After trademark registration, the job changes from getting protection to keeping it. In the UK a registration lasts ten years, counted from the day you filed, and can be renewed every ten years. In between, it’s worth using the mark for what it covers, watching for similar names being filed, keeping your details on the register up to date and using the ® symbol correctly. Registration gives you the legal tools to protect your brand. You still need to use them.
There’s a myth worth clearing up here: that the registration certificate is the finish line. For many businesses, the honest answer to “what happens next?” is nothing. They receive the certificate, add the ® symbol and assume the job is done.
Registration isn’t the finish line. It’s the start line.
What doesn’t a registered trademark do on its own?
It doesn’t automatically stop somebody using a similar name. It doesn’t alert you when a competitor files something that could affect your rights. And it doesn’t decide whether another brand is close enough to challenge. Those decisions sit with you, the owner.
I find the technical side of the register fascinating, and this is the part people are most surprised by. The easiest way I can describe it is a fence around a field. The registration marks out what’s yours, and the law will back you if someone climbs over. But if nobody ever walks the boundary, you won’t know someone has moved the fence posts until they’ve built on your land.
Why does monitoring matter after trademark registration?
Because the window for stopping a similar application cheaply is short, and nobody else is watching it for you. When the UK IPO examines a new application, it searches for earlier marks and, if the application is published, it notifies the owners of the earlier UK marks it found, according to its earlier rights fact sheet. That letter is a heads-up, not a decision. The IPO won’t oppose on your behalf, and it doesn’t look at who is actually trading. Once an application is published there is a two-month opposition period, which can be extended to three.
Picture how it goes wrong. A competitor files a near-identical name in a related class. Nobody spots it, it registers, and the business builds on it for a couple of years. By the time it’s noticed, untangling it is slow and expensive. Caught at the application stage, the same issue can often be dealt with by a short letter or an opposition.
Most SMEs don’t have time to sit and read the IPO’s weekly journal of new applications. They’re busy running their business. That’s what our trademark monitoring and alert services are for. From £14 a month, we watch the IPO, Companies House, domain registrations and the main social media platforms for names that come too close to yours. To be clear about what it doesn’t do: monitoring won’t make a weak mark strong, and it won’t create use of your mark where there isn’t any. What it gives you is time, while there may still be a chance to deal with an issue before it becomes a much larger problem.
Gymshark’s opposition to an application for GymBull is a good recent example of an owner acting at the right moment, and our piece on Gymshark and GymBull covers what smaller brands can take from it.
How long does a registered trademark last?
Ten years, and it can be renewed for further ten-year periods for as long as you keep paying. One detail catches people out: under the Trade Marks Act 1994, a UK mark is registered as of the date you filed the application, so the ten years started when you applied, not when the certificate arrived.
The UK IPO’s renewal guidance sets out the timetable step by step:
- Up to six months before expiry: you can renew at the normal fee.
- Up to six months after expiry: you can still renew, with an extra late renewal fee.
- Between six months and a year after expiry: you may be able to restore the mark by post, with a written statement explaining why it wasn’t renewed on time. Restoration isn’t automatic.
You can also drop classes you no longer need when you renew. I’d treat renewal as a strategic review rather than a payment deadline: does this trademark still protect what the business actually does? If it doesn’t, renewing as it stands might not be the best answer. Our trademark renewal service sends reminders well before the date, handles the filing and looks at whether the goods and services still fit the business.
Do you need to use a trademark once it’s registered?
Yes, if you want to keep it. You can’t just sit on a name. Under section 46 of the Act, anyone can apply to revoke a registration that hasn’t been put to genuine use in the UK within the five years after registration was completed, or where use has stopped for five years in a row, unless there are proper reasons. Revocation can also be partial, removing just the goods or services you haven’t used the mark for.
Use counts whether it’s by you or by someone using the mark with your consent, such as a licensee. Five years also matters if you ever want to oppose someone else: once your mark has been registered for five years, you can be asked to prove you’ve used it before you can rely on it.
That’s why I’d keep evidence as you go, not scramble for it later: dated invoices, packaging, website pages, adverts and social posts showing the mark on the goods or services it covers. Our article on proof of use explains what that evidence tends to look like. It’s also worth checking regularly that your protection still covers everything the business now offers. If you’ve added products or services, our free trademark classes guide is a quick way to see whether they fall outside what you registered.
Which changes need recording on the register?
Any change to the details held on the register. GOV.UK lists changes to your contact details, such as your address or email, appointing a representative and giving up the mark. Selling or transferring the mark, including moving it from you personally into your company, is recorded as a change of ownership, and licences can be recorded too.
This isn’t just tidiness. Official letters about oppositions, challenges and renewals go to the address on the register. If that address is out of date, you may not see them until it’s too late to respond, which is why the address for service matters more than it looks.
When can you use the ® symbol?
Once the mark is registered, and only for the goods or services it’s registered for. GOV.UK’s registration guide describes the ® as a way to show the brand is yours and warn others off. Until then, “TM” is the usual way to signal you’re claiming a name as a trademark, but it doesn’t give you any registered rights.
Getting this wrong is more serious than people expect. Falsely representing that a mark is registered, or making a claim about what it’s registered for that you know or have reason to believe is false, is a criminal offence under section 95 of the Act, punishable by a fine. So I wouldn’t add the ® while an application is pending, or put it on a product line the registration doesn’t cover.
What about renewal letters that don’t come from the IPO?
Treat them with suspicion. Your name and address sit on a public register, and firms with no connection to the IPO use it to send official-looking invoices for renewals, monitoring or “publication” in some international register. The IPO’s advice on misleading payment requests is simple: don’t pay them, and send a copy to misleadinginvoices@ipo.gov.uk if you’re unsure. Our trademark scam directory lists the senders we’ve seen and what their letters look like.
How can we help once your trademark is registered?
This is why our work doesn’t stop at the certificate. Alongside monitoring, we offer trademark representation and protection: we stay recorded as the professional representative for the mark, review the official correspondence, keep track of deadlines and renewal dates, and support you if a conflict or opposition comes up. Think of it as someone walking that fence line with you, so when a post moves, you hear about it and have help deciding what to do.
If you have a registration certificate sitting in a drawer from three years ago, I wouldn’t assume you’re protected. A brand clearance audit, from £99, will show who else has been filing in your space while you’ve been working, and whether your registration still fits the business you have today. Book a free call with our team, email enquiries@thetrademarkhelpline.com or ring 0161 833 5400. The first consultation is free for new clients.
Registering a trademark is an important milestone. It’s the beginning of protecting the brand, not the end.
Related questions
- Does a UK trademark protect me everywhere I sell?
- How much is my brand or trademark actually worth?
- Will not having a trademark affect selling my business?
- What happens if someone copies my logo? Can I sue?
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute trademark advice or guidance. Last reviewed 25 September 2026. First shared as a LinkedIn post.
