Stay ahead of competitors: Why trade marks are a smart business move

12th Sep 2025

A strong trade mark protects your brand, sets you apart from competitors, and builds customer trust – here’s how to secure and enforce yours effectively.

CITMA Paralegal, Chloe Fernandez provides an overview of trade marks, what makes a good one and how to give yourself the best chance of getting your marks registered.

Register your key brands as trade marks

A company’s brand is often its most valuable asset and plays a crucial role in business acquisitions. Every brand protection strategy should begin with the identification and registration of key trade marks. 

Owning a registered mark grants a monopoly on use of the mark in relation to the goods and services for which it is registered and is your strongest tool in quickly shutting down infringers. Enforcement of brand rights is considerably quicker and easier than with an unregistered mark. 

Deciding on a brand name isn’t easy, and it’s important that your chosen brand can be legally protected. We would always advise applying to register your trade mark at the earliest opportunity; if your application faces opposition by a third party, you could be forced to rebrand which becomes more expensive the further down the line you get, particularly if you have already launched your product or service to the public. 

Is your trade mark distinctive?

The more imaginative and distinctive your mark is, the greater the chance of achieving registration. The Intellectual Property Office will examine a trade mark application and check that the trade mark is distinctive (in other words, that the mark is not descriptive of the goods and services for which it has been applied or is a customary term in the relevant line of trade).

Word or logo?

Generally speaking, a registered word mark offers wider protection, but if your brand has any sort of distinctive or interesting design element to it and relies heavily on a unique visual representation, then it is worth registering your logo as well as the word. 

In addition, if a word mark is descriptive of the goods or services being provided and therefore unregistrable, accompanying that word with a distinctive logo can provide an alternative means to registration. Bear in mind, however, that the word will only be protected when accompanied by the logo.

Review the market

It’s important that your chosen brand does not infringe a third party’s rights, so carrying out clearance searches at the early stages of development before launch is vital. Early searches can save you wasted time and cost if the brand you have decided upon is unavailable. 

In addition, in some countries such as the USA, China and India, an earlier mark which is the same or similar can be a bar to registration. The UK Intellectual Property Office will not reject an application on this basis, but it may notify the owners of conflicting earlier marks of the application, so that they can decide whether to oppose. 

Even if a full comprehensive search is beyond your budget, a basic search can help you choose a brand that is distinct from competitors operating in your market, to help avoid disputes and improve chances of registration. Similar work will need to be carried out in any other countries in which you intend to operate.

The application process

Once you’ve completed your clearance searches, the application process can begin. It’s crucial that you classify the goods and services for which you intend using your mark properly and in accordance with the Nice Classification system (an international system used to categorise goods and services). 

If you have not used your mark for those goods and services in the five years following registration, your mark can become vulnerable to revocation, so deciding on a suitable specification is vital.

The application process to registration generally takes 4 – 5 months, assuming no oppositions are faced. A trade mark registration lasts for ten years (from the date of filing) but can be renewed indefinitely.

Monitor your trade mark

Following registration of your trade mark, a watch is key in the protection of your brand and provides a cost-effective way to prevent the dilution and loss of trade mark rights, often avoiding the expense of costly legal proceedings. 

A trade mark or domain name watch ensures the early detection of identical and similar marks recently filed in the classes and countries of interest to you and affords the opportunity to oppose third party applications that may otherwise go unnoticed, thereby undermining your rights.

Author

Return to listing