UK trademark registration
A UK trademark is a separate registration with the UK Intellectual Property Office, needed because EU trademarks stopped covering the United Kingdom on 1 January 2021. Unlike EUIPO, UKIPO searches for earlier conflicting marks and reports the results to you, though it still does not refuse the application on that basis alone; registration takes about four months if nobody objects.
Prices exclude VAT.
Why you need a separate UK trademark
EU trademarks stopped covering the United Kingdom on 1 January 2021. Marks registered before that date were cloned onto the UK register automatically. Anything filed since covers the EU only.
If you sell into both the EU and the UK, you need two registrations. There is no single filing that covers both.
What it costs
€715 all in for one class, made up of the £205 UKIPO fee and our fee, with each additional class at €155. UKIPO fees are set in pounds and we convert at a fixed rate reviewed quarterly, so the euro price you are quoted is the price you pay whatever the exchange rate does before filing.
What a UK trademark costs breaks down every figure, including renewals, oppositions and filing a name and a logo together.
How long it takes
About four months if nobody objects.
UKIPO examines the application, then publishes it for a two-month opposition period, which can be extended to three months if a potential opponent files a notice of threatened opposition. Registration follows a few weeks after the period closes.
Unlike EUIPO, UKIPO carries out a search for earlier conflicting marks and reports the results to you. It still does not refuse the application on that basis. It notifies the earlier rights holders and leaves them to oppose.
What is included
Reviewing the specification of goods and services, filing the application, reporting the examination and search report, reporting acceptance and publication, monitoring the opposition deadline, reporting registration, forwarding the certificate, and maintaining an address for service with the UKIPO.
Responding to an examiner objection or defending an opposition is separate work. Full pricing lists those figures.
Should you file in the UK first or the EU first?
File where you actually sell. If your customers are in Britain, the UK filing at €715 is both cheaper and more relevant than an EU mark at €1,530.
If you sell across Europe, the EU filing covering 27 states is much better value per country. Most growing businesses end up with both.
One thing to note: the EU SME Fund reimburses 75% of official fees for EU filings and EU national filings. It does not cover UK filings, because the UK is no longer in the EU.