Trademark Registration Status Information To Be Noted
At Smit & Van Intellectual Property Attorneys located in Pretoria, South Africa, we ensure that clients are updated regarding their trademark registration status.
Why Register A Trademark?
One will register a trademark to prevent others from using the same or similar mark for products and services in the same class. This ensures that your products and services are uniquely marked and thus easily identifiable because of the registered mark.
A trademark is also seen as a business asset and can have capital value. The South African Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office, known in short, as CIPRO, handle the registration of the trademark and provide us with updates regarding the trademark registration status.
What Can Be Trademarked?
One can trademark a slogan, logo, shape, brand name, special wording or any combination thereof to uniquely identify a specific product or service. It is important to note that if you applied for trademark registration in different classes or for variants, then the trademark registration status of each one will be given separately.
There are no fewer than 45 classes in which one can register a trademark.
Trademark Registration Status – Identification Of The Correct Classification
It is important to correctly identify the class in which you want to register the trademark. South Africa makes use of the Nice Classification system.
Once it is done, the next step is to do a trademark search to ensure that the mark that you want to register is unique. From there one will complete and submit the official application form, known as the TM1. This must be done in triplicate and the application fee is paid.
Once CIPRO receives the application and the required fee is paid, they issue a Trademark Registration Status Number, known as the official application number. When you want to enquire about the trademark registration status, you will have to quote the application number.
The next phase involves an official formal examination which takes place within eight months from application.
View our Trademarks section and contact us to help you register a trademark and track the trademark registration status.
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