Legal requirements to register a Trademark

In the UK and EU, a Trademark must be distinctive enough to identify one particular company or person and consists of :

• Words

• Sounds

• Logos

• Colours

• A combination of any of the above.

​A Trademark cannot :

• Be similar to a Trademark of another business that sells the same goods or services.

• Be offensive, for example contain swear words or pornographic images

• Describe the goods or services it will relate to, for example the word ‘cotton’ cannot be a Trademark for a cotton textile company

• Be misleading, for example use the word ‘organic’ for goods that are not organic

• Be too common and non-distinctive, for example a statement like ‘we lead the way’

• Be just a generic shape associated with your business, for example if you sell apples you cannot trade mark the shape of an apple

• Make use of national flags you do not have permission to use or make use of official emblems or hallmarks, for example coats of arms