Trademark Registration in Pakistan

It depends on your brand. The main factors are how many classes it needs, whether you are registering a name, a logo or both, and whether the application meets an objection or an opposition on the way. In Pakistan each class is a separate application with its own official fee, so a brand that needs two classes needs two applications. Rather than quote a number that is wrong for most brands, we look at yours on the call and tell you the full cost before anything is filed. The call costs nothing and there is no obligation.

There is no fixed timeline, and a promised date is a guess. The Trade Marks Registry first examines the application. Once it is accepted, it is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal, and anyone may oppose it within two months of the advertisement, a window that can be extended by up to two months. If no one opposes, the registration fee is paid and the certificate is issued. An objection at examination or an opposition adds time. Once registered, the trademark counts as registered from the date the application was filed, so filing early matters.

A qualified advocate, who files it with IPO-Pakistan on your behalf and acts for you through to registration. The Trade Marks Rules, 2004 allow only a legal practitioner or a registered trade mark agent to act for an applicant, so you sign a form of authorisation (TM-48) appointing the advocate. We are your first point of contact: we talk through your brand, the classes and the cost, and once you confirm, we hand your case over.

Yes. IPO-Pakistan accepts applications filed by the owner of the mark through its online filing system. Most businesses still use an advocate or a registered trade mark agent, because the result depends on details: choosing the right class, describing the goods or services well, and answering an objection or an opposition in time.

No. You can register a trademark in your own name as an individual or sole proprietor, and partnerships and companies can register too. The application is made in the name of whoever will own the brand, and the documents needed depend on which of these you are.

Goods and services are divided into 45 classes. A registration protects the mark for the goods or services listed in its class, so the class decides what your protection covers. In Pakistan each class needs its own application, so a brand that sells clothing and also runs shops may need more than one. We tell you which classes fit your business on the call.

A name registered on its own protects the name itself, rather than one particular design of it. A logo registration protects the logo as filed, so a redesigned logo may need a new application. Many businesses start with the name and add the logo later, and some file both. Which suits you depends on how you use the brand, and we talk it through on the call.

Only once your trademark is registered. Until then you can use TM, which tells people you treat the name or logo as your brand but claims no registration. Representing an unregistered trademark as registered is an offence under section 102 of the Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001.

No, and no one can honestly promise registration. A check looks for similar marks already on file before you spend on an application, which lowers the risk. But the Registry examines every application itself, and anyone can oppose once it is advertised. What a check gives you is an early warning, while changing the name is still easy.

An opposition can be filed within two months of your application being advertised in the Trade Marks Journal, a window that can be extended by up to two months. It is then contested before the Registrar, and each stage has its own deadline, so a notice of opposition should never be ignored. The advocate acting for you explains your options and what responding involves before anything is filed.

Ten years from the date the application was filed, and it can be renewed for ten years at a time. A renewal is filed in the six months before the registration expires. A registration that is not renewed can be removed from the register, and restoring it costs more, so note the expiry date when your certificate arrives.

Yes. Pakistan joined the Madrid System on 24 May 2021, so a Pakistani application or registration can be the base for one international application, filed through IPO-Pakistan, that names other member countries. Each country then examines it under its own law. You can also apply in each country directly. If you sell abroad or plan to, mention it on the form.