Free online advice clinics

If you need help understanding how to protect your brand, our free advice clinics offer a straightforward first step.

You will receive a one-to-one consultation with a qualified Chartered Trade Mark Attorney or other legal professional, who will provide practical guidance on your situation and help you decide what to do next.

What the clinics are for

Our clinics are designed for individuals and small businesses who are new to trade marks and need initial advice. This may include:

  • deciding whether to register a trade mark
  • checking whether a name or logo may infringe someone else’s rights

The aim is to give you clear, practical guidance at an early stage, so you can make informed decisions about your next steps.

What you will get

  • A 30-minute one-to-one consultation
  • Advice from a qualified Chartered Trade Mark Attorney or other legal professional
  • Practical, tailored guidance on your specific issue
  • An explanation of your options and any potential risks

What the clinics are not

To ensure expectations are clear:

  • The clinics provide initial advice only, not guaranteed ongoing free legal representation
  • Each clinic is limited to a single 30-minute session
  • The clinics can only consider new matters
  • The clinics cannot review advice already provided by another attorney

If you need further assistance after your clinic, you may choose to instruct the attorney/legal professional directly or another Chartered Trade Mark Attorney.

How it works

  1. Submit your request using the form below
  2. We will match you with a volunteer
  3. The volunteer will aim to contact you within seven working days
  4. You will agree a time for your 30-minute consultation (normally online or by phone)

Who will advise you

All clinics are delivered by qualified and regulated Chartered Trade Mark Attorneys or other legal professionals, who are members of CITMA and offer their time on a voluntary basis.

Need advice urgently?

If your matter is time-sensitive or you require more immediate or in-depth support, we recommend using our Find a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney directory.

You can use the filters to:

  • search by area of expertise
  • find attorneys in a specific location
  • identify individuals offering particular services

This will help you find the right attorney quickly and contact them directly.

Many of our members will offer an initial period of free advice. If you would like to contact a member who has indicated they provide pro bono services, please filter using the “pro bono” specialism.

Book your free advice clinic

Complete the form below to request your consultation.

Advice clinic terms and conditions

The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA) is committed to offering free advice clinics to members of the public. These terms and conditions should be read by anyone considering booking a clinic.

1.    Advice at the clinics is provided by Fellow, Ordinary or Allied members of CITMA on a voluntary basis.

2.    Once a clinic has been requested by a member of the public CITMA will notify a volunteer of the request by email and provide information, including contact details about the individual.

3.    All advice given is strictly private and confidential between the CITMA volunteer and the member of the public.

4.    The CITMA volunteer will be responsible for contacting the individual and arranging a suitable time and date for the clinic to take place.

5.    Clinics will be 30 minutes in duration and can be held over the telephone or via online meeting solutions such as Teams, Zoom, Skype, etc.

6.    Only new matters can be raised at a clinic. Any previous advice from a CITMA member or ongoing issues cannot be brought to a second or subsequent clinic.

7.    A CITMA volunteer has the absolute discretion and the right to refuse to continue with a clinic if it is established that it is not a new matter. 

8.    If a CITMA volunteer establishes that there might be a conflict of interest either before the clinic takes place or during the clinic, they will stop the clinic and explain the situation to the individual. In this case an alternative clinic will be offered to the individual by CITMA.

9.    As the advice given is free and given in a limited time, neither CITMA, nor any person giving advice, shall be liable or held responsible in any manner at all for advice given or not given or anything done or not done in consequence.

10.  Any CITMA volunteer providing advice may pass to the member of public their business or contact details for any follow up services, only if the services are required. These services may be free of charge or paid services and are a matter between the member of public and the CITMA volunteer.

11.  Any agreed follow up services should include normal terms of engagement and the service is no longer under the terms of the CITMA free advice clinics.

12.  If a clinic has been arranged and a CITMA volunteer can no longer make the agreed time and date, the CITMA volunteer will arrange an alternative time and date, or they will try and provide a substitute volunteer e.g. a colleague who is qualified (i.e. a Fellow, Ordinary or Allied member of CITMA) to provide advice at the scheduled clinic.

13.  If the individual can no longer make the clinic, they must notify the CITMA volunteer as soon as possible and no later than 24 hours before the clinic is due to take place.

14.  If the individual does not provide more than 24 hours’ notice that they cannot make the clinic, or they are unavailable at the agreed time and date, then CITMA has the right to invoice the individual for a late cancellation administrative fee. The current fee is £50.

15.  If anyone has a disability or special requirement, they should contact CITMA before making any booking. CITMA will try to accommodate and make any reasonable adjustments necessary.

16.  If a member of the public wishes to make a complaint about the clinic they attended, the complaint should be made to the CITMA volunteer in the first instance. If the matter is not resolved in a satisfactory manner, the individual should notify CITMA.

17.  Any complaint will be reviewed by CITMA and a response will be made within fourteen days or by any other date notified by CITMA to the complainant within the fourteen day period.

Any questions in relation to these terms and conditions should be directed to CITMA via [email protected]

Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys

August 2020