Established Representative at the UK Intellectual Property Office — since 2008
The examiner raises an issue with your application, but an objection is not a refusal, and most can be overcome with the right response.
most, with the right response
Coming soon, a short walkthrough of this stage.
An objection is the examiner telling you something needs fixing or arguing before the application can proceed. It usually falls into one of two buckets: absolute grounds (your mark is too descriptive, non-distinctive or otherwise not registrable as filed) or relative grounds (an earlier similar mark exists).
An objection is not a refusal. You normally have two months to respond, with argument, evidence of distinctiveness, or by amending the specification. Many objections are successfully overcome; the quality of the response is what counts.
You can, but the quality of the argument decides the outcome, and many unrepresented applicants end up withdrawing because they cannot answer it effectively. We draft these responses as standard.
No, it is a request to argue or amend, not a refusal. You usually have two months to respond. Do not ignore it, though: no response means the application is treated as withdrawn.
We set your application live so you can see exactly where it is, in real time. Need login details? Just ask and we will send you a link.
Includes our Care of Address, which keeps your home address off the public register and cuts scam mail at source.
No obligation. Bring your name, logo or tagline and we will tell you where you stand.
Figures are derived from analysis of the public UK Intellectual Property Office trademark register (applications filed 2015 to 2023, a settled cohort of 1,340,875 marks). They describe the typical journey of a UK trademark application and are for general information, every application is different.
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