Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Intellectual property definition

What does Intellectual property mean? Intellectual property describes intangible legal rights in creative, technical and branding outputs used and enforced in commercial practice, often abbreviated to IP or IPR. In the UK and Ireland the term is descriptive rather than a single statutory definition; discrete rights arise under specific regimes, typically including copyright, patents, trade marks, registered and unregistered designs, database right, trade secrets and confidential information, and the common law tort of passing off. These rights are territorial, generally time‑limited (trade secrets/confidential information can subsist indefinitely if secrecy is maintained), and confer exclusive rights that can be licensed, assigned, charged as security and...

UK trade mark registration at the IPO: practitioner guide to searches, filing, fees, classification, examination, objections, publication, bad faith after SkyKick, and Brexit comparable rights

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

Practice notes

Applying to register a trade mark at the UK intellectual property Office (IPO)

This Practice Note sets out guidance on seeking registration of a trade mark at the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the steps involved. It addresses matters such as carrying out searches before filing, the three‑phase application procedure, preparing and submitting the application, application fees payable, filing dates, claiming priority, classification of goods and services, the IPO’s search and examination, eligibility of the mark or sign, absolute and relative grounds for refusal, examiner’s objections, and publication of the application. It summarises the relevant provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA 1994). Registration of a trade mark confers on the proprietor the exclusive right to prevent others from using that mark without permission. Anyone—individual or company—intending to use a name or brand for particular goods or services ought to apply to register that mark to obtain maximum protection. For more on infringement of registered trade marks, see Practice Note: Trade mark infringement—UK. Protection of unregistered signs through the common law tort of passing off is considered in Practice Note: Introduction to passing off. TMA 1994 sets out the requirements for registering a UK trade mark...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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