File Your Trade Mark in South Africa
BrandLaw | The Art of Law
Protect your brand name or logo with ease. Complete the form below to have our expert trademark attorneys handle the filing, classification, and registration process for you.
R2400 + government fees.
®
How our Trade Mark Filing Service works
Step 1: Order
Complete the form below and checkout.
Step 2: Classify
We classify your trade mark into the most applicable class – or you can choose your own classes with our AI assistant.
Step 3: File
We file your trade mark and handle the examination, publication and registration process.
Our Fees
Word mark
R2,990 for brand name, product name or slogan in a single class.
NIKE
Logo or image
R2,990 for brand, company or product logo in a single class.
Word mark and Logo
R5,200 for brand name and associated logo in a single class.
+ NIKE
Common Trade Mark Types
Word(s) only
Protect your company name, brand name, product name or slogan in plain in text in all designs.
NIKE
Logo or image
Safeguard your visual brand identity with logo protection, protecting the design in combination with any names featured (if any).
Word mark and Logo
Broad protection for both your name and visual branding elements.
NIKE
Start Your Trade Mark Application
To file your trade mark, complete the form below and checkout.
1 What trademark do you want to protect?
NIKE
R{{singleMarkCurrentCost}}
R{{singleMarkCurrentCost}}
+ NIKER{{bothMarkCurrentCost}}
2 Enter the word(s) appearing in your word mark.
2 Enter any words appearing in your Logo.
Uploading… {{ uploadProgress }}%
Uploaded Logo
3 Describe your business or products or add your website.
4 Who owns the trademark?
5 Provide the person’s full name.
5 Provide full name and type of company or entity type (e.g., BRANDLAW (PTY) LTD).
5 Provide the name and type of the owner entity.
5 Provide the owner’s name.
6 Would you like a recommended full trademark availability search and analysis before filing?
7 Would you like an attorney to classify your trade mark correctly, or do you know which classes you would like to file in?
mdi-star-outline
AI Suggested Classes
NOTE: This response is AI-generated. AI often makes mistakes. Contact us to confirm the advice with an attorney.
Selected classes
Confirm the number of classes you would like to file your trademarks in.Confirm the number of classes you would like to file your trademark in.
What else can you trademark?
You can trademark names, logos, slogans, colors, patterns, packaging, shapes, characters, persons, sounds, motions, gestures, smells, textures, and layouts that customers associate exclusively with you.
Check if your brand is available with our instant online trademark search.
Enter your brand name
What is the process and cost of trademark registration South Africa?
Learn more about the process, classes and costs for trademark registration in South Africa.
Let our certified expert attorneys help you
Trademark Registration South Africa
South
R2990
Our experts have a 100% acceptance rate when availability is confirmed by a search.
Add optional search for R3500 to confirm your mark is available.
Expert trade mark attorneys certified by the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL).
Manage your mark for 10 years – until it is due for renewal.
Frequently asked questions
What’s a good trademark?
The best marks are made-up words (like KODAK) or arbitrary words that are not related to the products they are used in relation to (like APPLE for computers). Suggestive words (like JAGUAR for cars, suggesting elegance and speed) or combination words (like AIRBUS for airplanes) can also work well.
To qualify for registration a trade mark must be distinctive and not simply describe the nature or a quality of the products or services to which it is applied. Purely descriptive marks cannot be registered. Even if registered, your monopoly in a particular mark will be limited to the extent that others need to use the word in trade.
How experienced is the attorney filing my trade mark?
More than a decade of highest level trade mark expertise in South Africa. A trade mark practitioner certified by the South African Institute of Intellectual Property (SAIIPL).
How long does my trade mark last?
Potentially forever.
A trade mark can be protected for renewable periods of 10 years. If used correctly and renewed every 10 years, a trademark can last forever.
How long is the trademark registration process?
It depends on the individual examiner assigned to your application – but on average around 24 months.
The most important date is the application date. Your protection will be backdated to the day that you filed your application.
What is the trademark registration process?
We first recommend a trademark search to confirm that your mark is available for registration.
Registration Procedure:
- The application is lodged at the Trade Marks Registry and allocated an application number and a filing date within three (3) days.
- The application is examined 7-10 months later and the Examiner will issue his examination report. He will either accept the application unconditionally or require us to comply with certain conditions for final acceptance, or he will refuse it.
- If it is refused, there are various ways to try and argue against and overcome the refusal. We will provide more information on possible further actions and associated costs if it gets to this.
- If the application is accepted and once any necessary conditions have been complied with the application is advertised in the South Africa Patent Journal for opposition purposes and interested parties then have three (3) months to lodge an objection to the registration of your mark. If no opposition is lodged, the trade mark will proceed to registration and the registration certificate will be issues
The entire registration process from filing to registration takes up to 24 months in a straightforward case. If further action is required or the mark is opposed it will take longer.
Once the trade mark proceeds to registration, it is protected from the initial date of filing (and not the ultimate registration date) for renewable periods of ten (10) years.
What are trademark classes?
Trademarks are classified in 45 different categories in accordance with the International Classification of Goods and Services – 34 for goods and 11 for services.
These classes are not strict categories. For example identical marks used for
What marks can I file?
You can file a Word Mark (a name in plain text), Stylised Word Mark (a word mark in a particular front) or a Logo (an image that represents you brand with or without wording).
A word mark will give you the widest protection and is usually first prize. A stylised mark or logo will give you more specific protection and will also protect the design (stylised elements) of your brand.
You can of course also file certain product shapes, packaging, colours, patterns, smells, sounds, persons, characters and other non-conventional marks.
Can descriptive trademarks ever be registered?
It depends.
Trade marks that exclusively describe the nature or a quality of the products or services to which they is applied are generally not registrable – unless. filed as a Logo which may yield some rights in the wording but only in combination with the design.
However, a descriptive word mark can sometimes become distinctive through widespread use and promotion if consumers have come to exclusively associate the mark with you.
I found a similar trademark. Can I still register mine?
It depends. An identical or similar trademark can often be used for unrelated goods or services.
A similar or same trademark is only a problem if (1) it is used or registered in the country where you want to register your trademark and (2) it covers similar goods or services to your own.
For example, the PUMA trade mark is being used by different companies in relation to energy and in relation to shoes. Even though the names are identical, the marks can co-exist because they target very different consumers.
I registered my company name – do I still need a trademark?
Yes.
A company registration does NOT protect you. Only a trademark can give you exclusive rights to a name.
You cannot use a company name registration to stop someone else using a similar trading name or protect yourself from being sued for trademark infringement.
How many trademark classes should I file in?
It depends on what you sell.
Your protection is usually limited to the classes that you file in.
For example, if you sell jewellery class 14 (covers jewellery) and maybe class 35 (retail services) for your shop or e-commerce website will be important. Do you also teach jewellery making? Add class 41 (covers providing of training, education and entertainment) .
If you have a restaurant and food delivery business, then class 43 (restaurant and food and drink services), class 39 (delivery services), class 9 (downloadable mobile applications), class 42 (cloud or browser based software as a service) and class 35 (online e-commerce website) might be relevant.
1000+
Trademarks registered
100%
Success rate
when availability confirmed by search
#1
Top tier law certified
trade mark experts
R2990
Flat-rate fees.
No hourly costs.
No surprises.
