Usually, renew your trademark and file a new application alongside it, rather than choosing one. A UK registration lasts ten years. Renewing it, which our trademark renewal service handles from the reminder to the filing, keeps it in force with its original filing date, for an official fee of £245 for one class and £60 for each extra class. But renewal can’t add anything. If the business now sells things the registration doesn’t cover, or the logo has changed, only a new application protects that, and it gets a new, later date.
Do you need to renew your trademark, or can you just file again?
Think of it like the lease on a shop. Renewing keeps the premises you have. If you’ve outgrown them, you take on a bigger unit too, but you don’t hand back the keys to the first one until the new lease is signed. The danger we see is treating renewal as a payment deadline. After five years, a registration can be challenged for non-use, and in an opposition you can be asked to prove genuine use for the goods it covers. Filing the identical mark again just to reset that clock is risky too: the EU’s General Court held in the MONOPOLY case (2021) that refiling to avoid proving use was bad faith.
How do we decide between renewing and refiling?
Before any renewal, we compare the registration with how the business actually trades today. Does the specification, the list of goods and services, still match what you sell? Is the mark as registered the one you use? You can drop classes when you renew, but you can’t add terms to an existing registration. Where the business has grown, we plan a fresh application for the new products, services or logo, and run a free trademark search first, because anyone who filed since your original date could now be ahead of you.
What does getting it right give you?
Protection that matches the business you are now, while keeping the earlier date on everything you already had. For larger brands, this isn’t admin. It’s portfolio management, and SMEs get the same benefit. If a renewal date is coming up, our trademark registration and renewal services cover both sides: keeping the existing mark alive and filing the new one. Our clearance audits start from £99, and the consultation is free for new clients. You can book a free call, email enquiries@thetrademarkhelpline.com or ring 0161 833 5400.
Related questions
- I got a trademark renewal letter or invoice. Is it a scam?
- What are trademark classes, and which ones do I need?
- How much is my brand or trademark actually worth?
This answer is for information purposes only and does not constitute trademark advice or guidance. Last reviewed 25 September 2026. First shared as a LinkedIn post.
