Should your application comply with all the formal requirements, and the required official fee has been received by the Office, the application will be allocated an application date and an official application number. All communications with the Office should at all times include the application number as reference. Field 74 of form TM1 “address for service” is the address at which you will be receiving all the communications from the Office. Please be sure to inform the Office by requesting “a change of address for service” on form TM2 in case this address changes. The address for service MUST at all times be an address within the Republic of South Africa. It is advisable that the trademark be searched before the application is made. In order to be considered registerable, your mark must be capable of distinguishing your goods or services from those of your competitors.
Manual Application: Form TM1 must be completed. You have to file separate applications for each class of goods/services. Indicate all the goods/services for which you would like to use the trademark.
Electronic Application: Register as a user on the CIPC e-filing website registration. International classification for the trademark has to be indicated. You have to file separate applications for each class of goods/services.
Trade Mark Examples
Name, Slogan, Logo, Shapes, Three-dimensional Marks, Gestures, Olfactory (smells / scents), Sounds / Tunes, Tastes, Textures, Colors, Holograms, Motions / Multimedia, Positions. Conventional and Non-conventional trade marks.
Trade Mark Duration
Once a trademark is registered in South Africa, it needs to be renewed every 10 years to stay in force. If your registered trademark has not been used in South Africa for a continuous period of 5 years, another person may apply to have it removed from the Register.