Is the UK IPO Ending Series Trademark Applications?

Yes. The UK Intellectual Property Office is retiring the series trademark application for new filings. The government confirmed the decision on 10 April 2025, and the change takes effect when the IPO launches its new digital service for trademarks. As of today there’s no launch date, existing series registrations stay valid, and you can still file a series now. If one registration currently covers every version of your logo, this one’s for you.

What is a series trademark application?

A series trademark application lets you protect up to six versions of essentially the same mark in a single filing: the colour version and the black and white one, capitals and lower case. Under the IPO’s guidance on series applications, the marks have to look, sound and mean the same, with only minor differences. The first two versions are included in the normal application fee, which starts from £205 for one class, and each extra version costs £60, up from £50 as part of the IPO fee increases of 1 April 2026.

It’s been a quietly useful, cost-effective option, particularly for smaller businesses, and according to the IPO most series applications are for just two versions. Whether a series is worth it for you is one of the things we work through when you file a UK trademark application with us, before any official fee is paid. The name and the logo are separate protections too, and we can help with trademarking your logo in its own right.

What exactly has the IPO announced?

The timeline is short but spread over three years.

• 22 August to 31 October 2023. The IPO consulted on changes to its trademark services, including whether to keep series marks.
• 10 April 2025. The government published its response to that consultation, confirming it will discontinue the series service for new applications. Existing series marks remain valid and can still be renewed as series marks.
• 1 April 2026. The IPO launched its new digital patents service to the public. Under the One IPO transformation programme, trademarks come next, and the series change is tied to that new service going live.

So “quietly retiring” is about right. There’s no exact date yet, but the patents service being live means trademarks are next in the queue.

Why is the IPO ending series applications?

Because a lot of people were getting them wrong. In its consultation the IPO said around 65% of series applications came from applicants without a representative, and that in 2022, 39% of those were objected to for not being a valid series, compared with 17% from represented applicants. About half of all applications with more than two marks drew an objection. The extra fee for an invalid series isn’t refunded, so people were paying for protection they didn’t get.

The IPO also concluded that series marks give limited extra legal protection. Consultation responses were split on that point, and plenty of practitioners valued them, but the government’s view won out.

What does the end of series applications mean for a small business?

Once the change happens, covering several versions of a logo will mean several applications and several fees. For clients with limited budgets, the answer is to register the version of the mark you actually use. The register needs to reflect reality.

There’s a reason large organisations don’t run multiple versions of the same logo, and the advice here isn’t really about trademarks. It’s about design planning. Less is often more. Keep variations of your logo to a minimum, because at some point soon you won’t be able to put them all in one filing.

It’s also worth knowing that UK law already gives you some room. Under section 46(2) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, using a mark in a form that differs only in elements that don’t alter its distinctive character still counts as use of the registered mark. A small tweak to colour or layout doesn’t automatically leave you unprotected.

The strongest protection has usually come from registering the distinctive elements separately: the name as a word mark, the logo on its own. It’s why the biggest brands register their name, logo and tagline as separate trademarks. Each has to stand up on its own. Our piece on why the most expensive application is the one that fails explains why a combined mark isn’t the bargain it looks.

What if you already hold a series registration?

Nothing changes today. The government has said existing series registrations will stay valid and continue to be maintained as series marks, so you can keep renewing it as a series. It is worth knowing which version of the mark your business actually trades under now, and whether that’s the one on the register.

In my experience, series marks sometimes gave people a comfort blanket rather than a strategy. Their end is a good prompt to ask a sharper question: what exactly are you protecting, and does it match what customers actually see?

Is it worth filing a series application while you still can?

Only if the versions are genuinely a series and you genuinely use them. If you have two or three versions of a logo you really use, filing a series now, while the option exists, can be cost-effective. If you’re thinking of cramming in six variations “just in case”, I’d think again: the objection rate for bigger series is high, the extra fees aren’t refunded, and you may be paying to protect versions nobody will ever see.

If you’re not sure what to protect first, the name or the logo, our trademark cost calculator gives you a quick estimate for each option. For a view on your own marks, our trademark consultation and clearance audit starts from £99, the consultation is free for new clients, and you can book a free call or ring 0161 833 5400.

Update, September 2026: when we checked GOV.UK on 25 September 2026, the IPO’s series guidance was still live and we could find no announced launch date for the new trademarks service, so the series option remains available for new applications for now.

Related questions

• What are trademark classes, and which ones do I need?
• Can I register a trademark myself, or do I need an attorney?
• Can I just copyright my business name instead?

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.

Written by

Jonathan Paton

Jonathan founded The Trademark Helpline in 2008. He was running a web marketing business at the time and watched SME clients being pressured by larger organisations into surrendering their domains over trademark claims. Unable to find expert help within their budgets, he researched and defended the cases himself, then registered their trademarks. Uptake among his own clients was high enough that he handed the marketing business to his business partner and never went back. He came to it from financial services, having founded his first company in 2004 and sold it in 2007, and he still advises financial advisers and solicitors on corporate structuring, tax reliefs, succession and estate planning. At TMH his focus is making trademark protection affordable at every budget, across more than 4,000 UK filings. His view is that a trademark is not a cost and not insurance. It is an asset that can make a business money and save it money, and one that has to be watched and enforced to be worth anything. He compares it to a driving licence: having one is not the point if you never look where you are going, and there is no sense paying for one if you do not intend to drive. Jonathan is an ADHD CEO, diagnosed and medicated. He works fast and hyperfocuses, and says himself that he finds multitasking harder than most people do. What drives him is fairness, which he finds difficult to ignore when anyone is on the wrong end of it, himself included, and a dislike of waste. If he thinks you are missing a way to save or make money, he will tell you.

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