Trade Mark Registration & Small Business Legal Advice

Trade Mark registration advice for new and growing businesses

Your business name, logo, strapline or other brand features help customers recognise your goods or services. These may be Trade Marks. Registering a Trade Mark gives you stronger protection than relying on unregistered rights alone and can give you the exclusive right to use the Trade Mark for the goods or services covered by your registration. Whether you are starting a business, launching a product or planning for growth, our Trade Mark team can help you:

Check whether your proposed Trade Mark is available
Identify possible issues before you apply
Choose the right trade mark classes for your goods and services
Plan for goods or services you may offer in future
Prepare and submit your application
Manage the application through to registration
Protect and manage your Trade Mark after registration

Check your proposed Trade Mark before applying

Before submitting an application, it is worth checking whether the same or a similar Trade Mark is already registered or in use. A Trade Mark search can help identify issues early, reducing the risk of investing time and money in a name that may need to change later. Depending on your business growth plans, we can help with:

Initial searches of the Trade Mark register
More detailed searches covering similar marks, company names, domain names and prominent unregistered use
Searches in international markets

Not ready to enquire? Use our Trade Mark calculator to see the likely cost of registering one UK Trade Mark.

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Your Trade Mark is one part of your business foundations

Protecting your brand may be your immediate priority. A new or growing business may also need to consider its company structure, decision-making arrangements and how ideas, content and other assets will be protected. Getting advice early can help you understand what is needed now and what can wait until later.

Our Ventures & Innovations team supports founders and growing businesses from their first idea through to funding, growth and exit. Depending on your plans, the team can advise on:

Preparing the business for investment, including seed, angel and Series A rounds
Managing and negotiating shareholder relations and disputes
Board arrangements, director relationships and wider business structure
New business ventures including; golf, whisky and other joint ventures
Sharing equity between founders
Term sheet negotiations, including investment and commercial team sheets
Shareholder agreements, articles of association and other corporate documents
Director, consultant and advisor service agreements
Directors' duties and wider company law
Implementing and managing share option schemes
Commercial and operational agreements
Day-to-day legal support as the business grows

You do not need to know which service or legal document you require before contacting us. Simply tell us about your business, your Trade Mark and what you are planning next.

Supporting technology and innovation businesses

If your business is developing technology, software, digital products or other new ideas, legal arrangements may need to cover more than the company name. Our specialist Technology and Innovation team advises businesses at different stages of development. This can include intellectual property, software development and supply arrangements, licensing, service agreements, data protection and wider commercial matters. By understanding your business and its plans, our team can provide advice that considers both your immediate legal needs and your longer-term goals.

Your next steps

Tell us about your trade mark and business

Call us or complete our online enquiry form. Tell us what you want to protect, what your business does and where you plan to trade. You can also share any questions about founders, company structure, investment or growth, so we can identify the support that may be relevant.

Get clear advice on your options

We will explain the steps involved in checking your proposed trade mark and applying for registration. Where wider support may be useful, we can also discuss the legal arrangements that could help protect your business, support its growth and prepare it for future opportunities.

Decide what to deal with first

You can then decide which actions are most important now and which can wait until later. We will help you prioritise the immediate steps for protecting your trade mark, while keeping wider business needs, investment plans and long-term growth in view.