Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Registered trade marks definition

What does Registered trade marks mean? Registered trade marks are the registrations used in practice to secure and enforce exclusive rights in brand identifiers—names, logos, shapes, colours, slogans—for specified goods and services. They are a primary tool for brand protection and, where relevant, for controlling commercial use of a person’s branded image. In the UK, the Trade Marks Act 1994 defines a trade mark as any sign capable of being represented in the register in a clear and precise manner and capable of distinguishing one undertaking’s goods or services from another’s. Ireland’s Trade Marks Act 1996 and EU trade mark law adopt materially similar concepts. Registration (via...

UK trade marks: comprehensive overview of registration (including EUTM and Madrid), selection and clearance, maintenance, transactions, enforcement, unjustified threats, passing off and litigation after Brexit

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note offers a concise primer on trade marks, covering:

what is a trade mark?
registering a trade mark
dealing with trade marks in agreements
asserting trade marks
unregistered trade marks and the law of Passing off
trade mark litigation

For guidance on the filing and prosecution of trade marks, portfolio management and transactions involving trade marks, see: Trade mark transactions and management—overview. For information on Disputes concerning registered and unregistered trade marks, see: Trade mark and passing off disputes—overview.

What is a trade mark?

A trade mark is a sign that differentiates one undertaking’s Goods or services from those of another. Put simply, it allows consumers to recognise products or services as originating from a particular business or associated with a specific offering. While trade marks are often words or logos, protection can extend to less conventional signs, including colours, slogans, the shape of products or packaging, sounds, motions and, potentially, even scents. Trade marks can be registered or unregistered. Registration generally provides the most robust protection (see below), although unregistered trade marks can be...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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