How Do I Register a Trademark?
We have kept our trademark registration process as simple as possible.
1. Step: Search
It is recommended to the availability of a trademark. Older trademarks can conflict with your application and cause oppositions or litigation regarding trademark infringements. Therefore, we recommend searching for identical or similar trademarks. You can chose between a free search by yourself or our professional availability search report. In the later case our expert trademark lawyers conduct the searches, sent you the search report together with the risk calculation and answer your further qustions by phone or email.
2. Step select country
Trademarks are valid for specific countries. Therefore, you must select in which country your trademark will be protected. Usually this corresponds with the countries in which you offer your products and services. If you intend to cover several countries you might consider filing an so called international registration.
3. Step: Order
The order form asks you about the trademark and the owner. You can chose between wordmarks or figurative trademarks. Wordmarks are usually recommended if there are no substantial graphical elements and this offers flexibility if the trademark later gets a facelift.
Furthermore, you have to mention for which products or services your trademark seeks protection. Just give us an idea about your business. This could also be a link to your website. We will then find the correct wording and you can review this later.
4. Step: Review
Once we have received your order we will instantly send you an confirmation email.
First, we check whether the mark being registered is entitled to protection (absolute grounds of refusal). Not all marks may be registered as trademarks. For instance, merely descriptive information for the respective goods and services may not be registered as a trademark. These marks are to be freely useable for everyone.
A trademark lawyer will then prepare the application and especially draft the correct wording for the list of goods and services.
Afterwards, we send you our power of attorney form and a form with the details of the application. Both needs to be reviewed, signed and returned to us by email. Usually, the POA needs not to be notarized.
5. Step: Registration process
Now when we have your acknowledgement we file the application and send you a filing receipt. The prosecution of the application depends on the relevant jurisdiction. It ranges between several weeks in westerneuropean countries to several years. However, in most countries the trademarks are valid from the date of application once they have been registered. So if someone files an application after yours you can then enforce your trademark rights against this younger trademark.
We will continue to maintain standard correspondence with the Trademark Office. This includes any minor objections regarding the information on the trademark application. Should the Trademark Office however order a refusal the registration, we would need a separate assignment in order to do this work. In such a case we will pass on the order to you together with our assignment form; we will inform you regarding the necessary steps and any costs incurred. You then have the option of deciding how to proceed.
We will pay the fees to the Trademark Office in order for the application to be handled properly. The registration certificate will then be send to you.
If your application has been opposed, which usually happens when someone has an older similar trademark, we will inform you, estimate the costs and ask if we should defend the application.
6. After registration: Monitoring
Trademarks are an important asset which needs to be protected. Most trademark offices will not inform the trademark owners about identical or similar applications and will register even identical trademarks. It is therefore strongly advisable to order a monitoring service. We will then monitor new applications and send you alerts in case of conflicting trademarks.
7. Fees
The price includes our lawyer’s fees as well as all official fees for the registration and implementation of the trademark without opposition.
8. Monitoring of Extension Deadline
The trademark must be extended in good time before expiration of the period of protection under intellectual property law. We will monitor this deadline, inform you of it in good time and make you an offer for extension of the trademark registration.
9. Representation in Cases of Trademark Infringements
Should you discover that someone is using your trademark without your permission, we are there to help you out. We will advise you and represent you in the defense of your trademark rights.
10. What happens if the trademark registration is discontinued before the application has been submitted?
If you wish to discontinue the trademark registration prior to submission of the application we will only charge our legal fees and will refund and costs that were not incurred to us.
