Patent Lawyers & Trade Mark Solicitors

Trade Marks are badges of origin that distinguish your products and services from those of your competitors. A Trade Mark can be a powerful marketing tool, helping customers select your business over competitors.

The official registration of a Trade Mark gives you the legal monopoly on the use of a Trade Mark for the business for which it is registered.

Trade Mark Registration helps businesses make more money by:

• Improving image through use of the exclusive ® device with your brand
• Encouraging investment – Trade Marks are deemed to have asset value
• Preventing costly brand disputes.

Trade Marks are swords and shields – registration can prevent unfair competition including misuse of your business name e.g. by criticisers. Trade Marks also offer the protection that a registered mark cannot infringe another.

Our Trade Mark services will be of interest to businesses who are:

• Starting new ventures
• Introducing new products
• Setting up websites, new brochures or other marketing channels
• Wanting to stop unfair competition.

Trade Mark registrations are territorial – you apply for a Trade Mark to be registered in the UK to obtain protection in the UK. If you may take your services or export your goods overseas, then you should also consider registering your Trade Mark in other countries. The EU, ‘Community Trade Mark’ allows a single registration to provide protection in all 27 EU states (including the UK – i.e. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands).

Mounteney Solicitors offer a simple, fixed price registration service for:

• UK and/or
• USA and/or
• EU.

Registrations in the UK usually takes 2½ months from start to finish. EU and US registrations are around half the UK speed.

Our work for you includes:

• Firstly ascertaining from you the full circumstances
• Searching the apparent availability of the registration and advising
• If your instructions are to proceed, filing in the territories you instruct
• Conducting the application process for you, known as Prosecution.
• Providing you with the Registration Certificate if the application is granted
• Giving guidance and advice throughout.

Your supplier is unregulated Mounteney Legal Services Limited, that does not charge VAT

Our work will be charged at a fixed fee, for taking national registration applications made at the same time, as far as each can reasonably go under your direction, of:

• £500 for one territory (UK, USA or EU)
• £720 for two territories
• £800 for three territories.

Our fixed fee is for a standard, simple registration application where no sustained objection is made by the authorities, and no opposition made by a third party. In the very rare incidence of these eventualities we would be willing to pursue these as far as we can, but we cannot guarantee to be able to overcome complex objections or oppositions – successful registration cannot be guaranteed. This work would be at an extra charge – we will always agree with you what further work is needed before incurring any further fees.

Before we actually apply you will also need to pay us the relevant official registration fee, that generally gives 10 years’ initial protection before renewal fees may arise. There is normally no VAT on the official fees. Registrations are made in ‘classes’ of similar goods or services, e.g. apparel would be one class, jewellery in another.

In addition to our fees, where we apply, you will also need to meet the official application fees:

Fee for first class:

• £170 in the UK
• €850 in the EU (covers up to 3 classes)
• $275 in the US

Extra fee for each extra class:

• £50 in the UK
• €150 in the EU second class, then €150 for each additional class
• $275 in the US

There is more about our fees on our website here

If you have any questions or require any further information, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.