Your brand, registered and defended.

Searching before launch avoids spending on a brand that cannot be registered or that clashes with someone else's mark. We search the register for identical and similar marks, assess distinctiveness and give a practical view of the risk. Clients can then go ahead, adjust the mark or choose another with their eyes open.

How an application is drafted largely decides what the registration will protect. We choose the classes and word the specifications to cover current and planned use, and advise whether to protect the word, the logo or both. The aim is a registration that is genuinely useful when it has to be enforced.

Objections at examination usually concern distinctiveness or similarity to an earlier mark. Many can be overcome with the right argument. We analyse each objection, prepare a reasoned reply, add evidence of use where it helps, and attend the hearing, giving the application its best realistic chance of reaching advertisement.

Publication in the Trade Marks Journal opens a window for third parties to oppose. Sutra Law acts for brand owners opposing conflicting applications and for applicants defending their own. We prepare notices, counter-statements and evidence, and where a coexistence agreement makes commercial sense, we negotiate one.

Acceptance and a quiet opposition period do not finish the job. The application still has to reach registration and the certificate has to issue. We track status, complete the remaining formalities and check the certificate against the application, so the client holds an accurate record of its rights.

Miss a renewal and the registration can lapse, leaving the brand open to others. We diarise renewal dates across the client's portfolio, send reminders well in advance and file within the prescribed time. Renewal is also a good moment to confirm that owner details and specifications are still accurate.

After an acquisition, a group restructuring or the grant of a licence, the register should show who owns and who may use the mark. We prepare assignment and licence documents in a form the Registry will accept, file the recordals and update names and addresses, so the right party can enforce the mark when needed.

A competitor trading under the same or a confusingly similar mark takes customers and blurs the brand. Acting early matters. We assess the strength of the client's rights, collect evidence of the infringing use, and choose between a notice, negotiation or a suit for infringement and passing off depending on the facts.

Domain names, social media handles and marketplace listings are sometimes registered by others to trade on an established brand. We advise brand owners on recovering or disabling them through platform complaint procedures, domain dispute mechanisms and, when those fail, legal proceedings.