets, tents, awnings, tarpaulins, sails; raw fibrous materials for textiles.
Class 23: Yarns and threads for textile use.
Class 24: Textiles and textile goods; bed and table covers.
Class 25: Clothing, footwear, headgear.
Class 26: Lace, ribbons, embroidery, buttons, hooks, and eyes; artificial flowers.
Class 27: Carpets, rugs, mats, linoleum, and floor coverings; wall hangings (non-textile).
Class 28: Games, toys, sporting and gymnastic articles; decorations for Christmas trees.
Class 29: Meat, fish, poultry, and game; preserved, dried, and cooked fruits and vegetables; dairy products.
Class 30: Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, flour, bread, pastries, and confectionery; spices.
Class 31: Agricultural, horticultural, and forestry products; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds and grains.
Class 32: Beers; mineral and aerated waters; non-alcoholic beverages; fruit juices.
Class 33: Alcoholic beverages (except beers).
Class 34: Tobacco; smokers’ articles; matches.
Class 35: Advertising; business management; business administration; office functions.
Class 36: Insurance; financial; monetary and real estate affairs.
Class 37: Building construction; repair; installation services.
Class 38: Telecommunications.
Class 39: Transport; packaging and storage of goods; travel arrangement.
Class 40: Treatment of materials; recycling services; custom manufacturing.
Class 41: Education; training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities.
Class 42: Scientific and technological services; design and development of computer hardware and software.
Class 43: Services for providing food and drink; temporary accommodation.
Class 44: Medical services; veterinary services; hygienic and beauty care for humans or animals; agriculture and horticulture.
Class 45: Legal services; security services; personal and social services provided by others to meet individual needs.

Each class you add to your trademark application will have an extra fee attached, but futureproofing your trademark will help your brand in the long run and prevent further applications and further expense later down the road if you decide to grow your business through additional goods or service areas. We’ll now need to take a look at the applications themselves.

Types of Applications

By now if you’ve been following this article, you’ll have a foundational idea of where you’ll be applying for a trademark, what type of trademark you’re looking for, and the classes you’ll be applying under. The next thing to understand when registering your trademark will be the type of application that best fits your brand. These application types vary from national applications in the UK IPO to the international applications via WIPO. In the UK, there are a few options, each designed for slightly different needs:

Single Mark Application

This is the most common type of application. It covers one specific trademark. For example, a single word mark, logo, or slogan across one or more classes of goods or services.

Series Mark Application

A series of marks refers to a group of trademarks that are almost identical but have minor variations between the same group of assets. For instance, slight differences in colour, punctuation, or layout style. All marks in a series must look or sound essentially the same to qualify.

Collective Mark Application

A collective mark is used by members of an association, group, or organisation to indicate membership or standards. For example, a trade association logo used by certified members.

Certification Mark Application

A certification mark shows that goods or services meet certain standards or possess specific characteristics (like origin, material, or quality). The best example would be ‘Fairtrade’ or ‘Organic Certified’.

When applying for international trademark protection however, things work slightly differently. International applications don’t offer Series, Collective, or Certification trademark options in the same way the UK system does. Instead, they’re based on what is known as your ‘Basic Mark’. To file internationally, you must first have a national/home trademark application or registration. This then becomes your basic mark that your international application will mirror exactly - the same design, wording, and classes. You’ll then be able to proceed with an:

International Registration via WIPO

This is your single application covering multiple countries. You can select the specific Madrid Protocol member countries where you want protection. Each selected country will then examine your application based on its national laws. You’ll then cover the additional application requests and fees accordingly.

Subsequent Designations

If you register an international trademark under a set amount of countries starting out and then wish to expand your business into new territories, you can later add new countries called ‘Subsequent Designations’ through an updated application.

Collective or Certification Marks (Limited Availability)

If you are looking for these types of marks specifically, some Madrid Protocol member countries will allow for these applications independently, but you must file them directly with their corresponding national trademark offices, not through WIPO.

The Trademark Registration Process

Now that you’ve understood everything up to this point, you should be able to begin to put things into practice and start your trademark application process. You should use these following steps as a best-practice guide.

1. Search Existing Trademarks

Use the UK IPO Database or the WIPO Global Brand Database to check if your desired mark is currently available for acquisition.

2. Identify and Confirm Your Class(es)

Determine which goods or services from the list above that your trademark will cover.

3. File Trademark Application

Submit your relevant trademark application through the UK IPO and/or the WIPO process depending on the type of trademark your application requires (National, International or Both).

4. Application Examination

The UK IPO or WIPO will confirm then review your application to ensure it meets their legal requirements without issue.

5. Oversee Your Objection Period

There will be an open contention window for any objections to your trademark application. This window will be open for 2 months for national applications via the UK IPO with a further month extension if an objection is filed, and 3 months for international applications via WIPO with a further month extension if an objection is filed. If you are met with any contention, it is advised to seek proper Intellectual Property legal advice to assist with your case.

6. Finalise Registration

If no objections are raised (or if you have managed to resolve them), your trademark will then be officially registered at the corresponding offices.

The complete trademarking process can be expected to take between 3-4 months in total with no dispute cases being opened.

Closing Comments

Trademarking might seem like an administrative task, but it’s a much needed investment in your brand’s long-term success. Whether you’re launching a new business or scaling internationally, a registered trademark safeguards your identity, strengthens your reputation, and adds tangible value to your enterprise.

If you’re looking for further trademarking guidance or are looking to develop a brand for trademarking, feel free to reach out via my contact page. We can undertake these processes together.