How long does it take to register a trademark?

We have looked into the last 1,000 trademarks registered in main intellectual property offices, including USPTO (United States), UKIPO (United Kingdom), EUIPO (European Union), CNIPA (China), CIPO (Canada), ROSPATENT (Russia), IPA (Australia), BOIP (Benelux), IGE-IPI (Switzerland), NIPO (Norway) and KIPO (Republic of Korea), exploring the average time it takes for a trademark to be registered in the selected jurisdictions.

By

Igor Demcak

HOW-LONG-DOES-TM-REGISTRATION-TAKE.001

The whole process of registering a trademark comprises of two main elements. The first is the preparation stage and includes the process of carrying out a comprehensive search for similar trademarks, drafting the application, gathering the necessary evidence and filing the application. On average, this stage takes team Trama approximately 3 days. The second part of the process is however dependent on respective intellectual property offices and takes considerable longer for the authorities to assess the validity of the trademark application, providing the owners of existing trademarks with an opposition period during which they may raise their objections. It is however worth to mention that once successfully registered, the protection provided by a registered trademark starts from the very first day of filing the application. This means that if two competitors file an application for a similar trademark, it is the date of filing that decides which of the applicants has the priority right.

How long does trademark registration take in Benelux?

On average, it takes 76 days to register a trademark in Benelux, covering the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. From the selected countries, it is the BOIP that represents the most efficient intellectual property office, processing trademark applications in the shortest time. The standard deviation of 24 days also highlights the consistency in processing applications.

How long does trademark registration take in Switzerland?

Average time to register a trademark in Switzerland is 125 days. The standard deviation of 50 days reveals moderate variation in the length of the process.

How long does trademark registration take in Norway?

It takes 137 days (average) to register a trademark in Norway. The variation in the length of the process is relatively consistent with other intellectual property offices (standard deviation of 54 days).

How long does trademark registration take in the United Kingdom?

On average, it takes 141 days to register a trademark in the United Kingdom. With a standard deviation of 30 days, UKIPO (United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office) represents one of the most consistent and at the same time highly efficient intellectual property offices included in this evaluation.

How long does trademark registration take in the European Union?

Average time to register a trademark in the European Union is 150 days. The standard deviation of 89 days however suggests that the whole process may easily exceed 8 months.

How long does trademark registration take in Russia?

It takes 165 days (average) to register a trademark in Russia. The standard deviation of 81 days reveals some level of variability in the process.

How long does trademark registration take in Australia?

On average, it takes 279 days to register a trademark in Australia. The standard deviation of 153 days represents the highest level of variation among the selected intellectual property offices, highlighting the substantial differences in the length of the trademark registration process.

How long does trademark registration take in China?

Average time to register a trademark in China is 289 days. The length of the registration process may however easily exceed one year due to a moderate level of variation in the process duration (standard deviation 74 days).

How long does trademark registration take in the Republic of Korea?

The average length of the trademark registration process in the Republic of Korea is 372 days. As a result, KIPO is one of the three intellectual property offices included in this analysis that does not process a trademark application within a one year period. The standard deviation of 108 days also points towards some level of variability in the process.

How long does trademark registration take in the United States?

On average, it takes 391 days to register a trademark in the United States. The length of the process has increased gradually over the recent years with the growing number of trademark applications filed with the USPTO. The standard deviation of the process in the US is 115 days.

How long does trademark registration take in Canada?

Average time to register a trademark in Canada is 583 days. This is by far the longest period. Moreover, the standard deviation of 136 days reveals a substantial volatility in the length of the process, suggesting that trademark registration in Canada may easily take over 2 years to be completed.

Igor Demcak
Igor Demcak

Trademark Attorney

Founder & CEO of Trama

7 year experience in IP protection

Protect your brand and think about its future with trama™

Flowers