Plain-English definitions of the trademark and intellectual-property terms you will meet when searching, registering, renewing or defending a brand. General information, not legal advice.
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Reasons an office can refuse a trademark based on the mark itself — for example because it is descriptive, non-distinctive, deceptive or generic — regardless of any earlier rights.
See also: Distinctiveness, Descriptive mark, Relative grounds
The person or business that applies to register a trademark and who becomes the registered owner if the application succeeds. Naming the correct legal entity as applicant matters for ownership and enforcement.
See also: Proprietor, Assignment
A transfer of ownership of a trademark from one party to another, usually recorded on the official register so the change of owner is public and enforceable.
See also: Proprietor, Recordal
Filing a trademark application with a dishonest intention — for example to block, exploit or trade off someone else’s brand rather than to use the mark genuinely. It can be a ground to refuse or cancel a registration.
See also: Cancellation, Opposition
The home trademark application or registration that an international (Madrid System) application is built on. For its first five years the international registration depends on this base mark.
See also: Madrid System (WIPO)
A request to remove an existing registration from the register, either by revoking it (for example for non-use) or declaring it invalid (for example because it should never have been registered).
See also: Revocation, Invalidity, Non-use
A mark that certifies goods or services meet a defined standard (such as quality, origin or method), used by anyone who meets the standard rather than owned for one trader’s exclusive use.
See also: Collective mark
One of the 45 categories of the Nice Classification used to group goods (classes 1–34) and services (classes 35–45). You choose the classes that match what your brand sells; fees usually rise with the number of classes.
See also: Nice Classification, Specification
The process of assigning your goods and services to the correct Nice classes and wording them clearly, so the application covers what you actually offer without being too broad or too narrow.
See also: Class (Nice class), Specification, Nice Classification
A search for identical and similar earlier marks before you file, used to judge the risk of refusal, objection or opposition. It is broader than the basic identity check and helps you decide whether to file, adjust or rebrand.
See also: Identity search, Likelihood of confusion
A trademark owned by an association and used by its members to show membership or shared standards, rather than to identify a single business.
See also: Certification mark
A mark that merely describes the goods or services or a characteristic of them (such as “Fast” for delivery). Descriptive marks are hard to register because they are not distinctive on their own.
See also: Distinctiveness, Absolute grounds
The capacity of a mark to identify the source of goods or services and set them apart from others. The more distinctive a mark, the easier it is to register and to protect.
See also: Descriptive mark, Absolute grounds
A single trademark registration that covers all 27 EU member states, filed at the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). It is often the most cost-effective route once a brand is active in several EU markets.
See also: EUIPO, National trademark, Madrid System (WIPO)
The European Union Intellectual Property Office, based in Alicante, which examines and registers EU trademarks and registered Community designs.
See also: EU trademark (EUTM)
The stage where an office reviews an application against its rules (such as formalities and absolute grounds) before the mark is published or registered.
See also: Office action, Publication
What a trademark is registered for. Protection is limited to the goods and services listed in the application (within their classes), so the wording defines the scope of your rights.
See also: Specification, Class (Nice class)
A narrow check for earlier marks that are identical (or near-identical) to yours in the same classes. It is a basic risk check and does not cover the similar marks a full clearance search looks for.
See also: Clearance search
A finding that a registration should not have been granted — for example because it lacked distinctiveness or conflicted with an earlier right — which can remove it from the register, often back to its filing date.
See also: Cancellation, Revocation, Absolute grounds
Permission from a trademark owner allowing another party to use the mark on agreed terms. Recording a licence on the register can make it public and easier to enforce.
See also: Recordal, Proprietor
The core test in many trademark disputes: whether the public might believe goods or services under two marks come from the same or linked businesses, judged on the similarity of the marks and of the goods/services.
See also: Relative grounds, Opposition, Clearance search
An international system, run by WIPO, that lets you extend a home (“base”) trademark to many countries through one international application instead of filing separately in each.
See also: WIPO, Base mark, National trademark
A trademark registered in a single country through its national office (for example the UKIPO or DPMA). It is useful for a single key market or alongside a regional mark like an EUTM.
See also: EU trademark (EUTM), Madrid System (WIPO)
The international system that sorts goods and services into 45 classes for trademark registration. It is updated regularly and used by most trademark offices worldwide.
See also: Class (Nice class), Classification
Failure to genuinely use a registered trademark for the goods or services it covers. After a grace period (commonly five years) a mark can be challenged and revoked for non-use.
See also: Revocation, Cancellation
An official letter from a trademark office raising an objection or query about an application — for example on classification or distinctiveness — that needs a reasoned response within a deadline.
See also: Absolute grounds, Examination
A formal objection filed by a third party — usually an earlier rights holder — to stop a published application from registering, within a set window after publication.
See also: Publication, Likelihood of confusion, Relative grounds
The right to claim an earlier filing date from a first application when you file the same mark elsewhere within six months, so later filings are treated as if made on the original date.
See also: Applicant
The registered owner of a trademark — the party with the exclusive rights and the responsibility to renew and enforce it.
See also: Applicant, Assignment
The point at which an accepted application is published in the official bulletin, starting the period in which third parties can file an opposition.
See also: Opposition, Examination
Recording a change against a registration on the official register — such as a change of owner, name, address or a licence — to keep the register accurate and the change enforceable.
See also: Assignment, Licence
Reasons to refuse or cancel a mark based on conflict with someone else’s earlier rights, rather than the mark itself. They are usually raised by the earlier owner through opposition or cancellation.
See also: Absolute grounds, Opposition, Likelihood of confusion
Removing a registration from the register going forward, most often for genuine non-use, but also where a mark has become generic or misleading.
See also: Non-use, Cancellation, Invalidity
The list of goods and services a trademark application covers, organised by class. A clear, well-judged specification defines and protects the real scope of your brand.
See also: Goods and services, Class (Nice class), Classification
A sign — such as a word, logo, slogan or shape — used to distinguish one business’s goods or services from another’s. Registration strengthens and makes it easier to enforce.
See also: Distinctiveness, National trademark, EU trademark (EUTM)
Ongoing monitoring of new filings for marks identical or similar to yours, so you learn about potential conflicts in time to consider an opposition or other action.
See also: Opposition, Likelihood of confusion
The World Intellectual Property Organization, which administers the Madrid System for international trademark registration and other global IP treaties.
See also: Madrid System (WIPO)
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