How to trademark a brand name

A trademark protects the signs customers use to recognise you — usually your name and logo, sometimes a slogan, colour or sound — in connection with specific goods and services. Registering it gives you a public, enforceable record of your rights. Not registering it leaves you relying on weaker, local rights and exposed to someone else registering first.

What a trademark does (and doesn’t) protect

• It protects the use of your mark, or a confusingly similar one, for the same or related goods and services in the countries where it’s registered.
• It doesn’t protect the name everywhere for everything. Two companies can own the same word for unrelated products.
• It isn’t the same as registering a company name or a domain. Neither gives you trademark rights by itself.
• Copyright protects your logo artwork as a creative work; trademark protects its role as a brand identifier. You want both covered.

Step 1: Check whether your mark is registrable

Offices refuse marks that are merely descriptive (“Fresh Bread” for bakeries), generic, deceptive, or too similar to existing marks. Marks sit on a spectrum of strength:

Step 2: Run a clearance search

Start with a free knock-out search, then go deeper:

1. Exact matches in your target trademark offices and in WIPO’s Global Brand Database.
2. Similar marks — alternative spellings, plurals, phonetic equivalents and translations. Examiners compare sight, sound and meaning.
3. Related goods and services. A similar mark in a related class can still block you.
4. Unregistered use — search the web, app stores and business registers. In many countries prior users have rights even without registration.

Our trademark search launcher opens all major offices, domain and social checks in one place. For a launch with real investment behind it, pay for a professional clearance search and opinion.

Step 3: Choose your classes

Most countries use the Nice Classification: 45 classes, 1–34 for goods and 35–45 for services. You file in each class you trade in, and most offices charge per class. Common examples:

• Class 9 — downloadable software and apps
• Class 25 — clothing, footwear, headwear
• Class 30 — coffee, tea, bakery goods
• Class 35 — advertising, retail and business services
• Class 41 — education and entertainment
• Class 42 — SaaS, design and technology services
• Class 43 — restaurants and hospitality

Describe your goods and services precisely. In the US, using pre-approved wording from the USPTO’s ID Manual avoids extra fees.

Step 4: Decide where and how to file

United States (USPTO)

Since January 18, 2025, the USPTO charges a base application fee of $350 per class for electronic filings, with surcharges of $100 per class for insufficient information and $200 per class for free-form descriptions of goods and services instead of ID Manual entries. You can file based on current use in commerce or on a bona fide intent to use, which requires proof of use before registration.

Canada (CIPO)

Canada uses the Nice classes and charges a fee for the first class plus a fee for each additional class; fees are adjusted periodically, so check CIPO’s current fee schedule. Registrations last 10 years and are renewable.

European Union (EUIPO)

One EU trade mark covers all member states. The online fee is €850 for one class, €50 for the second and €150 for each class from the third.

United Kingdom (UKIPO)

A UK application filed online costs £170 for one class plus £50 for each additional class.

Several countries at once (Madrid System)

If you have a home application or registration, WIPO’s Madrid System lets you designate many member countries in one international application, paying a base fee plus fees for each country. WIPO publishes a fee calculator.

Fees quoted were current at the time of writing; always confirm on the official office website.

Step 5: Respond to examination

An examiner reviews your application for registrability and conflicts. You may receive an objection (called an office action in the US). Common reasons are descriptiveness, likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark or unclear goods and services. You usually have a set period to respond with arguments or amendments. If accepted, the mark is published so third parties can oppose it.

Timelines vary: from a few months in some offices to more than a year in others, longer if there’s an objection or opposition.

Step 6: Use it, police it, renew it

• Use the mark consistently for the goods and services listed. Non-use can make a registration vulnerable to cancellation.
• Use the right symbol. ™ can be used for unregistered claims; ® only once registered in that country.
• Watch for conflicts. Set up a watch service or search periodically for similar new filings.
• Renew on time. Registrations generally last 10 years and are renewable; some offices, including the USPTO, also require periodic declarations of continued use.

Common mistakes

1. Launching before searching.
2. Choosing a descriptive name, then being surprised it’s refused.
3. Filing only for the logo when the word mark matters more — many brands file both.
4. Listing goods too broadly or too narrowly.
5. Forgetting future markets until a local squatter files first.
6. Assuming a company registration or domain equals trademark rights.

Should you hire a professional?

You can file yourself in most countries. A trademark attorney or agent adds value in clearance opinions, class strategy, responding to objections and international filings. If you’re still choosing a name, our naming guide shows how to pick names that are easier to protect.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. See our editorial policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.