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One of the most important things any reputable business can do to protect its brand identity is register its trade mark. Simply enter your trade mark or logo onto your application form and send it to the Intellectual Property Office. Once youve completed this form and sent if off you cant amend it so its important to get it right first time.

In order to comply with business law you’ll receive a receipt which will confirm the Intellectual Property Office has received your application and they’ll supply you with an application number and the date it was received. Once they’ve received you application there are several things the IPO will look at before granting your trade mark application. The uniqueness and distinctiveness of the trade mark will be examined first. They trade mark will also have to be checked to ensure its not too similar to anything already in existence. It’s worth bearing in mind that only about a third of applicants go through this process without consulting their solicitors or some form of legal advice.

Once the trade mark has been checked against their internal list it then goes onto opposition. Opposition means the trade mark is available for public view and open to comments. This is the final phase your trade mark has to pass before going onto be processed. As long as there are no objections or issues, your application should be processed and completed within two months or the original application. Although this process is fairly straight forward, if any complications do arise, like someone objecting to your trade mark it’s advisable to then seek professional advice from intellectual property solicitors.

The 1994 trade mark act officially legalised what can and can’t be protected. Colours, shapes and even sounds can be protected along with your company name and logo. The only provisions are that you can physically write it down on the application and that it’s distinctive.